The
Hunger Games-Jen
Wanat
So this week I’ve been reading and have watched
The Hunger Games. In the movie like the book it foreshadows what I feel is one
of the most important scenes in the entire movie; the scene in which the
tributes of district 12 are selected. Right before Prim is selected as the
female tribute we see Katniss telling her the odds are basically in her favor,
as she only has her name entered to be selected. When Effie Trinket goes to
pick the female tribute the camera zooms in and there is an extreme close up on
Effie’s hand as it moves around the bowl of girls’ names. Then the music speeds
up to tell the audience this is an important moment and it could go either good
or bad. The lighting used while the camera flashes to Katniss is backlighting
to make her appear innocent as the Capital’s forces restrain her. To create an
intense moment for the audience the camera flashes back and forth between
little, innocent Prim and thief, and family provider, Katniss. Also, mis en
scene is used rather largely in this movie because this is the only scene in
the entire film that Katniss’ hair is pulled back and little Prim’s is in
braids. In a sense in this movie whoever has their hair in braids is in the
most danger. Juxtaposition is also used because the Capital securities are
dressed in all white uniforms while Katniss has on blue. The audience knows she
the innocent child just trying to survive and yet the people trying to kill her
are dressed in white. Just analyzing those scenes a lot can be learned about
characterization of the characters in films.
I also recently watched “The Hunger Games.” As a big fan of the book I was very pleased with the two hour film. Throughout the film, while the tribunes are in the arena, there are many close up, short duration shots. This technique makes the scenes more exciting and suspenseful because you can’t see the entire image. In the first part of the movie, located in District 12, the directors intentionally used monochromatic colors of light blues and greys to make the area look dull and poor. In addition to that, the colors of District 12 aren’t the happiest colors. In fact, the only time we ever see green grass is outside the wall of the District. When Katniss and Gale hop the fence and go hunting in the forest there is a lot of greenery as well as in The Games arena. It is in these scenes that all the excitement happens. When the Capitol representative comes, her bright pink attired is chosen to specifically make her stand out in the district. People who are “outcasts” usually aren’t welcomed, so this whole color scheme implies that the woman is not wanted there. Later in the movie there is a kind of role reversal where Katniss and Peeta become the outcasts in the capital city and are wearing their dreary colors in a sea of bright pinks and greens and gold. The use of color in the movie has a lot more meaning to it than one might think.
ReplyDeleteI also saw The Hunger Games and thought it was a great movie. Before I saw this, one of my friends told me they read online about the secret symbolism in it. The map of all the districts closely resembles the map of America and "the capitol" is supposed to represent Hollywood. At first, I thought it was kind of a weird theory, but then I saw the movie and realized it kind of worked! The people who live in the capitol are made to look ridiculous, with outrageous hair and skin that is dyed purple. They live in a place where everyone must have the newest things and stay up to date with the trends. The rest of their country is forced to live in poverty while those who are lucky enough to live in the capitol can stay alive comfortably. As we all know, Hollywood is the home to some of the country's richest entertainers. They go to great lengths in order to keep up their appearances. If you think about it, Hollywood could definitely be "the capitol".
ReplyDeleteAnother film technique I noticed was camera. Since the book is told from Katniss Everdeen's point of view, the film makers had to try and keep that element of the story. In order to do that, there was a lot of shaky camera shots and also quite a few closeups. By doing this, it allowed for the viewers to feel like they were seeing things from Katniss' shoes.