The Hunger Games; Hegemony in
Dystopian Societies due to Surveillance
Thesis:
In this paper I will explore the question of how power and control are
constructed and deconstructed within The Hunger Games book one and film one. Both
adaptations gives a great examples of what Michael Foucault’s panoptic outcome
was said to be; the surveillance placed on the districts causes a structured
behavior among all of Panem’s inhabitants. It also explores the idea of a
synopticon, the games serving as entertainment for the many to watch the few. Although
the film is not a complete “Panoptic” society, the result from the hegemonic
tendencies and the games themselves forces the outlying districts to be in full
compliance, without any resistance or challenge. It is not until one young girl
unknowingly challenges, and continues to resist the power struggle the Capitol
has placed on the country of Panem.
Rough
Draft
In
the film The Hunger Games, the post-apocalyptic society
called Panem, which in Ancient Roman times stood for “bread and circuses”,
comprised of twelve districts is completely controlled by the Capitol, and the
districts blindly follow in that control due to the powers that have been put
in place. The film explores a dystopian society that is powered by this Capitol;
it is thriving and glamorous, and solely reliant on the other twelve districts.
The turning point is when Katniss Everdeen, tribute in the games, unbeknownst
to her, causes an uprising with the smallest of acts. This then challenges the
power of the Capitol and puts in motion a force that neither she nor anyone could
have expected.
Jeremy Bentham originally created the idea of the
Panopticon, an all seeing, all knowing, power structure that would induce good
behavior among those being watched due to the watched not knowing when exactly
they are being watched. While Bentham’s idea was structured more for prisons,
schools, and places of work, the idea had transcended its original function
into a power system. This system has been utilized in film, TV, and novels,
over the years which helped to convey a message about what surveillance can do
to societies. George Orwell’s Nineteen-eighty-four
is a great example of a heavily surveilled society in which “Big Brother” is
the ruling entity, the all seeing power that no one is ever aware of.
Unfortunately the panoptic society triumphs and the main character ultimately succumb
to the will of Big Brother. In a more recent rendition of a surveillance
society, the synopticon is utilized. A synoptic society is where the many watch
the few, opposite of the few watching the many. The Truman Show released in 1998 tells the life of Truman, who is
born, raised, and lives in a society that revolves around him. His every
movement and action is recorded and televised to the world, unbeknownst to him.
It isn’t until a woman falls in love with him and tells him of the lie that is
his life that he begins to challenge the hegemony that fights to keep him
within the confines of the television show. Ultimately he succeeds and exits the
broadcasted world he’s known and been a part of his whole entire life.
