The Perfect Cruelty of the Hunger Games

these books and movies actually move me to tears
immeasurable thank you to the people who helped me get this out after a long inadvertent hiatus. especially HUGE thanks to shaianne and bee for proofreading/watching and talking through multiple drafts. thank u also rachael, joe, and winnie for encouragement and support
the anti-lord of the flies-the tongan castaways www.desertislandsurvival.com/...
patreon / fivebyfivetakes
0:00 intro
3:00 THE DISTRICTS
6:11 volunteer system
8:42 spectacle
11:18 victors
14:30 careers
16:27 THE CAPITOL
22:42 sponsorships and ownership
24:15 the love story
26:00 HOW IT FALLS APART
28:52 the dandelion in the spring
30:40 CONCLUSION: gaul and human nature

[@5x5Takes]

*note: I'm aware I misspoke saying the number of children--it is 23, two from each district minus one victor. oops!

[@ashermack2543]

Its cool! :) I am really impressed by how well thought out and written this is, as someone who wants to make videos similar to this in the future do you mind me asking how you write for such a long and analytical video?

[@5x5Takes]

@@ashermack2543 it really depends. do you have a specific question i can answer for you? :)

[@ashermack2543]

@@5x5Takes Thank you! I suppose I don't have a shortage of ideas but I was wondering if there's a certain process you have in terms of the organization of information. I know what I want to say, but I suppose I'm not sure how to place the information?

[@5x5Takes]

this sounds so basic, but genuinely. make an outline. it's very easy for ideas to just balloon out of scope if you write off the cuff. have a thesis statement for every paragraph, and an overall thesis statement for your essay/script. aka, if someone asked you "what's your video about?" be able to answer it clearly and directly in 1-2 sentences. and then always keep that in mind as you write, drawing the ideas Back to that thesis. also, decide how you want to go about organizing your analysis. thematically? chronologically? etc. label everything. sections and sections within sections. organization will save you a headache bc genuinely As You Write and think you'll think of more things and the last thing you want is to have word salad at the end of a google doc that you don't know what to do with. if you have another question I will answer as best I can. also, I am One person with One style of thinking/analysis/organization--everyone has their own little flair and that's what's fun. something I in particular like to do is, at the end of any essay, make sure I have a "so what" in the conclusion. meaning, not just summing up what I already said (youve read the script/watched the video, you don't need me to repeat myself) but make sure that I am connecting these ideas to something bigger. the "why even write this" of it all. usually some larger idea/theme/emotion/concept that brings it all together. maybe something meta. blah blah blah. anyway!

[@ashermack2543]

@@5x5Takes thank you so much! I think I more than often have significant ideas and interesting things to say but I find myself rambling endlessly. If I end up making a few videos I will give that a try. Thanks again for taking time out of your day to give some advice to some dude! :)

[@Jeremy_theGent]

The moment on the tour in Catching Fire when the little girl says to Katniss "One day, I'm gonna volunteer just like you did" is fucking terrifying.

[@taylorparis7228]

I could never figure out if Katniss was having a nightmare about that possibility happening, or if she was having a nightmare about what that girl said to her. Basically I never knew if it was a real moment or not?

[@madamehoefyre1808]

@@taylorparis7228 It was definitely a real moment, she was just having nightmares relating to her PTSD.

[@sarahlandis289]

I don't remember that moment being part of the book

[@Jeremy_theGent]

@@sarahlandis289 It's been a while since I've read it, but I don't think it was.

[@nightsaresosstarry]

@@sarahlandis289it isn’t!

[@upsetstudios1819]

I will NEVER forgive the media for portraying these movies as "a love triangle for teens" instead of this complex and *real* look at empathy and politics

[@JC_Cali]

Doesn't fit their pro-war/pro-Capitalist agenda so of course they had to reduce it to a c-plot

[@bakedpotato1717]

It just further shows that women/girl-centered media isn’t taken as seriously :/

[@Lonovavir]

There's a reason Mockingjay isn't the popular book/films.

[@MrMusicKid87]

If the media portrayed it as it was, it would have been critiquing itself. It never would have been green-lit if it was self-aware enough to show the nuance and criticism of the media itself demonstrated in the books.

[@thatfuzzypotato1877]

Wasn't Collins also purposely making the triangle to call out the trope? Its why Gale does what he foes in book 3 and Katniss has no ACTUAL chemistry with either and settles just because its what life is supposed to be, I got the heavy impression there is no actual love between her and Peeta just companionship

[@bananamanchester4156]

There's a moment in The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes that really stuck with me. In the arena, the main antagonist is Coral, one of the tributes from district 4. By all accounts, Coral is in the best position to win. She's strong, she's ruthless, we see her ending tributes mercilessley, even ones she has an alliance with. She seems completely devoid of empathy. UNTIL. It's only her and Lucy Gray left, being chased by the snakes and climbing the rubble. Of course the snakes won't attack Lucy Gray, but Coral doesn't know that, and Lucy is just a few steps ahead of her and the snakes. As the snakes are swarming her and biting her, she cries out in a high-pitched, childlike voice, begging for her life. She says, "It's not fair. It's not. It can't have all been for nothing." This literal child sacrificed her own empathy and humanity and turned herself into a monster, just as the Capitol demanded of her, because all she wanted was to survive. And at the end, she realises that everything she did was ultimately meaningless and she is going to be disposed of anyway, just because Lucy Gray was able to climb a pile of rubble just a little bit faster. She strangled her own soul for the Capitol, and the Capitol fed her to the snakes.

[@5x5Takes]

god. that moment has so much power. yea

[@XanderMatthews-nv9zf]

It’s such a weird ending compared to the book, like all of a sudden Gaul doesn’t care about having a satisfying conclusion to the Hunger Games which is yknow THE ENTIRE GODDAMN POINT

[@bananamanchester4156]

@@XanderMatthews-nv9zf I might be wrong here but I believe that it's very heavily implied that Gaul knew about the handkerchief. She was grooming Snow to be her successor, and she wanted to encourage him to do anything, by any means, to succeed. Even his banishment from the Capitol wasn't a punishment, but a test. She wanted to see if he could find a way to get back to the Capitol. In addition, she wanted him to lose all sympathy for the Districts- what better way than to send him there, so that his experience would traumatise him and leave him bitter? I believe the snakes were also a test. She deliberately told him about them, to see if he could neutralise them as a threat. And also, it gave her the opportunity to send him to the Districts.

[@GH-fb9dh]

@@XanderMatthews-nv9zfthe point of the hunger games for the capitol is to make the districts submissive and afraid. It doesn’t care that it doesn’t have a satisfying end, only that the district people are fearing for their lives

[@alexandratamarblack8880]

You see but this defeats the entire point of the books. Given the choice between predator and prey everyone runs and hides. There is no blood bath because this is the first time there doesn’t have to be one with the arena being blown up a day before they go in. There were no cameras in the tunnels. Sure they made allies and eventually went after each other but that wasn’t until they really had to. And that dismisses the point that Repear who was actually in the best position to win the games, he was strong and fast and the capital wanted him to be violent. But instead he harms no one. He simply drags his axe around the center of arena, actually helping Lamina, and then hiding the bodies from the capital in a respect of the dead, talking away the spectacle the capital so desperately wanted. And when Reaper finally dies at the hand of Lucy and her rat poison, the last one, we have this moment with Lucy where she simply sits down, tilts her head to the sun, and waits to be collected.

[@colechapman6976]

What always mystified me was how Capitol citizens could see children being murdered by each other as sport and entertainment but the moment Peeta announced Katniss was pregnant, that is where they suddenly grew a moral conscious and saw the deaths as inhumane.

[@shaliquebrown800]

I think that’s exactly how Americans view pregnancy. They will make legislation on women’s bodies and within the medical community to “protect” the baby but when that baby is born they don’t really care anymore.

[@zer0w0lf94]

Reminds me of the anti-abortion crowd. The idea of a child's life is more valuable to them than an actual child's life. Saddening, really.

[@Grey_3438]

​@@zer0w0lf94💯

[@darkmatter9643]

Because it shatters the illusion of choice, before then the tributes “chose” to enter their names additional times, they “chose” to survive, they “chose” to win. But with the introduction of an unborn child who had no say in the matter in the eyes of the capital, the illusion is shattered.

[@user-fm4qb7br7o]

@@zer0w0lf94basically that.They dont even care about the orphans

[@hercules1476]

I don't remember where I read it, but someone said " The Hunger Games showed an entire generation that the most revolutionary thing they could do was to to be compasionate."

[@luless666]

Apparently lefties on tweeter didn't get the memo. Or misread it to be compassionate to their own, but not the the "others".

[@trevnti]

Problem is that ppl are compassionate towards those they relate to or are similar to (whether appearance or ideological) or for their own benefit (missionaries) vs universally compassionate. It will largely remain that way as humans to their core are tribalist. It’s easy to be universally compassionate when things are good. When things start crumbling we go into self preservation

[@berilsevvalbekret772]

​@@trevntiand yet time and time again humans in worst of situations decided to be universally compassionate.

[@ceterisparibus8966]

@@trevnti ''It’s easy to be universally compassionate when things are good. When things start crumbling we go into self preservation.'' What is your answer to that?

[@tylerdarlington4269]

​@@ceterisparibus8966 my response comes from Terry Pratchett (excerpt from a longer quote which i hope you'll go find and read) "Then turn selfishness into a weapon! Make all things yours!" I am safest when i have a community and a world that is structured around protecting everyone, and because i am a part of my community and the world I have a responsibility to that protection as well, not just for myself but for everyone.

[@Rosie-yt8nd]

I like how also the empathy/care escalates. It's easier to care the closer we are to someone. Katniss does not volunteer for a stranger, she does it for her sister. Immediate family. When she becomes allies with Rue and mourns her, it is because she reminds her ofher sister. one step removed, but still somewhat tied to familiarity. at first she cares for the vulnerable, like Maggs and Wiress etc. then later she learns to empathize with people like Joanna too. there is a natural progression to it, from the most familiar to more and more abstract.

[@5x5Takes]

exactly!!!!

[@book-hoarder5664]

To further that point, in the last book, Katniss even begins to have understanding for the citizens of the capital. While it still feels alien to her, she can still view them as people who are scared and who have been wronged by the same system as her. They may not have faced daily poverty like her or subjected to the horrors that were The Games, but they were still trained to see the world a certain way

[@Me-vn3gz]

@@book-hoarder5664which is why she takes a stand against the grey haired woman (i forgot her name) that was the leader of district 13, because she realized that they also deserve empathy

[@user-fx1vc6cy8f]

​@@Me-vn3gzPresident Coin?

[@AL-di1fo]

​@@Me-vn3gz President Coin

[@memelord7567]

I've always thought Effie's detachment and uncomfortable cheerfulness is, at least in part, a defence mechanism of sorts. I don't know how long she's had this job for, but surely meeting these kids every year, introducing them, guiding them in some way, and then watching them die has to affect her at least a little bit. So where Haymitch became an alcoholic and cynical to numb himself, maybe she dissociates and detaches herself, hides behind a bubbly and cheerful mask to make it less real.

[@protatype7487]

I totally agree. I got the same impression for most of the capitol crew closest to the games. We see it most brilliantly in Cinna, of course, but I see it a bit in Stanley Tucci’s acting. I always wished we could see these people undressed of their shields, what are they like at home? What thoughts go through their heads as they try to sleep? EDIT ADDENDUM And one more thing! That’s always what makes me appreciate the character writing for Seneca so much, even though we get so little of him. He’s new blood, he doesn’t understand the true amorality yet.

[@bindabizy7256]

Effie was Capitol, Haymitch was district, their conditioning was very much different. As well, Haymitch was a Victor and harmed by participation in the arena, Effie did not experience such things...

[@elodiebeylie3438]

Wasn't it her first year? That was why she was excited and also in charge of the lowest district, right? I might be wrong but that's how I remember it.

[@NotPrincessButLeia]

I think you are absolutely right, because if you see her and Hamich say goodbye to each other at the end, gone is the face facade completely. She became a normal human being.

[@The_OwO_Shogun]

@@protatype7487why did you say EDIT ADDENDUM LIKE it’s an scp article

[@lalaj5831]

The Hunger Games was in the school reading curriculum when my daughter was in the 6th grade. I was mortified. I read it first. Then we read it together, taking turns reading aloud. We discussed it thoroughly after each reading session including researching the author, political history and psychology of oppressive regimes. Other parents got the book removed to a higher grade level but, in the end, my daughter and I learned a lot. Now as an adult, she is a deeply critical thinker and social activist.

[@eveangelyne2478]

The Hunger Games is a really hard series for a reason, and if not read and discussed correctly can go over some heads. My parents were furious after seeing the first movie because, unlike the book, it lacked a lot of Katniss' internal monologue, and they didn't understand the story as much as I tried to explain. When later movies came out is when it clicked for them. I'm happy I was a preteen when this series was a sensation. I just reread it as an adult, and realized how much my current worldview is still affected by it. And I am so grateful. I think, growing up in the US, I could have fallen into the trap of being naive about conflicts and wars and how it sacrifices youth to keep the powers that be in place, had this book not stuck with me from such a young age. Thank you for doing the scary thing of confronting the story together. I am sure your daughter will continue to be an incredibly empathetic and critical thinker as she grows.

[@A.r.i.a.n.a.01]

Props to you for taking the time to read it with your daughter 👏🏼❤️‍🩹

[@ramsa01Yt]

@@eveangelyne2478by some miracle the empathy does not manifest in the topic of Ukraine

[@eveangelyne2478]

@@ramsa01Yt ? you may have to clarify what you mean by this. It appears that you assume this comment lacks empathy for Ukraine and its youth? When they are clearly victims of a war that has also robbed their youth of their lives, safety, and beautiful country. This also goes for Russian youth that are drafted in a conflict that shouldn't have been. But that goes for all wars, even though I cannot possibly list each and every one in a singular youtube comment. Those in power don't take the fall as the young people at the bottom are sacrificed for the egos of old men

[@irenedf9325]

I compliment you Respect👍

[@taylorparis7228]

Got chills near the end when you were talking about compassion and love in the games being its own downfall. I read somewhere: "at the start of The Hunger Games, Katniss was terrified of Prim dying young and Peeta was terrified of the capital changing him. By the end, Prim died anyway and they changed Peeta in all the ways he was scared of" In the end nothing mattered. But it all did. Nothing was changed. Everything was changed.

[@5x5Takes]

man.

[@nope19568]

when i reread the books i realized pretty quick that every single character loses what they wanted, haymitch just wanted to be drunk and left to die but couldn't, katniss just wanted prim to live and she didnt, peeta didnt want to change and he did, joanna makes an offhand comment about not wanting to fry and thats exactly how they torture her, finnick wanted annie and a life outside the game and he lost it all, gale wanted katniss and lost her, snow wanted the games to continue and they didnt, coin wanted power and lost it all in the end, hell effie even just wanted to be famous and get into higher ranks in the capitol before katniss and peeta show up, nobody "won" in these books, they survived

[@RoSizzle]

@@nope19568 well except maybe Plutarch

[@nope19568]

@@RoSizzle true plutarch was mostly alright at the end lol

[@TheOtherBoobJustDropped]

And Cinna, he just wanted to make sure the Capitol remembered Katniss. He may have died, but he sure did achieve his goal

[@tamatojam9305]

There’s also an interesting part of the books that explains that the ENTIRE district gets food parcels for a YEAR if one of their tributes wins to “reward them” for producing a victor. I think this is such an interesting detail because even if you’re entirely against the games, even if it’s someone you know or love in that arena, you can’t look away. You can’t help but root for them, because if they win, you win too. It’s such an interesting way to make those in the districts still want the winnings of the games, even if it comes at the expense of incredible violence. Because there’s always that chance that feeds on their desperation. That possibly creates resentment to those who weren’t “good enough” to win, and also that intense alienating idolization to those who DO win.

[@5x5Takes]

TOTALLY.

[@jamescanjuggle]

just wanted to tack on that its about food literally food, daily nutrition sustenance and survival not luxury, not a single crumb beyond the idea, just another years worth to keep doing the same thing that both partys know they'll claw for

[@matichagak548]

@@jamescanjuggle i think that is mentioned multiple times, and it's such a symbolic detail! Panem is Bread in latin. each district has its typical bread. the games are called the Hunger Games, not only because tributes may starve and are hungry for victory, but because the reason they are hungry for victory is that they are phisically straving where they come from. they starve every day they are not in the Capitol and everyone back home starves too. and if you win you won't starve any longer. your family won't either. for a year, your distric won't starve. a lot of attention is placed on food. something so basic but that not everyone has. collins really went for the most baseline theme and turned into a masterpiece. the amount of passages where katniss comments on the amount of food the capitol people consume or have at their disposition is incredibly big. and that's precisely one of the things that makes her angrier: that these people don't know how lucky they are to have food.

[@CorwinFound]

It also serves to make the district people feel morally complicit. "Look, you wanted your people to win, and when they do you benefit as much as anyone! You are not fundamentally different than Capitol folk." It's very similar to when someone complains about capitalism the response is, "Well if you feel that way, quit spending money!" These are systems that 99% of people cannot opt out of and yet that system works actively to make compulsory involvement feel like complicity.

[@alis49281]

And then there is the capital who has more food than they can eat.

[@DS-wp2dj]

Just as you said "if you honor your own humanity, you doom yourself", an ad came on of a teenage-looking influencer twirling and smiling in a red fast-fashion dress and it just fit that moment perfectly

[@5x5Takes]

horrific frankly

[@connor5268]

Sometimes, I absolutely love the KZbin algorithm. Sometimes, I abhor how much it has deduced.

[@RED-my9hl]

it's just a clothing ad 😂 "im 14 and this is deep" 💀

[@Grey_3438]

​@@RED-my9hlbegging you to use what few brain cells you have floating around in your head and think critically about the world around you

[@RED-my9hl]

@Grey_3438 omg im a yty 14 year old and this is so deeeeeeeeeeep bro

[@omaimaf9963]

It’s ironic how I thought that the hunger games was pure fantasy, that no human being would be able to justify innocent especially children’s deaths while watching it live, the last seven months proved me wrong.

[@sarasamaletdin4574]

If you mean war, that’s not same as reality tv. There has been plenty to others wars, like Syria and Yemen have had wars since Arab spring in 2011 and those don’t get much attention anymore.

[@LineOfThy]

@@sarasamaletdin4574 war is reality tv. that's the point.

[@gijskramer1702]

​@@LineOfThy with the way its covered yes. Ukrain is starving for attention because they know once europe and us lose interrest they lose acces to weapons. That is why, only when there is nothing happening in the world you hear of the civil war in myanmar, sudan, yemen etc.

[@Lesbianlichen]

​@@sarasamaletdin4574 The Palestinian genocide that's currently going on is being treated like reality TV by many people. I've seen many horrendous comments that are downright gleeful talking about the death of innocent children.

[@RED-my9hl]

really? only the last 7 months? are you 15 years old?

[@jade4623]

Another way the dehumanize the tributes in the later games is that they wear a uniform. Lucy really stands out in her dress and it shows her personality. Also when they die the picture in the sky states only the number of their district and not their name.

[@bradleyadams5252]

Not a person anymore, just another number...

[@RO53M4RY]

Cato’s death in the books is so sad. He ends up at the hand of the capitol’s mutts ripping him apart for HOURS only stopping when Katniss mercy kills him

[@fangsabre]

They weren't even tearing him, he was wearing body armor that protected him ankle to neck. So likely he lost his hands and feet and then beyond that they were effectively bludgeoning him to death

[@Balrog-tf3bg]

⁠@@fangsabrei can remember why hunger games gave me an existential crisis about death back in middle school after reading all the comments recapping the book

[@4niasomnia573]

And let’s not forget that the mutts attacking looked LIKE THE OTHER TRIBUTES. So he’s being attacked by (things that look like) the people he murdered for HOURS. It’s a special kind of horror that the movies didn’t touch on, either for the rating or the fact that they wanted to maintain the illusion of the spectacle for some meta commentary.

[@questioningespecialy9107]

​@@fangsabre iirc they were moreso dissecting his body while avoiding vital organs and, by time Katniss aims for the head, he looked like a meat with a face

[@mal7182]

@@4niasomnia573no they WERE the tributes, the bodies were mutated into the mutts, I almost cried when I read that Katina’s found Rue’s mutt.

[@nicestpancake]

I think the things that fuck me up every single time are the scenes where people make the handsign at Katniss during the victor tour. Those people know they're going to die- they know that they're sending a message that will get them executed. You can see it in their face. But also in their face is "I don't want to live having not said this. I would rather die letting them know that _we aren't giving up either_ than live hoping they Just Know." And it shows during the rebellion sequences. Sure, they intended to take down the dam with 13- but singing The Hanging Tree? The lumberjacks using the trees as cover as they blew up the peacekeepers? It was a unified front with little to no proper back and forth not because they all hated the Capitol- though that was certainly part of it- but because they _all loved eachother._ Fucks me up man.

[@jebb7054]

I hate that these books and movies were put into the “teen dystopian ” bracket. The example you gave with this comment proves why the Hunger Games is so powerful and why the books/movies should be taken more seriously by the general public.

[@edra2005]

Snow: "Im the true villain of the hunger games" Coin: "no i am" Dr. Gaul: *laughs in evil*

[@bradleyadams5252]

Yeah, my personal headcanon for Gaul's fate is that one of her mutts managed to get out of containment, demonstrating it's enhanced hunting methods on its creator...

[@bicuriousdirtbikeboi2594]

The scene where Katniss says “Panem today. Panem tomorrow. Panem forever,” while everyone in the district she’s talking to is screaming at them is so haunting.

[@bendackins7211]

(Maybe a not so) fun fact, thats a rewording of a part of an unfortunately very real speech made by an anti civil rights politician during the Jim Crow era south, where the infamous hook of the speech was “segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.”

[@watching7721]

The person above me is talking about George Wallace

[@darceyconway3061]

accurate representation of celebrities on twitter

[@thatoneguy9582]

@@darceyconway3061 no way “twitter bad amirite” is the main takeaway you got from this piece

[@alfredfreedomjones5105]

@@watching7721yep, Governor of Alabama

[@dawesome_sauce]

I always found it a little unnerving watching the TV promos for the last two movies in the mid-2010s. It almost felt like a parody of the spectacle critically examined in the books, but turned real on the screen in my bedroom. As if the advertisers were blissfully unaware of how much they were missing the point.

[@susanasabino]

oh, you didn't like the CoverGirl Hunger Games Makeup Collection? why not???

[@TFBPDK]

That may of been there idea, I doubt it but they could of been like imitating the capital in a way

[@mariamrtnz9889]

Life imitates fiction, especially in our world slowly turning into the capital itself, but take into consideration that maybe this type of advertisement and presentation might be necessary to survive in the a capitalist society we live in today. This film would never have reached the many eyes it has today if not for the flashy love triangle crap. But luckily for us now, we all enjoyed the films for what they presented us back then, not realizing now that we see in between the lines of their ignorance and once again we realize that capitalism will produce its own downfall.

[@amadarobles6415]

THANK YOU omg I’m not the only one who is weirded out by it. Like the thirst to watch haymitch’s games and finnick’s games. Like the point isn’t the hunger games. The point is the events leading up to the perceived necessity of the games

[@matteoromanova4582]

@@susanasabino Capitol collection, specifically. And a subway add that was equally as tone deaf in its own way, it was so jarring seeing those ads air.

[@murderofcrows5089]

One of my favorite scenes in the first movie was when Haymitch was hanging out in the capital and saw a family with the boy play stabbing his sister and he just watches them with this look of disgusted hate

[@nicoleg2544]

I can’t remember where I read this, but allegedly during the very first hunger games, the tributes refused to kill each other until the peacekeeper started shooting at them. That’s not a reflection on human nature, that’s a reflection on what happens when you, quite literally and in every sense of the word, hold a gun to somebody’s head. It’s also widely speculated that the reason why career districts very often volunteer is because their youth receives training for the arena, and they would rather go into the arena trained and armed with the skills to survive than let an untrained, starving 12-year-old walk up on stage, which is a noble cause that inadvertently makes them widely disliked by the rest of the nation because they have an unfair advantage over everybody else. In an effort to protect their weakest, they kill other people’s weakest. Additionally, the theory about the games being rigged to reap specific names is not just a fan theory. It’s something that Gail openly speculates about. He mentioned how the family members of past victors go into the games a few too many times for it to be pure coincidence. There’s another theory, not one that I’ve actually seen anybody talk about yet, regarding how Dr. Gaul manufactures the games in such a way as to affirm her own believes about human nature. I really don’t think that it were the rebels who caused the bombing of the arena in the lead up to the 10th hunger games. People were starting to get sick of the games. They didn’t want to watch children’s slaughter one other on live television. The citizens of the capital were slowly forgetting how bad the war actually was, and moving on, and Dr. Gaul could not let that happen. But up until the day of the reaping, nobody knew that children would be mentoring the district kids, so were the rebels just trying to bomb their own? I don’t think so. I think Dr. was responsible for the bombing of the arena, in order to remind people that the rebels are still a “threat”. This would serve to further dehumanize the districts, to further so the seeds of the belief that they are just wild animals in need of a cage and a tight leash, as opposed to innocent children forced to kill one another under pain of being shot in the back. In a bid to Confirm that her worldview is the only correct one, she manufactures and rigs every single possible opportunity to prove her point in her favor. However, the fact remains that Snow had more than enough opportunity to believe Lucy instead. Time and time again he was shown deliberately that Dr. Gaul’s worldview is not the only one, nor is it the correct one. And he ignored every single demonstration that he was given of the innate goodness of some people. It really goes to show that despite human nature not being this horrible, evil thing, some people really ARE born rotten, and no amount of goodness is going to convince them that the world is kind, that people are decent. Even his cousin, who was shaped by the same circumstances that he was shaped by, who is also herself an orphan and a victim of the dark days, sees the humaneness of the tributes end of the districts. The time after time he chooses to ignore it.

[@DarthRayj]

This is an *excellent* point as well. Some people, whether through upbringing or nature, really do see the world this way. The thing is, they're also an absolutely tiny fraction of the population; they aren't present in any one specific nation or culture (although some cultures might be easier for them to take advantage of); and as the video touched on a bit, the very wealthy and powerful are much more likely to see the world this way. They also just so happen to be the people with enough influence on the world around them that they can orchestrate their own proof.

[@nawarb.4226]

For me, the trafficking of Victors really drives home the fact that they didn't win at all- they just lived to see another day of being owned completely by the Capitol. (Also, it's definitely a tactic to keep the most popular Victors under control)

[@JediCody2]

As the saying goes: "Out of the frying pan and into the fire!"

[@somethingclever8916]

It's a choice between being a slave doing hard labor or a slave in a harem. Most of us would rather be in a harem having sex all day and our beauty pampered than working 16 hours days, every day until you are worked to death

[@maxrichards3881]

Finnick said it himself: The moment you leave, you're a slave.

[@BouncingTribbles]

This is kind of just what it means to be the plaything of the rich and powerful. How do you leave somewhere when they flew you there on their private plane? How do you ask for something they've said you can't have when they pay all the staff? How do you refuse a request when they just casually gave you some spending money the equivalent of half a years work at your old job? The trap for the winners is so obvious in hindsight.

[@moustik31]

Yes, this!

[@melodyashwin4643]

My favourite character is Cinna. Who humanised someone the other stylists see as a living corpse that they need to make pretty, when he walked in he resurrected her from the make over 'slab'.

[@h0taru139]

Cinna was such a gem, I wish more people analyzing HG turned their eyes toward him

[@abbiejo6822]

He really was wonderful and the actor portrayed his character beautifully - a quiet compassionate genius. I don’t think anyone who just sees the films realizes how much work he put into curating Katniss’ image as a starstruck young girl to keep her alive. With all the designs he’d made ahead of time for the rebellion and the mockingjay dress, he had to have known he was likely signing his own death warrant.

[@Pa5an1]

Cinna deserves so much love. He’s pretty much the only person who shows Katniss actual humanity in the Capitol. He doesn’t sugarcoat or pretend to be able to save her, but he does everything he can to give her some dignity back

[@animeotaku307]

Also underrated is that he works in fashion. Not only is it an area that men get mocked for working in, but it tends to get poo-pooed compared to other arts. And yet here it’s shown that, like the other arts, it can make a political statement.

[@GH-fb9dh]

It’s been a while since I last read it. Is that how they describe Katniss? Because she was starving?

[@edenglass3098]

The beautiful irony that gaul is right: the games did reveal humanity's true nature. And it revealed that, no matter how horrific the circumstances, empathy always wins.

[@tiffanywyatt5137]

It's a fictional book. Empathy doesn't won

[@InvaderHog]

My still favorite scene in the entire series is when Peeta takes the victor out to the water and tells her to look at the sky so she can focus on the colors while she is dying- he was already such an empathetic person to begin with but that scene was so well done because he gave her a last moment of true joy and peace before she died.

[@EVER_PRINCE]

One more major thing - the glamorization of the tributes actively causes the Capital citizens to view the poorer districts, 11 and 12 particularly, as more well off and put together than they actually are. Basically sweeping the harsh reality of the truth under the rug. While simultaneously turning the district against their own representative, literally seeing this child you watched grow up in your community, maybe you even know their parents, work with them even, and suddenly they’re on TV everywhere. Dressed in elaborate, exaggerated, and eccentric clothes, getting chumming with all the people who belittle and oppress you. I wouldn’t be shocked if the parents of Tributes were subject to harassment and even assault due to this.

[@MrsNgabire]

Your first point about downplaying the struggle in the districts is a good idea, I never thought of that! But the folks in the districts knew what was going on and if I remember correctly from the books, families of the (poor) tributes were actually given more care and comfort during and immediately after the games. I could've sworn I remember there being a line about those who could would bring food.

[@dazey8706]

@@MrsNgabire oh also i remember a line that said the entire district is rewarded when its tribute wins! it didnt go into full detail im super curious now! i think they just got more food and resources, maybe funds, idk

[@fangsabre]

​@@dazey8706from what I remember the victor district basically gets a feast and extra rations for the one year.

[@questioningespecialy9107]

so it's real life then

[@perkl1234]

@@fangsabre Art imitates life: the relatives of Russian KIA in Ukraine get a sack of potatoes.

[@stephenwillis6937]

I always loved that Susan made a Male Victor a victim of Sex Slavery. Sure they could have done that to a Female Victor but in a Dystopian society that would have almost been expected but we rarely if ever see Men put in that position.

[@dazey8706]

yeah actually i cant name any other media with a character that was sex trafficked as an underage boy, despite that being a more common occurance than people might think

[@lisa_wistfulone7957]

Sex trafficking of underage males is actually a huge issue. A 2008 study found that 50% of sexually exploited children in NYC were boys. Western culture and media continue to promote the idea that only females are victims, that guys are “strong, empowered, etc.” Unfortunately, this means that boys who need help are often overlooked. And apparently it’s a global problem as well. It would be helpful if more movies and media helped call attention to this.

[@KaiTheMemeKing]

Reading Finnick's account of his sexual abuse in Mockingjay is always super powerful. I wish that the movies had gone into more depth with Finnick because he loses a lot of likeability in the transition. He's still great, but nothing like Book Finnick

[@maddinar6727]

I never read the books (which I plan on changing) but I don't remember me picking up on that aspect at all. So I think you're totally correct there.

[@leila9194]

​@KaiTheMemeKing I agree. When I watched the movies I felt finnick was a side character. I didnt care as much about him. But reading the books I absolutely loved his character

[@freddytang2128]

As a big survivor fan, I can't help but notice some parallels between survivor and hunger games. At one point in a reunion show, a survivor player said that the show might be entertaining to the viewers, but there's real people involved and real relationships ruined. And the audience booed her and she had to leave.

[@XanderMatthews-nv9zf]

Jerri Manthey, god forbid she tell Keith he can’t cook rice. That shit looked like wallapaper paste

[@Ferdinand_VonAegir]

When you talked about the capitol turning the residents of the districts against each other, you reminded me one something. For the first quarter quell, the capitol made the residents of the districts pick their own tributes. Which not only meant that if you were picked, you felt incredibly betrayed by your own people, but also that you knew who or how many wanted you gone. This was a genius move by the capitol because it's the **first** quarter quell, making its twist feel deeper and have a bigger impact. Dividing the districts' communities ensured another uprising wouldn't come for a long time.

[@Butterfly-ql4pg]

Honestly goes to show why The Hunger Games is one of the few YA dystopias to have stood the test of time. Suzanne Collins took the time to craft a story and world that are genuinely complex and actually have something to say, as opposed to what most of the knockoffs did, which was essentially, "Hey, let's throw a bunch of cool and edgy teenagers--preferably straight and white and in a love triangle--into a scenario where they have to overthrow an oppressive government and hope it sells"

[@giftedfox1]

Like "Maze runner" 😂😂

[@GETitRIGHTSHANON]

*cough* divergent

[@Mara_Jade-Skywalker]

Just wanted to say I love your pfp. Also, yes, Hunger Games is actually insanely good. I almost cried, I *never* cry over books. I almost cried at Rue's death.

[@bennelong8451]

Straight and white cus that’s like 90% of readers lol

[@Butterfly-ql4pg]

​@@Mara_Jade-SkywalkerThanks! ❤

[@quillmcconnell8452]

The 3rd quarter quell bringing the winners together was the greatest act of arrogance the capital ever made, and this video explains perfectly why that is

[@gregoryherman1044]

it was partially organized by a game master working to bring down the system. It failed intentionally

[@Balrog-tf3bg]

Messed up as the games are forcing them to do it all AGAIN is pure evil

[@darkcreatureinadarkroom1617]

​@@Balrog-tf3bgand stupid as well. So far they had gotten away with manipulating poor, inexperienced _children_ . The tributes of the 3rd Quarter Quell are nothing like that, they are adults, they are "privileged" (perks of being a so-called "victor"), and above all they are SURVIVORS. They know the ropes, they probably have inside contacts in the Capitol, but most importantly they have *so much ANGER* that it should have been so obvious from the beginning why it was such a bad idea... Arrogance, cruelty and stupidity are not a great combo, yeah.

[@skittybug6937]

The best part is, the Capital didn't even make that move. At least in the films, it's shown Plutarch retrieving the third Quarter Quell paper, reading it, and then burning it. The implication being that Plutarch wrote down the whole "bring previous tributes back" thing for this express purpose. And I think that's masterful, and also adds to the idea that certain tributes are chosen for drama value. Like, what are the odds that every tribute in on the plan for rebellion is thrown into the arena? In fact, Haymitch initially intended to go in because he was aware of the plan...Peeta, who didn't know about the plan, fucked that up by volunteering.

[@mavenproductions7554]

It was definitely a bad idea. Like she said, they made a separate culture of the victors and expected them to do it all over again. But that culture, as small as it was, was unified by very similar experiences of abuse and oppression. That unity was their downfall.

[@doll_dress_swap1269]

The point about how the tributes go from being showcased as individuals right before the games to being one and the same in their uniforms once the games start is such a subtle manipulation. It means that people will only care about you if you managed to participate enthusiastically enough in the pre game pageantry to become their favorite so that they’ll be actively looking to follow what happens to you in the arena. It’s another way to force desperate compliance from the tributes to make the pageantry successful since the attention and love of the audience often means the difference between life and death.

[@paco-bp1dp]

The clip of the boy with a sword stabbing his sister is honestly sad because even as children they view the hunger games as a fun game that they want to recreate like I wouldn't doubt if they played school games about the hunger games which forms a fondness for it even before they can comprehend it

[@atleyf3500]

If cruelty is human nature, why are most examples of it artificial? In most situations, even incredibly desperate ones, collaboration is the best strategy even just from a strategic position. Humans are herd animals; we can't do a lot on our own and need a large support structure to survive. So a situation where betraying someone else is actually beneficial is very rare unless specifically created. You know what usually happens during natural disasters? People band together to support one another. To help the young and elderly, to save neighbors and make sure everyone survives. You can see that during basically every natural disaster. Even countries that are bitter enemies sent aid in situations like these. People only turn on each other during unnatural disasters. Where people starve while the shelves are full of food. Where everyone could make it but only a few are allowed to because of arbitrary rules. These kinds of disasters are always really strange to think about. What actually happens during a financial collapse? The amount of food, housing and other necessities is still the same but access to it has been made more difficult. It's a weird effect where the more I learn about the economy and how it functions on both macro and micro levels, the less it seems real. Knowing how inflation works doesn't make a situation where people starve because they can't afford the food that is still there any less stupid. Cruelty isn't human nature because in nature it's almost never beneficial. It only appears when the powerful create a world where only a few can win and unity is dispelled with violence.

[@eatatjoes6751]

I’m probably too cynical because of current events, *BUT WHAT IDEAL WORLD ARE YOU LIVING IN?!*

[@atleyf3500]

@@eatatjoes6751 Trust me I know how fucked things are currently. Our world is horrible and it makes the people that inhabit it do horrible things. But it's not “natural” and it's not the only way things can be. And yes positive change is possible. It feels ridiculous to say it isn't while living in a society with the advancements we take for granted. Every civil right be it social or worker focussed was fought for by people who came before us.

[@mariabelen03]

Yes, I recommend u the book Humankind. It talks about the goodness of human nature

[@Argenta_Rosa]

Good and evil isn't something intrinsic to nature, it is a concept invented by humanity and the ideals of it are constantly shaped over time. In the end, we are all animals trying to survive, cooperation and violence are both avenues that can lead to that survival. In a situation where cooperation is punished, violence reigns In a situation where violence is punished, cooperation reigns.

[@crairdin]

The very examples you cite of cruelty are *not* artificial and they subvert your point. It's true that collaboration is the best strategy, but it's the best strategy precisely *because* evil and cruelty are natural. Even in herd animals, the strongest don't attack the predators to protect the weak; they out-run the weak to protect themselves. "Collaboration" in this context is banding together with the other strong and fast animals to abandon the weak and survive by sacrificing a few. That's cruelty manifesting as collaboration. One of my favorite quotes on this subject is that, if they could, a 2-year-old would kill you for a cookie. We don't teach children to be evil, we have to teach them to suppress their evil, self-interested nature. We do this not because we want what is best for them, but we do it out of self-preservation. We don't want to raise generations of psychopaths. We want some cookies, too.

[@excessivelyfangirlingbookw3339]

I just realised watching your part about mentors: Haymitch could have been at most 17 yo when he participated and won. I mean, I already felt sympathy and grief for this grown man who is clearly suffering but to imagine that a *17* year old had to immediately begin coaching the year after nearly dying is…. Unimaginable.

[@spider-woman9482]

It makes me feel bad for previously laughing at his alcoholism. But to be fair, the movies def wrote it through a comedic lense :/ I should know better, that when a person has good comedic wit, they are also good at masking their pain with the same ability. Plus, I remember how people said he always smelled bad, and him insisting that he bathes. Stress hormones make your natural odor smell very unpleasant.

[@Pa5an1]

Exactly, and until Katniss and Peeta there weren’t any other victors from district 12. So he just watched two people he had to mentor die year after year. And as he grew older, those kids looked younger and younger to him. When I was a teen, 18-year-olds were full adults to me. Now I’m in my 30s and they’re so young. Trying to be the distant a…hole was probably his way of protecting himself. If the tributes don’t like him and he doesn’t like them, he won’t suffer as much once they inevitably die. On the other hand it might be even harder to deny those kids the only support they have. Of course they cling to him like they’re drowning cause they pretty much are. I think I’d be drinking too

[@chanbang378]

I think Haymitch was 16, I could be wrong on that but i remember it being said in the book but that could’ve been Katniss speculating I don’t remember. It’s worse too because not only did he almost die and experience that trauma, his whole family was killed 2 weeks after because he won in a rebellious way so he had to mentor other kids with so much trauma and losing his family… like I can’t imagine how he managed to go on, I don’t blame him for becoming an alcoholic it’s the only way he could stand to be alive. He definitely would’ve tried his best to help the other kids but it would be so difficult to witness kids you’ve mentored die year after year, especially being from district 12, the odds are not in your favour at all. No wonder he basically gave up.

[@chanbang378]

@@spider-woman9482also yeah, the movies are amazing but I don’t think the movies showed how bad Haymitch’s alcoholism is. It was more comedic and he seemed more put together movie wise. Whereas book wise people think he isn’t as likeable because he could be very mean a lot of the time, and his withdrawals are bad. You could feel how much of a struggle it is for him, and even after the war he never stops his drinking either

[@marieroberts5664]

IIRC, Haymitch was 14, one of, if not the youngest Victor of the games. Because he used the containment barrier against his opponent, allowing the girl to kill herself accidentally, the game makers needed to punish him for using their set against them, it made too much of a statement. So then they killed his family and his 'girl' friend to keep him in line, friendless and alone. And now with ABOSBAS out, it's even clearer that Snow wanted revenge against District 12... Nothing good (for him) could come from 12. Every other District had multiple winners, even the other poor districts like 11... But Haymitch had no one to prepare him, and from then on, he was the only one to be able to help out, but with the raw material he would have most years, it would be a losing proposition. And one that I bet Snow fostered against 12 as a whole, even before Katniss arrived to upend the rule he'd so carefully created and maintained. EDIT - I was wrong about Haymitch's age; he was 16 - thanks to the commenter who corrected me.

[@HeliosMij]

I remember when I argued with my 7th grade english teacher 5 years ago, about how this was not just a love story( which she insisted it was and deemed it unnecessary to read) but how it shows the different victims of manipulations and the consequences of empathy and compassion. What I always found terrifying is the aesthetic depiction of violence and abuse of the 'victors', especially after I realized how close it is to some games my friends played. This rather easily established glorification of violence honestly scares me and will never not do so. But really great video essay, i LOVED it !!

[@SamRMoyer]

What sort of games do you mean?

[@SylvainJoseGautier-]

​@@SamRMoyerjust violent games in general? I.e. Mortal Kombat, or GTA?

[@RiceCubeTech]

The fact your 7th grade teacher couldn’t read into the lines is really… off-putting and very concerning. This is someone who is supposed to be teaching our children to be critical thinkers. Instead we have someone who can’t critically think themselves. Good on you for being able to look into a story more than surface level

[@danhoenn]

I’m reminded of the title of a series of essays published as a book a few years ago: “The Cruelty is The Point.” Collins’ work is similarly meant to be a searing critique of American media and culture. Excellent video essay

[@thepeopleslast2579]

I had to take a second and compose myself after you said, "some people seeing the games as risky - but doable - escape from poverty" because it's just like the military. I come from a place that is mostly in poverty, I think the rate a couple years ago was 80% of families where I lived were under poverty, and I saw it play out everyday. Areas like mine are targeted by the military with tactics that focus on "saving your family".They show up to your school and they ask you if you want to take care of your mom, or siblings, or if you want to go to college. They show you all the ways you could escape, if you only lay down your life and risk yourself. You too can be a hero for the low low cost of your sanity and life. Edit: Even careers are a perfect depiction of the other side of the coin to army recruting. All of this sealed by the fact that you're no longer allowed to join the military once you're a full adult. I know the reasoning but its just very curious that most places stop wanting you after your brain is probably fully developed.

[@KazKindred613]

Anecdote: I went to an underfunded Philadelphia public high school, majority black and otherwise not white students. We had an "Army day" that was so surreal I felt nauseous the entire time. It was clearly recruitment nonsense, but dressed up in "do these fun exercises with your friends. If you like it you should sign up for the military!!!". There was so much about free college and employment benefits, and absolutely nothing about how it's... you know. The goddamn US MILITARY. Everyone who went through 1. Had to sign up and give their contact info to the military recruiters. 2. Got DOG TAGS at the end of the obstacle course. Genuinely one of the most disgusting things I've ever witnessed, I was so viscerally angry. And it was so so clear they were targeting a population that couldn't know any better. They were targeting 15-18 year olds with poverty and dysfunctional families. Preying on peoples' desperation is especially disgusting.

[@bellaroo5508]

winter's bone (2010) also has jennifer lawrence trying to escape generational poverty in a rural area (plot point was considering the military). very interesting parallel between these two movies

[@t.k.griffin1315]

@ bellaroo5508 Daniel Woodrell was born and now lives in the Missouri Ozarks. He left school and enlisted in the Marines the week he turned seventeen. Some of the events in Winter’s Bone happened in his life according to an article I briefly perused.

[@TheFiown]

Something they played upon during the horrible fake Vietnam war where they shipped in thousands of poor and black kids to be canon fodder knowing that they would not survive as they didn't have the drive to survive and were probably too empathic given that they were all in the same situation. This way the military used their death numbers to scare other more 'valuable' soldiers to go in a fight and leave behind any of their own empathy when taking revenge.

[@rapperx9820]

Where are you from?

[@charmainen8475]

i never noticed the chain of kindness weaving through the story. it makes absolute sense that it was Snow's downfall. It is something he could never envision especially after Gaul groomed him and it became a threat he couldn't prevent or stop. Also Gaul and her personal trolley problems is such a good way to explain it. She does the same thing when grooming Coryo; she put him in trolley problems over and over again, and gets insanely good at getting the outcome she wants, then attributes his actions, the outcome she engineered as a "characteristic of humanity undressed". Suzanne Collin's work on Nickelodeon and in the entertainement industry, the way she writes about the treatment of children in media, which she must have seen with her own eyes is.....when the nick docuseries came out, and rereading catching fire, the links between what we read about Finnick and the other victims and what we see on tv right now, i wonder how long it's going to take us and the entertainement industry to stop exploiting these poor children. Man, Suzanne Collins, the author that you are! Thanks for putting into words why I love these books so much. This is an incredible essay. Well done!

[@UmbraKrameri]

I feel like Finnick's storyline is so underrated, because prostitution is a really hard topic to talk about, especially to a younger audience. I never considered the Nickelodeon connection, but in light of the recent developments it can very well be an inspiration.

[@VesperOfRoses]

I had no idea Collins worked for Nickelodeon but... wow that contextualizes so much

[@miremiro_]

What differentiates The Hunger Games from all the other book-turned-movie dystopian stories is how CLOSELY it hits home and how justifiable the societal systems in place are. Using the reality TV format and exploitative celebrity culture that we are so used to and then pushing it as far as it can go to create this... such a genius idea. A lot of other books just relied on a gimmick that didn't really have a logical explanation or added supernatural uncontrollable elements to justify why society had become the way it did. But The Hunger Games is just our reality amplified. In a similar way to the early seasons of Black Mirror, seeing the elements of our current society reflected in the story is what makes the movie so fascinating (and scary) to watch.

[@PsRohrbaugh]

As a depressed teen, I actually fantasized about being a tribute. Being forced into a situation where I have no choice, and I'll either end up rich and famous, or dead. No mediocre in-between. I think you did a great analysis of the series, and brought up a lot of deeper meanings I was only partially aware of. But I think there's also a perverse appeal to something like the hunger games for people in dark places mentally.

[@ms.x1669]

I was a depressed teen but I'm 30 now. I know exactly how you feel because I went through it. Hopefully you'll get better.❤ Good luck.

[@bigj1905]

I like how the Third Quarter Quell, in Snow’s arrogance and need to eliminate Katniss, violates a lot of these rules: 1. It showed the victors were still only slaves to the capital, despite their better status within their districts. 2. The extra ‘rewards’ are now gone. The only thing they have to gain is their lives, but they all know that even if they win, their lives still won’t be their own, so what’s the point? 3. They can all relate to each other much more easily. Their from different districts, but they have all suffered and been punished by the Capital, so their is a more natural unity between them. 4. They have, in many ways, become masters of manipulating the Capital, and by putting them all in the same place, it made it so much so that it made creating and planning a rebellion that much easier.

[@Landis963]

Put that way, I'm reminded that the Quarter Quell gimmick of having returning champions might have been Heavensbee's idea - a subtle, sneaky nod to his ulterior motive.

[@evaroovers4871]

Heavensbee was a master for suggesting the idea to Snow.

[@IMU23588]

They did not give the capitol much of a choice. The capitol could not allow people to see that it's power can be defied again. As for snow, he saw Lucy in Katniss and that haunted him. He just wanted her dead

[@ariel6574]

great points! and i can't help but think that after years of being victors and mentors, they all knew each other and some of them were friends!! so they were much more likely to care for the others, even in the arena

[@IMU23588]

@@ariel6574 And that's why the capitol had to show people, that even victors can't afford to be kind, can't afford to do whatever they want

[@aria5614]

If you dump a bunch of random strangers in the woods with a book of survival techniques, they'll pull together and help each other survive. It would'nt be a utopia, people are still people, but they wouldn't start mercilessly killing each other either.

[@jauxro]

that's why the Capitol kills those who refuse to fight, and offer rewards

[@annistar9693]

Have you read lord of the flies

[@papillondumonde7887]

I come from a country where there was genocide. Neighbors killing each other. So I disagree. We're all evil to some degree.

[@yourshoulderdevil5229]

​@@annistar9693 Lord of the Flies is fictional and wasn't meant to be a critique of human nature in the way people usually use it. It was actually about the meaninglessness of war, and the man who wrote it made almost everything up and it wasn't really based on any real situations. Additionally, a situation similar to Lord of the Flies happened in real life and all the people apart of it worked together and survived.

[@elisebrown5157]

@@yourshoulderdevil5229 I was just going to say this. It was even kids who all pulled together and survived. We aren't inherently evil, there are just ways the evil side can win in certain circumstances.

[@LocalAceAJ]

I thought about another aspect of the dehumanization or disconnection of the tributes. The fact that they call each other by their district numbers instead of their names. If I recall correctly (it’s been a while since I’ve seen the movies), Katniss was initially just referred to as “Twelve,” ofc aside from Peeta.

[@herlocksholmes-uv5qw]

She was! I remember Thresh calling her 12 when he tells her he'll spare her for Rue's sake. I do not remember the others, unfortunately, but I do remember Thresh

[@Gee_lostintheprescriptions]

I think that's why characters such as Effie and especially her assistants were so important. Because even Katniss, despite it all, could see how genuine they were as they "cared" for her. I think it's so smart to make those kind of characters not perfect and unlikable antagonists, but just people who, just as katniss, grew to be who they are because of their environment. I feel like every character in the hunger games had this thing that you've perfectly explained, that in different circumstances, they could've been each other.

[@AlumAssocHunter]

This is a brilliant analysis of the story. The movies did an excellent job of translating the books to the screen, but I always regret one of the small things they left out: that after Rue's death, Rue's district sent Katnis BREAD. In the book Katnis figures out it's from District 11 because of the type of bread it is: what it's made of and how each district has different. 'signature' bread if you will, due to what they have available to them to make bread from. The idea that a district of extremely poor people pooled their resources to they could send the girl who survived an attack that killed one of their own children is a HUGE step at the idea that people are starting to see other districts as not their enemy. It's a show of solidarity among people who are expected to view each other as rivals, as enemies. It was one of the most powerful moments in the books, for me, and I was so sad they didn't put it in the film. I understand why they did it, since it would have been hard to translate Katnis's point of view narrative that gives most of the information about that event, so the screen where we can't hear her thoughts. It's a logical thing to leave out. But I'm sad nonetheless.

[@DavidMadrigalHernandez]

What’s also interesting about that bread scene: the only reason Katniss even KNEW what each district’s “signature bread” was is because she was taught about them by Peeta. In a way, its also a sign that she was willing to actually listen and learn from Peeta (and could have also alluded to her liking him enough to be interested in learning something from him)

[@Pirates.27]

Yes thank you for making me remember this! Such a powerfull moment. They made other scenes from different points of view in the movies, so I don't understand why not to include this tho.

[@dandelionwitch3155]

​@@Pirates.27it's mostly time screen sadly. because for the bread scene to happen you need an introduction to the types of bread and Peeta needs to talk about it. Or have a way of showing the viewer this. Because of a simple rule: "do not assume other people are on the same page" so they can't just go and show them a piece of bread to Katniss and say "Rue's family sent it to you" because also, that makes it lose meaning. The idea that she paid attention to Peeta. To other districts. To all that. Needs screen time. And sometimes it's better to cut off things. 😢

[@Pirates.27]

@@dandelionwitch3155 makes sense to me. There was not much time to even introduce the other districts apart from one liners in the carriage scene so most people who didn't read the book would not even remember the significance of the d11 and that they are agricultural.

[@YouveBeenMegged]

Also, the fact that she is able to figure out which district it came from, due to seeing it in the Capitol, and specifically says “my thanks to *the people of District 11”* to the camera. Not just “Rue’s family.” The *people.* They could see that she saw them, acknowledged them, _remembered them,_ and that probably meant a lot.

[@nora2870]

i loved the part where you talked about compassion and empathy rippling outward and that being the downfall of the games. snow tries to discredit katniss and the rebellion by describing katniss as just "another face plucked from the masses"... but he doesn't understand that that's exactly what gives her power. katniss is from the poorest part of the poorest district. she is another child, just like the many children of the districts, faced with misfortune and poverty. and the district people see themselves in her. one of my favorite parts in the books was when district 11, struggling and poor, sent katniss a roll of bread after she mourned and humanized rue in the games. i also appreciate you touching on how effie is sincere in believing that the games are a symbol of the capitol's generosity, and how capitol citizens, while to a much lesser extent, are oppressed as well. in the books, katniss genuinely cares for her stylists, as morbid as they are, because she sees them as naive and weak, and recognizes how while they are complicit in the games, they are desensitized to all the violence. the district people and the capitol citizens are oppressed in two different ways. capitol citizens have to yield their power to snow in exchange for their "bread and entertainment" or "panem et circenses" and if they step out of line, they can be executed just like seneca or cinna.

[@megancastle5573]

Oh you reminded me of the scene in catching fire where katniss' styling team has to leave the room one by one because they can't stop crying. Even THEY see it as cruel to send someone they thought was safe to care about back in, but still have to do their job.

[@jessieornot6121]

i believe katniss describes them as something along the lines of colorful, odd pets or birds or something like that, which describes them pretty well

[@StrawberrySauce64]

The Hunger Games kind of remind me of something my Drama teacher told me a few years ago “To be an actor you have to act like your audience to be relatable. To be famous in the eyes of perfect you have to sacrifice others and most of always yourself. One day the role you play the most, will eventually be you.”

[@lauriensnijers2322]

the horiffic thing is that in this current world you have to put aside your empathy to survive yourself. Nobody wants to exploid workers in china by buying from shein, but they can't afford good clothing, nobody wants to put others down but sometimes you have to just to survive

[@sugarsunshineandcarbs]

I think that The Hunger Games is a perfect analogy of the soullessness of how celebrities are created, they are turned into a spectacle, chewed up then spat out, no matter what cruelty they're put through or what cruelty they themselves are guilty of they're expected to put on a show and become dehumanised

[@maryv5815]

I think this is something a lot of people don't get about Taylor Swift. Whether you enjoy her music or not, her grip on sanity and empathy is insanely good considering what she's been through. Her documentary "Miss Americana" is a really, really good watch.

[@naiaddore1797]

These books and movies remind me that terrible things can befall a society if two conditions are allowed to persist; apathy and nihilism. When people are inundated with horrible things on a daily basis, eventually empathy becomes exhausted and people become more apathetic. Then that apathy can be used as a tool to whittle down people's hope for the future to a point that nihilism sets in and when the majority of a society is filled with both, that's when evil can take over. As the saying goes: "All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing." Now I'm not saying that this will happen to everyone, there's always going to be some who have the mental fortitude to stand against it, but it makes it harder to fight when the majority is overwhelmed with those two factors.

[@beneesodeinde5170]

I truly believe that’s exactly what’s happening right now Palestine, Congo, Myanmar, the Uighur Muslim concentration camps in China, Sudan etc these wars are all ongoing and when you research why it’s just as pointless as the games and we all watch a lot of the evil and violence in the world go on and even if you do care there is a feeling of hopelessness because once you start caring where can you stop? So for many it feels like apathy is the only way to survive.

[@johannageisel5390]

@@beneesodeinde5170 Very true. There is so much horror going on in the world, and the world itself is being destroyed along with the future of humanity. But you have to deal with your own problems too and there is only a tiny bit of energy left to maybe do something, but you exactly that this tiny bit will change exactly nothing. Because the governments already don't care about you, so how would you try and convince them to do anything?

[@tiffanywyatt5137]

Y'all complain and do nothing to help lol

[@prettypic444]

I really don’t think people pay enough attention to Katniss’ class at the beginning of the book. She’s in the lowest class of the worst district. She’s been her family’s primary protector and provider since she was 11, and knows what it feels like to starve. She’s had PTSD and attachment issues even before the games from her father’s deaths and mother’s depression (honestly, katniss’ relationship with her mother is one of the themes that I really wish could have been explored in more depths. Going from being a child to being a provider because your primary caregiver has just shut down and then having to go back to being a child due to a sudden windfall is a novel all in its own). If she was in the real world, she wouldn’t be an average suburban teen, she’d be a poor dropout in a poor area with a record as long as your arm doing 3 different semi illegal jobs to make sure her sister doesn’t have to. She’s not a middle class Everyman, she’s an EXTREMELY troubled youth who was doomed by the system even before she stepped into the arena. There are MILLIONS of Katnisses out there in the world that we’ve been conditioned not to empathize with. If the readers met someone like her in real life, they’d wrinkle their nose and hold their phones in a death grip.

[@BagOCheetos]

I am a disabled combat veteran. This video essay is fantastic. I have personally experienced and witnessed firsthand what conditioning can do, and the brutal outcomes of acting on such violent conditioning. I have also personally experienced and witnessed our innate desire for solidarity and cooperation amid even the most absurdly inhuman conditions. I have also seen what trauma can turn people into. That trauma forced me to exercise that empathy muscle, if I hadn't I would have disappeared myself a long time ago. I discovered along the way that violence is unnecessary, we are just conditioned to believe that it is.

[@liliaeth]

When you were talking about Cesar Flickerman, I couldn't help think of something in the books. Where Katniss thought back on how Cesar would during his interviews get the tributes to tell personal things about themselves. Like how one girl told him about playing piano. And then the capitol put piano strings in the cornucopia as a weapon. Allowing another tribute to kill the girl in question with said piano strings. Another way to dehumanize the tributes, and making any personal thing about them as something that can be used against them. Especially when you then think about how victors were supposed to have an 'interest' that was then focused on in their victory tour, as a part of turning them into celebrities, another form of dehumanizing them.

[@lunchbrush]

Another thing, exchanging goods for more odds of getting reaped is an incentive for districts to keep having children and not a district suddenly dissapear. People need children to exchange goods because there is an age limit.

[@Marialla.]

OH wow I never thought of that! All through the books Katniss keeps saying she never wants to marry or have children because she'd never watch one go through that. I always wondered why everyone didn't have her same attitude. But then again, tesserae weren't a generous portion. I don't think it would offset the cost of having children to feed all year.

[@blueberry_lemon]

@@Marialla. I looked at the Hunger Games wiki page on tessera to refresh a bit. Katniss' family struggled a lot, she took a tessera for herself, her mother, and her sister every year since she was 12. You could only take one per family member, and the yearly entries carried over into each year. I remember part of the shock of Primrose being reaped was because she never took a tessera. Maybe the stress over the years of being her family's caretaker, risking her life for grain and illegal hunting, is what made her not want kids, not wanting them to have to take the same risks to feed her. I realized, the year Katniss volunteered, neither of the chosen tributes ever took a tessera - Primrose had Katniss, and Peeta had the bakery. Even though Katniss had 20 entries that year, Gale had 42 (he was the oldest of 4, and had his mother), and other children with more family members could have had even more entries than them. I wonder how other families in District 12 were. If most children end up taking tessera for their whole family, I think that would put less pressure on each individual child.

[@Moocow2003]

That's so interesting to think about.. I think it also gives the Capitol, and the tributes, an illusion of personal responsibility. The tributes chose to take out tesserae, knowing this could happen to them. It absolves the Capitol of part of the responsibility for the Reapings. of course, if they have tesserae to give out then they have the resources to supply the Districts with more food than they actually do. this is just another form of population control.

[@millicentduke6652]

Gods, it’s just war under a magnifying lens with all the ignored parts brought to the foreground

[@rickwrites2612]

The use of the word "Capital" to describe the place and culture of the villains was such a clever double entendre. Especially when you hear is spoken repeatedly ie "the problem with capital" "the citizens of capital think theyre helping" etc. Just brilliant use of tragic satire.

[@bradleyadams5252]

We are the capitol. Squabbling over petty struggles while so many others don't have access to clothes, clean water, ect. We may not have gladiatorial sports, but you never know where the wind will blow...

[@Zxykary]

I wish Suzanne would write more books about the other games, but she said she only ever writes them when she has commentary on philosophy, etc. I also unfortunately think the response to Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes will make Lionsgate less likely to blindly accept a movie deal like they did when the prequel was announced. This series has so much MORE potential that I doubt we’ll ever get to see because everyone’s so worried about it not being “as good” as the original trilogy, which is an impossible bar and we should just move on and explore what else there is that can be told about the world of Panem.

[@Garage-Catto]

I never got the hate both the film and the book got. They are both extremely well written in their own right. When both the book and film were announced the fans were furious because Snow, the villain who we all hate, was the protagonist and not someone more loved like Haymitch. The film especially received hate because people thought it was just another cash-grab poorly written attempt at reviving the franchise like many other studios have done recently, completely forgetting about the book. Now people want a Haymitch film to be made, I can see it happening because Haymitch was the prequel protagonist a lot of the fans wanted.

[@Zxykary]

@@Garage-Catto Honestly I wish we’d get an anthology Show where each Season is a different Games and the audience has no way to know who wins. Maybe start it with the 11th, hop forward to the 25th, 30-and-40-somethings, and have it lead into the Haymitch Film. Plus, those are early enough where they won’t disrupt Canon too much. You could even bring in the same Actors for cameos, I can’t remember when the Epilogue said Snow got rid of Gaul, but they could feature that and the breakdown of his and Tigris’ relationship, etc. The only thing I hate about THG Films is how they got rid of Madge and the Undersee/Donner families, it hurts any future story about the Second Quell.

[@ididitoutofspite986]

I'm happy un was about Snow I mean, sure, Haymitch is cool and all, but I love that we got to take a look at what was brewing in Snow's mind It's one of the few books/movies where we get to know the villain without them being washed clean (looking at you, Disney) I did empathize with Snow somewhat but at the end of the day despite me UNDERATANDING this point of view there was no doubt he's I'm the wrong

[@bennelong8451]

Honestly after the Star Wars sequel trilogy we should just be happy they aren’t making sequels

[@ididitoutofspite986]

@bennelong8451 yes! The sequels ruined the franchise for me

[@poenpotzu2865]

As much as people have been critical of the love triangle I do appreciate the Hunger Games portraying the politics of media ans performance reinforcing the social norms and economic status quo.

[@tjardmeyer9209]

I think the love triangle in hunger games is actually really well done. Mostly because it doesn’t really exist in the same way most do, there is no question of who will be picked or some dumb will they or won’t they dance. At no point in the story does Katniss have any romantic feelings about Gale all of the tension in it comes from Gales side of things. It’s actually a pretty good subversion of the typical love triangle you see in YA. It’s also worth noting that she really doesn’t develop much in the way of feelings for Peter (or at least doesn’t realize she has) until they are out of the games. It’s not until the cameras are off and they both are trying to heal and forget that any real relationship begins to form.

[@upsetstudios1819]

I personally never saw it as a love triangle. Gale represented home and peace and forests and hunting, a quiet future where Katniss could one day braid Prim's hair for her wedding day. Peeta cared deeply for Katniss, and her for him. But for most of the book, she's a traumatized teenager. Romantic love isn't a priority when she's so busy trying not to die or trying to prevent her loved ones from dying.

[@Ahoyyy_apri]

I think the live triangle works well as a metaphor,partly because Katniss doesn’t seem to ever actually have romantic feelings for either throughout the book; with Peeta it was a show she put on to survive and with Gale it was basically her trying to do what she thinks he wanted bc she’s scared of loosing him, and outright rejection may do that. But as a metaphor, they represent the two reactions she could ace: Gale is angry, vengeful, and doesn’t care that in order to make them pay he has to sink down on their level. Peeta represents peace and hope, because he is kind and diplomatic. I think the fact it’s a metaphor and the fact that, even though she does care for both in some capacity, she didn’t like either of them romantically for the majority of the books makes it sets it apart from a typical love triangle trope

[@sarahlandis289]

Yeah it's interesting because Katniss is in survival mode for nearly the whole trilogy so feeling romantic towards anybody is out of the question, there's no room in her brain for it because she's too busy just trying to survive

[@plaplaks]

Was it ever even a love triangle. Katniss didn’t even like gale like that and he barely had screentime anyway

[@MeLMeLMox]

at 24:15 "star crossed lovers" means love will end tragically,this implies that they predict that they'll both die anyways further glorifying their death for the capital's intertainment

[@Elizabeth-hc3mi]

Katniss had an incredible ability to see past societal and circumstancal pressure to always treat others with dignity. From the way she refused to kill Peeta and Rue, to how she took care of her prep team in district 13. Katniss brought down the games twice. Once with the berries, and the second by killing Coin in part to prevent a capital Hunger Games. She was amazingly empathetic and shockingly peaceful.

[@angrycrab5501]

Something I noticed about the "love story" aspect of the games is how it's portrayed in the movies. When peeta and katniss aren't truly in love their surroundings and clothes are dull and grey and dark and when they are in love or when someone is like finicky and Annie they are in bright light and clothes

[@janelleg597]

Yes. Completely on purpose.

[@Kangakool]

I encountered a fascinating phenomenon. When watching the original Hunger Games (the 74th), we the audience for the most part only really empathize with Katniss and Peeta, the characters we have followed and know best. The only real exception is Rue, because Katniss cares about her. The other characters are for the most part are unknown, and so we don’t feel for them quite as much. But when i saw the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, that all change. The movie put us behind the scenes with them. We saw kids with disabilities. We got to see and hear their fears and complaints. My boyfriend sobbed for the girl with Down Syndrome. Humanizing makes death hurt. Sensationalizing it makes you numb to it.

[@ctdaniels7049]

In a vast and indifferent universe, you can choose to be kind.

[@ellanorevannin4147]

Katniss valunteering is remarkable as she is the first volunteer in her district. That means that all those other kids were never rescued by a family memeber. Imagen the guilt, grief, relief and self hatred the siblings of the reeped felt. They could sacrifice themselves for their sibling. But they don't. Just like Peeta's older brother doesn't volunteer in his brother's place. This also turns them against eachother. In the reeping it is every man for himself. But Katniss defies that. She does what no one ever dared to do before.

[@charlottezoller1579]

"If empathy is a muscle, then every day is a chance to exercise it" Beautifully true.

[@branddransnothingbuthands599]

I feel like the scariest part after realising how fucked up this, in some way, we are also capitol people as well. I found myself cheering with them when my favourite character in the movie is winning, I found myself liking the girl who had “fake empathy” towards the district 12 kids. I enjoyed the commentary lucky fisherman gave. It’s sick because of how perfectly balanced the horrifying truth of kids killing each other in the game but they are advertised to be “I am quirky/strong/shy/proud, vote for me!” AND I FOUND MYSELF ROUTING FOR CATNIS through the commentary, through the games. It’s some sick type of comedy or irony. That we ourselves indulge in this. We can go so deep into this because “It’s just a movie” “it’s just entertainment”, desensitising us with this horrible dystopian.

[@mariaxeldridge]

every time people ask for a TV show or more movies of each year of the games i’m in stunned horror that this seems to fly over so many people’s heads

[@DarthRayj]

This is the part that I think makes this into a masterpiece of fiction. It forces the reader/watcher to recognize our place and the fact that we are not immune to propaganda, if we actually analyze the content even a little. At least in the first book, we are absolutely doing exactly what everyone else in the capitol is - cheering for our favorite (which is probably katniss because we've been primed with her life story and relatability, so it's almost like we're from her district), and being happy when she manages to "win" even with the cost. The further entries explore this a lot more clearly, especially once she's turned into a propaganda hero for the rebellion, suddenly we're buying into their propaganda! We're happy when she "wins" again, despite the pretty brutally shown cost to her and so many others. There's even a certain sense of disappointment when she doesn't do the expected thing at the end of the series, but I see it as her being true to herself and refusing to be a pawn again, whether for her own survival, the cause she was never really fighting for, or the entertainment of the reader/watcher. Tearing others down for the entertainment of the masses is what the Games were all about, and if you get too wrapped up in that mindset, the overall story feels like it didn't fulfill that. But that's because the actual story is about the much less flashy and entertaining rebellion that comes from not only refusing to participate in that way of thinking, but fighting it wherever it shows up, even (or especially) if it's in people or places you love. We must recognize the humanity of others, even those in horrible circumstances or doing things we can't imagine doing ourselves, or we can so, so easily be convinced to not only justify but even support horrific acts.

[@RED-my9hl]

you are just the viewers, nothing important

[@mariaxeldridge]

@@RED-my9hl most ridiculous take i’ve ever heard lmfao

[@RED-my9hl]

@mariaxeldridge we get it, you're a 14 year old American white woman who thinks you're important, the narcissism from you is not lost on me 💀

[@arseen33]

Here I was thinking I was just going to watch an interesting video essay, and I can barely make it through the video. This is how disability works in the US. People in the Us, when was the last time you saw something televised about disability that wasn't specifically to entertain and inspire? Most disabled people on benefits can't even have more than $2000 in their bank accounts or, depending on the person, any credit, so you have no safety net at all. And you're audited by the government, in case you're tempted to keep cash. (Which a lot of people do anyways, having to choose between safety and fraud) When the capital is talking about letting people live because they're merciful, I've heard almost that exact same sentence in real life. They televise people who become special olympic athletes or write inspiring books for abled people and tell us that if we work hard enough, we can escape poverty. But even if we aren't making enough to live on, being able to make money counts against you and people get their benefits cut off. But the pressure to try is ever-present, because it's a risky escape into a higher class with a better life. US citizens are constantly being pitched against each other by being told their taxes are high because of social security disability income, when most disabled people in the US are on social security income. SSDI is a tax-based system, you have to be abled enough to be working and paying taxes already in order to qualify. Paying a certain threshold of taxes is how you get in, and get more rights. But you have to still be "disabled enough" to not be kicked off for being abled enough to work. Usually it's people with specific disabilities, which causes rifts in opinions within the disabled community. People who can HAVE businesses, published books, etc. (most of us can't, along with property and inheritance) more commonly have louder, more empowering opinions about "earning their own money" that get televised and written about, when that can be a death sentence for the larger group. This is probably too long and too serious for a comment on youtube. I just never registered the similarities before now and it's flooring. I'm still having the urge to make all of this palatable and hopeful even while writing it, because that's how I've been conditioned to present disability to people to prevent rocking the boat. It's such a short jump into politics and anger. The fact that we have no right to medical treatment. Questions about earning and deserving in a society where everyone is fighting to get by and hanging onto what belief systems help them do that. And most of the time, those aren't even our political questions. They're other people's that we trip over just by existing, because we've been made enemies in a system that hurts all of us.

[@landofthehazymist]

fitting bc panem is supposed to be a vision of futuristic US

[@SchwarzesSchweigen]

I work at a community health centre, and I will never forget the terrified call of a patient begging her doctor to authorize an early release of her meds. The reason? After years receiving social assistance, working hard on her recovery and skills, she got herself a job... and was promptly rewarded by the immediate termination of her benefits, including drug coverage for the meds that helped her manage her symptoms well enough to work, which she could not afford out of pocket.

[@squeakybgaming]

A-FREAKING-MEN. I got that the first time I read the books, and I cried my way through the trilogy. The movies were more overt about it even while not spelling it out as much, but the "make yourself sick to be able to eat more" really stood out as the perfect mindset of how the disabled are NEVER "good enough" to be thought of as "useful," but are also NEVER "sick enough" to get the aid that's desperately needed. Like, sure, use your SNAP card, but if you want anything else from us, you HAVE to prove you're empty enough to be worthy. Drink that pearlescent potion. Arrive, shaky and sweating, back to the banquet to receive more food since you've proven you're willing to do whatever it takes to be considered a "real" human worth paying attention to, and worth "rewarding." Lucy having that initial immunity to the snakes is placing value on playing the game, but only as long as you're not seen as knowing you're playing. Have to simper, malinger, stay what they expect.

[@JaxAndree]

Well said. Being disabled sucks so bad.

[@Mello-td6vt]

a few things about your analysis reminded me of what's happening in palestine, especially with the met gala recently. celebrities and rich people being the capitol and palestine being (please forgive me for putting this so bluntly) district 12 essentially: the met gala being a show of wealth vs. people being starved and killed. i saw a post on tumblr about this and the juxtaposition of zendaya looking and posing like a capitol citizen from the movies vs. a child screaming is terrifying

[@stupidvideoman3187]

Yup, its intentional. The capitol is meant to represent the global North, meaning the USA and Europe, while the districts represent the global south, the victims of western capitalist imperialism.

[@sunkissedking]

Girl, this was good asf. Lmao! I was like, "who this? I need to sub," and I was already subbed. I'm cackling.

[@5x5Takes]

i didn’t post for so long that i lost my brand recognition 😩

[@sunkissedking]

@@5x5Takes Lol, fr. The Netlfix ATLA already dropped and everything. You better get on it.

[@5x5Takes]

enough people have dunked on it. i am good :)

[@sunkissedking]

@@5x5Takes Lmao, that sucks. I saw your other video mentioning it, so I didn't know if you'd follow up. I thought it was a lot of fun. I hate that everyone had such grand expectations.

[@5x5Takes]

@@sunkissedking i’m going to make a patreon video on my thoughts. but overall, it was just a rehash of what is a wonderfully written show, while misunderstanding the elements (haha) of what made it great. it’s not the worst thing ever made, but when the original exists, there’s no comparison in which tells the more compelling story. the netflix version also flattened many characters in a way that i found truly just sad

[@indigo4526]

I think The Hunger Games are especially relevant right now as we scroll from TikTok dances to the genocide of Palestinians. It feels like living in the Capitol, watching people die, pretending like they’re so far removed from us. All other content just feels like a distraction from it.

[@koboldcatgirl]

I think Panem makes a lot of sense when you see the Capitol as the USA as a whole, or even the Global North itself.

[@SylvainJoseGautier-]

​@@koboldcatgirlI'd just say first world countries in general. Australia, Japan, USA, South Korea, Canada, England, etc. all aren't to far away from the Capital

[@adjadenisedoumbia9305]

It's so sad

[@wageewije5630]

@@SylvainJoseGautier- I'm from 3rd world country and I agreed.I always thought that when we get suffer because of the power struggles of those countries.justlike in districts we can't do anything but accept them because so many things are at sake .And it really surprised me they think of gaza is as the first war or something.It's been happening all around us .my country was in a war for like 80 years.And the ones who sell 🔫 🔫 are west.TO BOTH SIDES

[@alexanderwilson3096]

​@@wageewije5630no theres more uproar against Gaza cuz its happening so quick in a short span of time so many innocent murdered, all our governments provide weapons to Israel too to allow them to keep murdering innocents

[@i-understood-that-referenc3355]

Some food for thought: in the TBOSAS book, when the bell went off and the games started, there was no instant death, instant action like we saw in the movie; in fact, most of the tributes ran away. But of course, no violence is boring to watch, right? So that’s not the way it was translated into film. Oddly disturbing when you think about it.

[@Pandozzi]

This is such a brilliant essay. In todays climate i cant help but see the mirror it hold to our society. How we interact with, and almost consume, wars for example. completely dehuminise the side we view as evil, infantilse the side we view as virtuous, all for our own sake, how we perceive ourselves, and in a way, entertainment. We use the tragedy of others to make ourselves feel human. Just like the false empathy the capital feels towards the tributes, and the sense of charity they feel towards the districts.

[@aria5614]

It was truly something when the rebellion reached the capitol and not only did the citizens not know how to handle it, but they were disposable to the military. Like a fancy pet kept by Snow. Everyone was caged. Even those who thought they were at the top.

[@taylorplummer9185]

Suzanne Collins is such a genius in my opinion, the depth of insight into modern culture and the intricacies of her metaphor only hit closer and closer to home the deeper you look. Gregor the Overlander is also an amazing series of hers that does not get as much attention because there isn’t a movie- if you're a fan of the Hunger Games you should also read those.

[@5x5Takes]

i read those in elementary school!!! MAN i had forgotten

[@DarthRayj]

@@5x5Takes I had completely forgotten that those books were also her, but now I absolutely can see it. And I feel like they put a lot of focus on the faults in hero worship, glamorizing war, etc, etc. Damn, I might have to find and reread those soon.

[@idontneedaname318]

I read Gregor the overlander and reread it a couple years ago bc I read that when I was 9 and yet the final sequences of the last book HAUNTED ME for YEARS after the fact

[@DarthRayj]

@@idontneedaname318 I don't even remember how it ended tbh, either I never finished the series or I just forgot. It's possible the final book hadn't come out when I was reading through it and then I missed when it came out.

[@itsalexcolorburst]

Another aspect of the Careers that I find disturbing is that they are being raised as weapons. They're being trained and prepared for the slim chanve that they may fight in the games. If they do end up Victors, they are left with nothing. Their whole lives were built for that game and now along with the PTSD, they have to rethink their purpose in a seprate way from the other districts.

[@s_mai8970]

The worst part is we do have the Hunger Games in real life. Met Gala every single year is only the tip of the iceberg, but serves well as proof of it.

[@Kibui]

So The Hunger Games often get grouped together with a lot of the other dystopian YA works and in a way it fullfills or even created a lot of that "genre's" clichees. The love triangle. The "teen overthrows government". The "getting to wear pretty dresses". Etc. I never liked these stories for how badly they were written in a lot of cases but for some reason I never felt like that about the Hunger Games. Even when I revisited the series, I still loved it as much as before. I thought that perhaps the Hunger Games were an exception because of nostalgia. But the longer I thought about it, the more I could see the reasons why this story isn't as superficial and badly thought out like so many others. The author truly had a message they wanted to convey. A thene to explore. The love triangle is less a situation where the main character struggles to choose one partner whilst lusting over them the entire time and more of a journey to learn to genuinely love a person and appreciate their qualities (or see their flaws). Katniss isn't actually the one doing the most in the rebellion. She's the face and the spark, but not the one holding the strings. You could even make an argument that District 13's use of her mirrors that of the Capitol in a way. And the pretty dresses? They all serve one or multiple functions. Then of course, there's also the whole political and societal angle which this video analyzes so amazingly. Really, this series has so many facetts and angles to look at and all this hasn't even accouted for the artistic angles yet, like paranoid, uneasy and dreary atmosphere you get from especially the first book/movie

[@valgardener7656]

I was very struck by how grateful Katniss was towards Ceasar Flickerman, just because he stepped in to help her out at a difficult part in her interview. The most interesting part of Mockingjay was the conflict between Gale and Katniss, because she felt loyalty to her "team". She saw them as friends who truly cared about her, while Gale saw them as her oppressors.

[@zvezdoblyat]

I don't blame Katniss. It's obvious that they're completely clueless to the reality of life in the districts. In many countries, even first world countries, there are homeless and starving people everywhere. I seriously doubt a lot of people know what that really feels like, what it looks like. The prep team are not the ones contributing to the suffering of the districts. They are just consumers. Gale just not understand that because he's angry, but he's too cowardly to be angry at the right people. If he understood, he would have recognised Coin's hypocrisy, and Prim would not have died. If you disagree with the Capitol citizens being innocent, think back to the outcry at Katniss being pregnant. And please think of yourself. Do you think you're innocent? Every time you eat a chocolate bar or use your phone, remember that thousands if not millions of people and children have died for them. Sold into slavery go bring you a moment of gratification. They have no idea what your life is like, and if they were to live your life for 1 week it would seem as utopic as the tribute centre, filled with comfort, food, and relaxation.

[@nicolovespanda]

@@zvezdoblyatyou're real asf and i keep thinking about this fact as i crave chocolate

[@Ali-yi9sd]

one of the sadder parts of desensitization in the ballad of songbirds and snakes is in the beginning of the book when snow just thinks that his cousin Tigris, was able to repair his shirt by selling her body in a passing way, as if it is a regular thing and nothing to care much for

[@penelopelandon]

Our society is so good at take empathy already, this is basically where we're headed minutes the pomp and people don't even care. Met gala this year was going on in direct timing with atrocities beyond imagining.

[@cedarmay4245]

There was a podcast I was listening to (I’ve forgotten the name) that mused about what life is like during the hunger games, are there streaming sites where you can rewatch the games and if so are there recap podcasts, are there fanfic sites that write about Katniss and peeta’s love story. The lumber district, how do they feel knowing that out of the 24 coffins they make every year two of them will most likely house their own. Ect

[@mahnoorkhan3350]

Hi if you ever remember the name of the podcast I'd really like to listen to it too

[@juliaseibs8840]

I don't think anyone will read this but I remember this memory while watching this, this was my moms favorite movie and book series and she wanted me to watch it, but when I was like 12-14 I couldn't every time I got to the arena part I started uncontrollably sobbing and couldn't watch because I was like omg I cannot watch people dying especially kids. Fast forward to now I am unfortunately so desensitized to seeing people in pain that I have a smaller reaction to seeing real people getting hurt or pass on videos that are from like TikTok or insta. Or shudder at a balloon popping in a public arena. It's so sad and I wish I could go back to having the sanctity of being sensitive to violence.

[@meeblemoo565]

It makes me think about growing up middle class, and my dad carefully teaching me how to not give money to people asking for it on the street. All the rehearsed lies, fed to me and other people of my class in order to reduce that instinctive empathy. Versus now, all my many friends who are poor demonstrate so, so much more compassion. Being wealthy requires a lack of empathy. Because if you were empathetic, you wouldn't be wealthy anymore, you'd have shared it all with others who need it.

[@MaximusOfTheMeadow]

I absolutely love these films, how one act of sisterly love can topple a government That's my life philosophy, how everyday deeds of common kindness keep dictators from power

[@sarahlandis289]

I can't believe you don't have more likes. I wholeheartedly agree

[@nope19568]

i dont think i could see anybody but Stanley tucci as ceaser now lol, he did it so well!

[@yourlocalbi9811]

This is an aside, but can we talk about how Stanley Tucci NAILED Cesar Flickerman? Every time he was onscreen, I was both amused and repulsed. Truly the most slappable man in the entire Capitol.

[@KyleRayner12]

Great to see another video from this channel. I always find your analyses thought-provoking and on-point. For me, the most interesting part of the series was the concept of complicity. It's very clearly coerced complicity, especially in the districts, and designed to reinforce the illusion that every tribute is alone and there is no empathy for them. But the Capitol's citizens have varying levels of commitment to the system and varying ways of showing it. Effie's version of generosity is 100% authentic, and for all that she buys into the Capitol's values, she is trying to express something genuine. Cinna's employed by the Capitol for the purposes of making their victims as attractive and marketable as possible, and his decision to play their own game to make a political statement leads to his death. Katniss is almost grateful to Flickerman in the first book because "he tries to help people out" by making them seem more charismatic, but it's all a hollow ploy to extract soundbites of humanity from them for entertainment. To an extent, everyone in the über-wealthy Capitol is complicit in this, but on the individual level, their beliefs, values, and willingness to fight back reveal them as human beings and individuals.

[@5x5Takes]

totally. it’s all so fascinating

[@lucianosgonzalez3561]

This is... a perfect video essay. It's a work of art in and of itself with careful, thoughtful, incisive commentary, adding to the art of the Hunger Games, distilling both its most terrifying and haunting aspects and, at the end, beautifully discussing the conditions and humanity, the courage, and compassion needed to defy such an intricately crafted, powerfully built, system. God, what an incredible analysis of a powerful work of literature. I'm so thankful that you made this, and I can't wait to hear future analyses of yours. Excellent work.

[@rachelleduran6486]

I think so too. It was a very thoughtful and beautiful piece

[@SamI_Am]

One thing I love about this book series is its complexities in just about everything my favorite example is Finnick Odair. A character that a lot of people seen to adore, they always say his death was pointles and had no purpose. Exactly, but by his death being pointless it did serve a purpose. Finnick serves as the ultimate example that war is ruthless and does not care how good you were, how hard you fought, how much you endured, that you were so close to the end, it doesn't care if you helped create a victory and you want to see it, you just got married, you had a child on the way... It doesn't care. He was so close to the end and yet he died anyway, to show that death is ultimately unforgiving and often without reason. 74 (not including the 3rd quarter quell since they were existing victors) hunger games with 75 victors but only 7 survived. 75 PEOPLE. 75 lives, just for only 7 to make it out. I love how brutal and complex Susan wrote these books and truly showed that the world is complicated.

[@luggilu7864]

Spiffing Brit could absolutely survive in the world if hunter games. Either finding an exploit to gain unlimited food for his district or by cheesing the games themselves

[@Anything_Slime]

Lol

[@solidskullz5736]

one of my college classes to analyze a movie of my choosing and I choose the hunger games. After rewatching it, it really made me think about the world and the story a lot more than I originally did back when I read the original novel in my first high school English class. It made me think about how terrifying it must be to know that you could be picked to fight to the death on live tv at an age as young as 12. And even more terrifying is there’s a chance that you would be turned into a killing machine, groomed to feel enthusiasm and even pleasure at the thought and action of killing your own peers on live tv in front the the entire country. And if you do get picked or choose to volunteer, you either end up dead before you hit 20, or you survive only to be the capitol’s puppet for the rest of your life

[@motherofbuns]

I used to get nightmares about the books when I first read them in HS, I'll never forget buying the books and reading ahead of the class and the moment I finished the last book. I just layed there stunned for an hour thinking about everything

[@dandelionwitch3155]

​​@@motherofbunsi got nightmares too 😅 i remember waking up once and i was truly disoriented and my room was so dark I ended up screaming and scratching my face because the horror from the book was still with me. I don't exactly remember what I dreamt about but it was about the Arena. And the pain in my nightmare was as intense as real life. It was weird. Which proves how well written those books are.

[@ilikeyoutube7224]

I absolutely love in Balad of Songbirds that Cori struggles to live in a world where district people are failures, animals, blood thirsty, and should be held down/ feared but, he also has a crush on one who is fun, witty, brings him joy, he can learn from. I found it really applicable to real life. I could easily substitue "district" with (someone from a local poor part of town - im not naming where i live!). People irl see poor as lazy, entitled, etc. But theyre people and life is complocated. I loved the book so much

[@niceuser2face611]

I played this video so I could go to bed, but it was so interesting it kept me up the whole time. If that’s not a sign of a great video essay I don’t know what is.

[@TheAngryLibrarian]

I really appreciate the idea that empathy is a muscle that can be strengthened or weakened. It actually gives me hope.

[@Carols989]

absolute amazing video, I love when people talk about what the book are really about and not the love triangle it was sold as by marketing.

[@auldthymer]

I was always lost with the love triangle thing: I felt that she didn't love either guy.

[@Carols989]

@@auldthymer right??? She at most had like a severe traumabond with peeta. If we counting platonic love, then her biggest love was always prim

[@dandelionwitch3155]

@@auldthymer yeah i always felt it for her peet was the natural choice but not necessarily out of romantic feelings but deep understanding

[@IlLupoAC]

This is the first time a youtube video has ever brought me close to tears... it's not cruelty and suffering that brings me to the edge, it's your words on hope and love that ring so true. Beautiful explanation of events, I love your perspective on this series and I think I've come to love it even more myself

[@jacobragonese2367]

what i also find interesting about the changes Snow made - he experienced first hand how being a mentor to the tributes affects people, he saw his peers grow to care for these children that were going to die. he knows how horrible a position it is to be in, so it’s perfect cruelty to make the victors the mentors

[@bladudemovies]

The lyric regarding “meeting” someone at the hanging tree still gives chills. It’s such image powerful solidarity and shared struggle.

[@chrisruskin6189]

Your videos are SO good. Somehow they always find ways to grab the strings of my soul and move me.

[@auldthymer]

Seconded!