Catching Fire Reaction Paper

by Jay Anne Bacayo

The movie, Catching Fire, is science fiction because the events and locations mentioned in the movie are, as of the moment, not yet real. The movie also contains futuristic themes or ideas. Take the arena, which is prepared for the Hunger Games every year, for example. The Gamemakers, situated in a control room, closely watch all the activities of the tributes. They manipulate the environment and introduce potential threats for the tributes like blood rain and monkeys.  At present reality, the technology required to be able to influence our surroundings or change weather conditions has not yet been developed and is actually banned by the United Nations. 

Catching Fire presents people with an idea of a future that could only be made possible through advances in science and technology. For example, the Training Arena, where tributes prepare and train their skills for the Hunger Games, features unconventional weapons and devices. The place also features the use of hologram to simulate obstacles and attackers for the tributes’ training. 

The movie can also reflect the past and present experiences of many countries and their citizens under a dictatorship or a tyrannical rule. In his “reign of terror”, President Snow has all the power in Panem. He never fails to remind the citizens of his dominance and uses the Hunger Games “as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol.” He even tries to have media censorship and uses the yearly Games to entertain and distract the people from the real problems of Panem. 

The favoured people of the government, the citizens of the Capitol, have lives full of wealth and luxury, including extravagant clothing and bountiful feasts of food, while the citizens of the 12 districts are marked by their poverty and are only used as means to provide goods like coal and lumber for the Capitol. 

Science and technology succeeded in making the lives of the people more convenient but sadly, this convenience is most evident in the Capitol. The Capitol has used the developments to have comfortable lives and to feed their indulgences. On the other hand, for the 13 districts, they failed to maximize the uses of the developments in science and technology, maybe also because of the limitations set by the government. They continue to live in scarcity and the quality of their lives still did not improve significantly. 

Science and technology have contributed to the accomplishment of the government’s plans but also to the misery of the districts’ citizens.  The government headed by President Snow utilizes the developments in science and technology and uses them to their advantage to achieve their goals of maintaining the “order” of the society and “disciplining” the people. The Peacekeepers use advanced tools to instill fear among the people and fight against their rebellion. They immediately punish those who show even the smallest signs of defiance to the government through whipping or even execution that is broadcasted all throughout Panem.