Applying Sociological Concepts to The Hunger Games

Introduction: Discovering Sociology Through Film

I remember dreading having to take sociology. I viewed it one way: either I took sociology (easy) or I took something else more difficult in order to gain my diversity in U.S. society credit. I thought, "How hard could it be? Sociology is easy." But that is the thing—I did not know how hard it really could be, how hard it would be to understand that I was ignorant to the facts all along. The most important aspects I learned about sociology are the sociological imagination, being trapped, stigmas, role strain, and social class. Some of these I already had an idea about, but instead I expanded what I understood to a whole new level—a level that, I believe, has made me a much more understanding person.

The first aspect in sociology, which I believe was crucial to my understanding, is the sociological imagination. As Mills would define it, "The sociological imagination enables its possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals" (Mills 5). I did not know what this could mean to me before, but now I have entered different trains of thought when doing something as simple as going to the movies with friends. Sociological imagination is what made things connect for me throughout the whole semester and helped me understand sociology and how I was able to apply it to real life. It made me realize that indeed I am part of something greater than myself.

Sociological Imagination and Individual Connection

The example given in class—"What goes into getting my coffee at $3?"—still compels me to this day, for I never knew. It made me think about it as more than just a cup of coffee but instead as a long line of opportunity costs in order for me to obtain it. The aspect of being "trapped" also became important, as it made me able to be aware. I was able to see what I was confined to and what I could do about it. What I learned overall about traps is that America as a whole is confined to a trap of ignorance when it comes to sociology. Like myself, people cannot see the reality of events like Ferguson. Instead, we make excuses and put someone to blame rather than realizing that help can begin with us and with realizing that history is repeating itself.

In The Hunger Games, sociological imagination helped me make connections between life and Katniss's experience. Katniss realized that the games were not just about how strong someone could be or how smart they were. It all had to do with how many sponsors they could get and how many resources could be available to help them in times of need. She also realized that if the game master did not want her there, he could make her gone. She was able to use sociological imagination and make the connections, so she survived. Others who did not possess this insight became too absorbed in something they thought was only about themselves. They ignored the other players as well as the reality of the situation they were in.

Another aspect of the sociological imagination is that I was able to connect situations in the movie to real life, such as the segregation by districts. Rarely would anyone make the connection between our society and the districts in The Hunger Games, but with the sociological imagination, sociologists gain the knowledge for comparison.

Stigma, Role Strain, and Social Constraint

When talking about "normal," I never really understood what normal was. All I knew was that I was anything but. Stigmas are created when someone possesses an attribute that is "not in the norm box." Although there are many that we can see, there are many that we cannot. We went through and talked about discredited stigmas (such as tattoos, piercings, or skin color) and discreditable stigmas, which are the ones we cannot always see, such as our sexuality. Talking about stigmas made me realize that we sometimes can even put ourselves under the pressure of not being "the same" as others. As stigma theory states, we can come up with our own stigmas, but they will always include what we have been taught.

Role strain became apparent when I understood the complexity of social life. In chapter three of Johnson's The Forest and the Trees, he states, "Given how many statuses we occupy and all the roles that go with them, it's easy to see how complicated social life can get when it presents us with more than one path at once" (Johnson 82). This was probably the most difficult aspect of sociology for me to understand. As I became an example of role strain, I had to learn how to manage them all without having a breakdown. This aspect of sociology became important to me because it became personal. It became something that I could relate to as it helped me cope with the problems I was facing. I now understand that society has expectations, and besides those expectations, you must continue to be able to learn and work on keeping on top of things. With this, I realized that no matter how many roles I have, I have to be careful because I am part of more than just myself, and I could unintentionally jeopardize someone else.

In The Hunger Games, an example of traps is how all the tributes are trapped where society placed them. The games were created as a way to distract them from the real issues and instead give them hope by offering annual games in which contestants will fight to their death and show the advantages of their different districts. Not only are they trapped in the districts assigned, but they are trapped in the games they are placed in. Another big example of traps within The Hunger Games is the trap of time. Everything came down to time, schedules, and the interactions in which the individuals participated within the social structure. When Katniss is being prepared for the launch, she has such little time to be prepared for what can be the end of her life. She is trapped in the time crunch, in the schedule of what seems to be someone else controlling her life. Also, as they are taken into the arena, they are told not to step out on to the stage before the countdown ends or else they are instantly killed. The countdown also stands for the seconds left until they might possibly die, making them think, "How many more seconds are there really?"

Stigmas define the roles that the characters place themselves in. Stigmas became apparent as Katniss and Peeta were told to act like something they were not. Since they came from District 12—coal miners—they wanted them to appear like they were still more powerful than what they appeared to be; thus the fire imagery. Katniss and Peeta were to fool everyone into liking them in order to gain sponsors regardless of the social class they came from. Also, as they are forced to make everyone think they were in love, Katniss refuses to be seen as weak because she thinks being in love has that effect. Other stigmas are represented when the victor from their district drinks his sorrows away, trying to hide the reality of who he was and what he did. Peeta also is seen as weak, so he feels the need to show that he is more capable than what they label him as. Hence, he shows off during training to show others that he is not weak.

Role strain is apparent as Katniss has many roles to fill. She is a daughter, a sister, a girlfriend, a friend, and most of all a role model. She must be able to keep composure and do anything possible to survive the games (in which she volunteered in place of her sister) for her family. Peeta's mother, as well as others, label Katniss as strong, so she must also carry that role since it determines whether her district has a victor or not.

Social Class and the Games as Spectacle

Although I knew much of social classes within the U.S., Karl Marx's explanation of the bourgeoisie and the proletarians helped me better understand The Hunger Games and how it relates to social class in our society. We talked about stratification being based primarily on the possession of money or material objects and how this, according to Marx, is what determines who is the oppressed versus who the oppressor is. Another thing that became major to me is how the middle class is disappearing, which makes it harder for the lower class to go up the social class ladder because you either are part of the upper 1% or you become just the rest. Also, social class can become a stigma as you never want to show how much more someone has than you, so it becomes a struggle to be able to appear as something you are not regarding social standing.

Social class is evident as the whole reason for the games is to keep the wealthy comfortable and unaffected. By "it," I mean the feeling of helplessness. As the different districts await what happens to their representatives, the rich enjoy the games as entertainment. When Katniss and the other tributes are "prepared" for the games, they are washed and groomed as if they were show dogs. They are also trained to make good first impressions as they must gain sponsors in order to survive. All of this sounds like it is a competition when 24 tributes are set out to kill each other off and only 1 out of 24 survives. The rich are not able to be under the same circumstances of stress as they do not have to worry about anyone. Individuals from District 1 instead decide to train continuously and volunteer to represent their district. Also, bourgeoisie and proletarians are evident as they portray the upper class versus the lower classes in The Hunger Games. Thus, different districts are created. The most I learned about social class in The Hunger Games is that it is very closely related to our real world and to the extremes that our society can one day reach.