Fanning the Flames (a Catching Fire reaction paper)
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Catching Fire has finally hit the
big screen. People everywhere are excitedly rushing to the cinemas with their barkadas and families to watch. As
audiences watch the action and drama unfold, one can’t help but wonder if this
truly is just for entertainment or if it holds a deeper, darker truth of our
reality.
I
consider Catching Fire as science fiction. The post-apocalyptic setting is a
mark of sci-fi. The futuristic technology like the arena, force fields,
hovercrafts, holograms, genetic manipulations, and weather control systems are
still not feasible and don’t practically exist today. There may be prototypes but
none are comparable to the ones shown in the movie. Although they may not exist
today, the rate at which science is progressing will possibly make them a
reality in the future.
The
film’s events have a similarity to what has happened in the past. The idea of
undermining lesser civilizations through the use of advanced weapons and technology
is not entirely new. The Mongolians, Romans, Spaniards, and many other large
civilizations used their military strength to conquer and enslave people, like
the Capitol. The Capitol represents the conquerors while the districts
represent the conquered. Furthermore, like the Capitol, the conquerors forcibly
took the resources of the conquered, as tax for their “kindness”. The rebellion
of the districts, led by District 13, against the Capitol is a reflection of
the rebellions of other groups of people like in the Philippines, where the
revolution against the Spaniards was led by the Katipunan.
Our own
present day society is reflected in the movie as well. The enormous gap between
the wealthy and marginalized, the social hierarchy, the various discriminations,
and the bizarre trends are all things that can be observed in our current
world. What is most notable is the lavish and wasteful lifestyle of the rich
compared to the day-to-day survival of the laborers. The wealthy squander
valuable resources for their own entertainment and leisure in spite of the fact
that everyone else is suffering.
If
modern society doesn’t change over the course of time, I believe that this film
may become our future. A future after a thermonuclear war between the world’s
superpowers, leaving but traces of humanity forming a country much like Panem,
where power and luxury lie in the hands of those who have the technology to
control others.
Science
and technology without a doubt succeeded in Panem. The leaps in the fields of
science eventually resulted in a technologically advanced society seen in the
movie. However, human society failed in this world. Advanced technology was not
used for meaningful purposes but instead was used for wasteful occasions, like
the Hunger Games. Precious time, effort, and resources were wasted on the
lavish lifestyle of the Capitol. In the world of Panem, where the people of the
Districts were viewed only as beasts of burden, society has degraded so much
that it has lost its humanity. A human society deprived of humanity is no
longer fit to be called so.
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