July 9, 2016

Hunger
MEDIASTUDYGUIDE

By Tania Longinot t i & Dav id McMul l an

M ay th e
odds ev er b e
i n your f av or

Ever y year as punishm ent for the upr ising in the r uins of w hat w as
once Nor th Am er ica, the Capitol of the nation of Panem for ces each
of its tw elve distr icts to send a teenage boy and gir l to com pete in a
nationally televised event called
The Hunger Gam es. The tw enty-four ?tr ibutes?w ill be
im pr isoned in a vast outdoor ar ena, in w hich they m ust
fight to the death. The last tr ibute standing w ins.

The Hunger Gam es can be dealt w ith as a com m entar y

on m oder n society. Issues such as the m edia?s influence
on individuals, the individual?s acceptance of the w or ld
w ith w hich he or she is pr esented, or w hat is r eal can be
consider ed.

LEARNINGOBJECTIVES
Th e gu i de an d act i v i t i es ar e i n t en ded t o h el p st u den t s t o:
- Analyze social, political, econom ic, and other factor s and m ake conclusions about
how society influences and is influenced by film .
- Expr ess an opinion about the film , using film language and suppor tive details and
r efer ences to specific scenes or elem ents.
- Analyze how the film did or did not have per sonal r elevance, citing specific
exam ples fr om the film .
- Analyze costum e design to explor e how the film m aker s visually expr ess m eaning.
- Analyze cinem atogr aphy using film language to explor e how the film m aker s tell
the stor y.

I denti f yi ng Hunger Games

Th emes
Pre-Viewing Quest ions:
-

What is a Dyst opian Societ y?

How does any rul ing cl ass maint ain power?
What is real and what is manipul at ion in real it y TV?
How can peopl e change percept ions in order t o succeed?

During Viewing
- How is Panem a Dyst opian Societ y? Describe how it l ooks, how it ?s cit izens act , what t hey val ue and
how t hey cont rol t he dist rict s. Use t his l ink f or more ideas.
- Why are t he ?t ribut es? given st yl ist s and dressed so el aborat el y f or t he opening ceremony? Does
t his ceremony remind you of event s in our worl d, eit her past or present ? Compare t hose ceremonies
in real l if e t o t he one in t he st ory .
- Discuss t he ways in which t he Game-makers cont rol t he environment and ?ent ert ainment ? val ue of
t he Games. How does it af f ect t he t ribut es t o know t hey are being manipul at ed t o make t he Games
more excit ing f or t he gambl ers and viewers?
- Does knowing t hat she is on l ive TV make Kat niss behave dif f erent l y t han she woul d ot herwise?

L ook f or w ay s i n w h i ch ei t h er K at n i ss, Peet a or t h e Cap i t ol u ses t h e TV

cam er as t o m an i p u l at e a si t u at i on . W h at h ap p en s an d w h at d o t h ey h op e
t o gai n ?

REALITYTVIS...
A TELEVISION PROGRAM
FOCUSING ON M EM BERS OF TH E
PUBLIC TH AT LIVE IN CONDITIONS
CREATED SPECIALLY BY TH E
PROGRAM M AKERS.

An al y ze ?Real i t y Tel ev i si on .? W at ch a r eal i t y t el ev i si on ep i sod e,

con si d er i n g qu est i on s su ch as t h e f ol l ow i n g:
- W h er e is th e cam er a?
- W h at does th e viewer see?
- H ow does th e per spective ch an ge wh en th er e ar e cl ose, l on g an d an gl ed
sh ots th r ou gh th e cam er a? For exam pl e, is th e cam er a cu ttin g between two
gr ou ps or two in dividu al s to su ggest con fl ict?
- H ow m igh t th e viewer r espon d to th e u se of cr osscu ttin g an d ju xtaposition ?

Af t er Viewing Quest ions:

- In a dystopian society there is pressure to conform. Peeta doesn?t want the
Capitol to change him into a monster during the games. Is this a form of
rebellion? Do people have to turn into a monster when they change?
- In dystopian societies, there is always an element of survival and
repression, thereby inhibiting the ability for its people to have typical
happy endings. Does this statement apply to the Hunger Games? Why or
why not?

AFTERVIEWING
"Why don't you j ust beyour sel f ? ? No onecan hel p
but admir eyour spir it ." - Cinna
- How does the televised version of the Hunger Games in the Capitol
compare and contrast to reality TV that we currently have? How realistic is
the premise of the Hunger Games in our world? Could something like this
ever happen in our society? Why or why not?
- The Hunger Games explores a society where reality television has pushed
the limits on the human condition. How far is this from our own society?

Sour ces f or Fur t her

St udy
St u d y : Real i t y TV I s M ak i n g Us M ean er an d
M ean er as a Cu l t u r e "Sh ows l ik e th e "Real
H ou sewives" an d "Bask etbal l W ives" ar e doin g
u s n o good at al l , r esear ch er s say"
Q&A w i t h H u n ger Gam es Au t h or Su zan n e
Col l i n s "Six year s ago, a savvy au dien ce of
teach er s an d k ids fel l for th e Un der l an d
Ch r on icl es, a W on der l an d-l ik e ser ies abou t a
boy n am ed Gr egor wh o discover s a m agical
u n iver se u n der n eath New Yor k City. Now th e
r est of th e wor l d h as cau gh t on to Su zan n e
Col l in s's captivatin g stor ytel l in g, devou r in g
h er dystopian H u n ger Gam es tr il ogy."
"Th e H u n ger Gam es ar e r eal i t y t el ev i si on
squ ar ed . W ith r ippl in g wal l s of fir e an d
swar m s of deadl y m u tan t h or n ets, th e tr ial s in
th e ar en a ar e k in d of l ik e Pan em 's ver sion of
Su r vivor - bu t deadl ier. Con testan ts ar e for ced
to figh t each oth er to th e death in fr on t of th e
cam er as wh il e th e even ts ar e tel evised al l
over th e cou n tr y of Pan em as spor t."
I s Real i t y TV Desen si t i zi n g Am er i can s?
Pr of. Jon ath an Nich ol s-Peth ick Discu sses Ir aqi
Pr ison er Abu se on M SNBC . "Real ity
tel evision , wh ich we often associate with th is
coar sen in g of tel evision , is par t of a l ar ger
m edia en vir on m en t th at capital izes on th e
r ou tin e docu m en tation of al l sor ts of
beh avior s, fr om h u m il iation ... in ter m s of
scan dal ou s beh avior an d even tr agic
beh avior ," said Jon ath an Nich ol s-Peth ick ,
in str u ctor of com m u n ication ar ts an d
scien ces at DePau w Un iver sity..."

W at ch M or e:
- Too M u ch M edia Con su m ption ?
- Sex vs. Gu n s on TV

HOWWELLWOULDYOUFAREAT
THEHUNGERGAMES
Tr i al By Fi r e - Fin d ou t if you ar e r eady for th e H u n ger Gam es by testin g you r abil ity to su r vive th e
r eal th in g. Rem em ber th at th er e is on l y one path to su r vival .
Tr i bu t e Tr i al s - It tak es m or e th an ju st str en gth , sm ar ts, or steal th to su r vive th e H u n ger Gam es.
Tak e th e Tr ial s to see you r l ik el ih ood of su r vival . Un l ik e th e m ovie, you can go back an d tr y to
discover h ow you m igh t im pr ove you r ch an ces.

EVALUATING
CINEMATOGRAPHIC
ELEMENTS

Mise- en- scene

M ise-en-scene is the
com position of w hat is seen on
scr een - actor s, lighting, dcor ,
pr ops, costum e. In The Hunger
Gam es, the m ise-en-scene m or e
than lives up to expectations,
utilizing color , set design and
costum es to the fullest extent.

Descr ibewhat emot ions

t hedir ect or is t ryingt o
convey f r omt hese
l ocat ions usingt he
mise- en- scEne.

Effie and the other s

fr om the Capitol look
exagger ated, gar ish,
plastic, and
decaying, w hich
captur es their
inhum ane and
anim al-like natur e.
This seem s so fitting
for a gr oup of people
w ho ar e enter tained
by w atching youth
fight to the death as
an Olym pic spor t.
Ther e ar e thr ee m ain
locations integr al to
the stor y ? the coal
m ining distr ict
w her e
Katniss
r esides; The
Capitol, and
the ar ena
that hosts
the Hunger
Gam es.

Ef f i e f rom Th e Capi tol

K atni ss i n th e coal
mi ni ng di stri ct

Hunger Games A rena

Media Product ion Act ivit ies:

- Creat e a promot ional video as if you are one of t he charact ers t rying
t o get sympat hy and support f rom t he publ ic and sponsors.
- Creat e a publ ic service announcement f rom t he government of
Panem just if ying or sel l ing t he Hunger Games t o t he publ ic
- Creat e a video f rom t he perspect ive of an underground movement
who is crit ical of t he games

In groups of 3 or 4, choose one of t he act ivit ies t o

creat e a media product ion,using t he st ages of
preproduct ion, product ion and post product ion.
Each group wil l submit t heir proposal script and
st oryboard prior t o t he product ion st age.
Groups shoot video and edit it using video sof t ware
f or exampl e, iMovie or Moviemaker.
Videos are upl oaded t o Yout ube or Vimeo video
sharing sit es.
Videos are shared t o t he Hunger Games Wiki sit e.

Did you know,t he Hunger Games

t akes pl ace in Panem which
derives f rom t he Lat in phrase
panem et circenses.which means
'bread and circuses'. What do you
t hink is t he signif icance of t he
name?

Resour ces
PSA exampl es f rom t he Hunger Games:
- Together as One
- Unity
- Capitol TV: District Voices
Hunger Games Fan Videos exampl es:
- Minecraft Animation
- Lego Animation
- animated trailer
Video product ion how t o videos and t ut orial s:
-

Screen play
Story board
iMovie
Movie Maker

Video Sharing sit es:

Tr y your own hand

Fan fiction is a very popular medium.
Read some of examples of stories that
Hunger Games fans created and write
your own.

- Youtube
- Vimeo
Copyright Commons Free Media f il es:
- Soundzabound
- Copyright friendly
- Freesound
Wiki Sit e:
- The Hunger Games Wiki

Did you know, the 3 finger salute

used in the Hunger Games caused
government protesters in
Thailand to be arrested? What is
the power of hand gestures and
salutes?

REFEREN CES
Images:
IMDB. (2012). The hunger games phot o gal l ery. [Phot ograph]. Ret rieved f rom ht t p:/ / www.imdb.com/ t it l e/ t t 1392170/ mediaindex.
Hunger Games Movie Series. ( 2012). Hunger games of f icial movie st il l s - so f ar! [Phot ograph]. Ret rieved f rom
ht t p:/ / www.hungergamesmovieseries.com/ 2012/ 01/ hunger-games-of f icial -movie-st il l s-so.ht ml # .VYt WBWAkrds
Hunger Games Wiki. (nd). Gal l ery: The hunger games (f il m). [Phot ograph]. Ret rived f rom
ht t p:/ / t hehungergames.wikia.com/ wiki/ Gal l ery:The_Hunger_Games_(f il m)
Doksone, T (Phot ographer) (2014, June 1) AP Phot o [digit al phot o] ret rieved f rom
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Videos:
Saraguy1921.(2012, March 2). Hunger games -Kat niss shoot s appl e [video f il e]. Ret rieved f rom:
ht t ps:/ / www.yout ube.com/ wat ch?v=LK_CQf cLl L4&f eat ure=yout u.be
House Divided. (2013, August 1) . Windows movie maker t ut orial [video f il e].Ret rieved f rom:ht t ps:/ / www.yout ube.com/ wat ch?v=7GREeD2icUo
The Hunger Games. (2014, June 25). President snow's panem address # 1 - "Toget her as one" [video f il e]. Ret rieved f rom:
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The Hunger Games. (2014, Jul y 9). President snow's panem address # 2 - "Unit y" [video f il e]. Ret rieved f rom:
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The Hunger Games. (2014, Oct ober 24). Capit ol TV-Dist rict voices [video channel ]. Ret rieved f rom:
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Sour ces:
Associat ed Press. (2014, June 1). Hunger games screenings cancel l ed in t hail and af t er prot est ers use 3-f inger sal ut e. CBC. Ret rieved f rom:
ht t p:/ / www.cbc.ca/ news/ art s/ hunger-games-screenings-cancel l ed-in-t hail and-af t er-prot est ers-use-3-f inger-sal ut e-1.2840381
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