Catching Fire reaction

A Reaction Paper to 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'

-2013-17819

         The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is indeed classified under science fiction for two reasons. One, it says so on IMDB [1] and two, the film features a "narrative world that differs from our own present or historical reality in a technological, physical, historical, sociological, philosophical, metaphysical, etc, but not in a magical way" [2], which is the exact description of science fiction movies. The movie possesses technological equipment such as holograms, force fields and spaceships which are not currently available. It also has a different community set-up where the gap between the rich and poor grew to its extent. 

Through advances in science, we can achieve the technology featured in the film in the distant future. The great minds of the past were able to turn a can and string into a telephone. They were able to develop a super computer from scraps of metal and a mother board.  Who says we can’t turn our modern airplanes into spaceships of the future? How about our digital frames to holograms? Anything is achievable with scientific research and of course, time.

The political set-up of the film seems familiar. The rich became richer and the poor got poorer. Their gap got large enough to allow the rich to control the poor. The latter will comply until they realize that they’re taken advantage of and start a revolution. After a hard fight, they get the equality that they well deserve. That is, until the gap the rich and poor becomes wide enough again and the whole thing repeats itself like the cycle that it is. It seems very familiar, doesn’t it? Oh that’s right, it’s our entire history. Most civilizations have experienced an abuse of power and a revolution to rid of it. History really does repeat itself, which makes the political set-up of the film highly likely to happen in the future.

The events of the movie could theoretically happen in real life given enough time, so I believe that the film is a commentary of the future.

          The technology in the film is successful. To have evolved so advanced is enough to determine that it is. The only reason why it is unsuccessful is the misuse of technology. The Capitol has failed to use the advance technology to the advantage of all districts; rather it was the cause of the fall of some. For technology to be truly successful, it should exist for the benefit of mankind – not the cause of the end of them.