Director - Gary Ross
Release Date - 23rd March 2012 (UK)
Starring - Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutchinson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson.
Awards Won:
- BAFTA Children's Award - Best Feature Film
- Saturn Award - Best Actress (Jennifer Lawrence)
- ASCAP Award - Top Box Office Films
- Critics Choice Award - Best Actress in an Action Movie (Jennifer Lawrence)
- Empire Award - Best Actress (Jennifer Lawrence)
- People's Choice Award - Favorite Action Movie
Synopsis - The Hunger Games takes place annually in which two children - a boy and a girl - are selected randomly from each district - there are twelve in total - to compete in a brutal competition in which you have to literally fight for survival. When Prim Everdeen, Katniss Everdeen's sister, is chosen, Katniss volunteers to take her place and eventually wins the Hunger Games for her, much to the dismay of the President of the Capitol who hosts the competition. This is because only one person is supposed to win, but Katniss and her district partner - Peeta - rebel against the rules, threatening to kill themselves to result in no winner. The whole competition is televised, showing the barbaric side of society.
The aspect of the film that I find so enjoyable is the originality of it and the use of mise-en-scene. For example the use of futuristic props and clothing tell the audience the genre of the film and is suggestive of the time in which it is set. It demonstrates the poor and richer people who, like us, have to live in a society of judgement and this contrast is clearly evident through the use of colour choice. For example in the scene provided, you notice the drab and colourless clothing of the people in the audience which are purely functional. Then in contrast, the lady on the stage who represents the Capitol, wears excessively bright and colourful clothing which signifies that she comes from a much wealthier part of society.
The generic conventions of this film include innocent victims (those who are chosen to fight in the competition unwillingly), psychotic individuals (as there are some who volunteer to fight others because they consider it a challenge), and the theme is linked to politics as the games result in a war between the Capitol and Katniss who each represent and symbolise a class/status. The use of locations are key in this film as it begins with an unglamourous setting of Katniss' home which represents how poor she is. Flashbacks are then used - which are common in thrillers - and the use of nature is used to represent emotion for us as an audience to understand. For example rain. This was used to represent how weak Katniss was and how that time was a depressing, bleak and dull time. The flashback also informs the audience about the time before the events that happen which help familiarise the audience with the characters.
Roger Ebert:
'One thing I missed, however, was more self-awareness on the part of the tributes. As their names are being drawn from a fish bowl (!) at the Reaping, the reactions of the chosen seem rather subdued, considering the odds are 23-to-1 that they'll end up dead. Katniss volunteers to take place of her 12-year-old kid sister, Prim (Willow Shields), but no one explicitly discusses the fairness of deadly combat between girl children and 18-year-old men. Apparently the jaded TV audiences of Panem have developed an appetite for barbarity. Nor do Katniss and Peeta reveal much thoughtfulness about their own peculiar position.'
I disagree with the comment as I find the reactions exact. It is representative of the vulnerability of these people who have no power because they are owned by the Capitol and are not free. The Hunger Games have been going on for 74 years and therefore you can't expect people to react any other way. They understand what is compulsory - though they may despise it - but they are powerless and therefore cannot change what is Law. This is why people are more surprised when Katniss rebels against the Capitol at the end, because it is unseen and unheard of. The extreme close-ups of faces are not meant to show disgust and hatred, it is meant to show empathy for the competitors because it is horrific, but nothing can be done to change that.
A satisfactory response to the film (the film is a grotesque take on TV Talent Shows and how they are like Freak Shows)!
ReplyDeleteYour case study lacks analytic rigour. You say.....Flashbacks are then used - which are common in thrillers .... This is inaccurate and is a generalisation because you don't provide any evidence at all. Flashbacks are a cinematic convention or part of media language and not confined to the thriller genre.
To raise this case study above a low Level 2 you need to do the following:
Upload a clip or screen shot from the film and explain how and how the director uses thriller conventions. You need to reference Page 6 of your coursework booklet to identify aspects of the thriller genre.
Think about focusing on location, or character types, or lighting.
The problem is that this film is more sci fi than a thriller, nevertheless you need to identify and explain aspects of the thriller genre within the mise-en-scene.
Think about the way you are analysing generic aspects of mise-en-scene in screen shots from the opening to “Essex Boys”.