Catching Fire

By: Paulline Joyce N. Olabre

      The Catching Fire is a science fiction because of the futuristic elements used in the movie. The concept of the arena, looking all natural but is absolutely hi-tech covered with force field and all the hybrid-looking animals, the thunder, flashfloods, all the things happening inside it are just controlled by the game maker, Katniss’ burning gown or even just the whole environment in the Capitol. These things are way beyond what technology can do in the present. But who knows, maybe in the future we’ll all be able to do these things. But I hope that it won’t be for the Hunger Games. Let’s use technology for good purposes and not just for entertainment that involves people killing each other.

      

      The movie reflects the past, present, and future of the society. The past because the reality of slavery is there. The absence of education in the other districts, people without means of transportation, and the old ways of living. However, these things are just happening in the poor districts. The present, with the districts being able to put up their market. The use of mass media, the trains, the armed men responsible for the discipline of their citizens, the capitol as their government, the large difference with the lifestyle of the privileged and the unfortunate ones, and the most important of all, the revolution of the people. In the future, I think, would be the excessive power of the capitol over the people. With great technology, making them very powerful and the whole concept of the game itself, picking people in each districts to kill each other for the pleasure of the rich people.

    

     Science, technology, and society for me failed in the world of the 13 districts. Because even if they were able to improve technology to the extent that they can produce things such as The Hunger Games with hi-tech arenas, training facilities, weapons, etc. The lives of the people in the districts are still miserable, there seems to be no modernization happening. They still have to work really hard for their living instead of them being able to use the technology to lessen the work that they should do.  The thing is, instead of helping the poor people to rise up, the Capitol were just more able to abuse their power over the people with these kind of technology that they have.