by Jovialis Jill N. Yeung (2013-72341)
Genre
Genre
Honestly,
I don’t think that the main genre of Catching Fire is Sci-Fi. Sure, they do
have some awesome and really advanced tech in Panem but only the people in the
Capitol are privileged enough to experience it while the other districts are
stuck with really basic tech that still involves a lot of manual labor and
inefficiency.
Even
during the Hunger Games the tributes are left to use primal weapons and the
“obstacles” they had to face were also primal such as poison fog and violent
apes (even though they were created using superior technology).
The Sci-Fi aspects of the movie were there I think, for the
purpose of contrasting the wealth and power of the Capitol against the poverty and
helplessness of the 13 Districts.
Commentary
As for whether Catching Fire is a commentary of the
past/present/future of human society, I guess I’d say a little bit of
everything.
Past – Like how slavery was dominant before human rights
came into fruition, the stark differences in the lives of the rich and poor, the
elitist system etc.,….things like that were more evident in the past.
Present – Shows the sometimes extreme differences in the
technological advances of different countries/nations, the use of social media
to manipulate/influence the public,
how even with all the rules and laws people have implemented there are still
many who violate even the most basic of rights (wars, violence etc.)
Future – It may be a sort of warning, that if humanity doesn't pay attention to what they’re doing and what they’re aiming for, the world may
end up as twisted as the one portrayed in the movie, not in the sense that
people will start killing each other as entertainment but more along the lines
of the gap between the privileged and under-privileged becoming so huge that it
will lead to discontent among the masses and eventually trigger wars. This is
all just speculation on my part though, there’s no evidence to support anything
like the scenario mentioned above from happening in the near future.
Science, Technology and Society
As far as I can tell, the technology available to the 13 districts is so ridiculously old-fashioned it could have come from the 19th Century. About the only place in Panem that has modern technology is the Capitol (holograms, airships, battle dome, etc.) or in a smaller scale would be the houses of the victors (since they won, they became rich, and so their living quarters were upgraded), but other than those two, everywhere else is just ancient. No normal worker (from the districts) seems to be happy, and a lot of strenuous manual labor is still required to keep things barely running. Food and water is scarce, and people live in poverty. It is in this case that the differences between the districts and the Capitol are so glaringly obvious. It's really sad actually, but the Capitol just uses its advanced technology to oppress the masses rather than help them.
As far as I can tell, the technology available to the 13 districts is so ridiculously old-fashioned it could have come from the 19th Century. About the only place in Panem that has modern technology is the Capitol (holograms, airships, battle dome, etc.) or in a smaller scale would be the houses of the victors (since they won, they became rich, and so their living quarters were upgraded), but other than those two, everywhere else is just ancient. No normal worker (from the districts) seems to be happy, and a lot of strenuous manual labor is still required to keep things barely running. Food and water is scarce, and people live in poverty. It is in this case that the differences between the districts and the Capitol are so glaringly obvious. It's really sad actually, but the Capitol just uses its advanced technology to oppress the masses rather than help them.
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