In this essay I will be talking about how my case study exemplifies media in transition using textual analysis and critically announcing my arguments to readings, research and practice. My case study will be on the award winning The Hunger Games (2012) which was directed by Gary Ross. My key concept will be to do with audience. How has the Hunger Games made an impact on the audience? Is there a sense of reality? Did the books and films add up to their expectations? How
the use of marketing and merchandise created fans and a wider audience and make them almost believe. I will also be mentioning how women and society are represented in the Hunger Games vs. reality. The Hunger Games was first trilogy of books written by Suzanne Collis. When discussing this with other people I noticed that 8 out of 10 people did not know there was a book before the film came out. It goes to show that the use of books these days are slowly becoming un-recognisable and the use of Media in film and TV are the most popular. Although does that mean books are bad and irrelevant? Some of the audience would say that the books of The Hunger Games are a lot better than the first 2 films that came out. The films have got 100 times better with their effects and CGI that it seems like it could be real, the way we see this film and how it projects to us, does it make us want more, does it want the audience to have more ways of connecting to the Hunger Games? All this will be critically discussed with the use of photos and clips to help the reader understand and visualise better. There will be a comment box at the end of this piece for anyone to comment on what I have said.
The first Hunger Games book was first published in 2008, since then now in 2014 we are waiting for the third film to come out to the screens. Through that period of time The Hunger Games has got the audience in the palm of their hands, with their massive fan page we can know buy collectable dolls of the characters from the film. You can buy the mocking jay pin which is a symbol and representation of the entire film, a sign of respect and loyalty which the audience loves. On the iPhones and androids there are games in which you can interact with. The media today is looking in every direction to sell their piece should we call it to the public and it almost brain washes them to actually like the film and want to read the book. In some sense it is all to do with the marketing, how they publish the Hunger Games is important to then get an audience to want and what they did with this film is they targeted a very wide range of people. It is suitable for children from the age of 12 to adults, the Hunger Games is set in the future, it has everything, love, death, happiness, sadness, that really big moment which really gets the audience, some would say it seems like it is too surreal and don’t like the way the film portrays how young children have to go out and kill. In some circumstances the film could be a really bad influence of children and it could create some sort of faze that would be inappropriate. Although the main character Katniss Everdeen shows courage, love, ambition and mercy which is a great role model for the audience and could make people act in a different way. This clip I am about to show you are what made a really big impact of the film and really starts off the whole journey of Katniss Everdeen.
This specific scene has a sense of reality because if makes the audience think, if I were an older brother or sister would I stick up for my younger sibling and set an example to everyone else around me? This was a strong and big ‘beat’ in the film/book which is why I believe the audience wanted to carry on watching or reading. There were a lot of people criticising the film saying that it looked too fake and that it was poorly done with not a lot of depth and that the books were a lot better, you could really visualise when reading and it was a lot gorier. Filmmakers changed the film so it could be suitable for a younger audience but that caused some bad reviews to other members of the audience. Is that right? Should a writer and director have the power to change the story just for to make a successful film? There are a lot of views of this topic and everyone has their own say. In this world it is all about selling and making money, which is why in the second Huger Games: Catching fire after critics had made their views, filmmakers went away and make the second film more real and very in depth with special effects. ‘Our mandate was to expand upon [the first film], to show more of the world, but also be mindful of where we came from in the first place. It’s bigger in scope, not just in terms of the range of effects, but also bigger in terms of the world we see. (Catching Fire’s vfx supervisor Janek Sirrs)’ (Animation Magazine, Thomas J. McLean, Let the Games Begin, 2014, p40) The supervisor of the film wanted the audience to see the world in which Katniss Everdeen lives in, make them feel how she feels, really go for that sense of reality. In society we have ways of showing signs of respect, saluting, shaking hands etc. In the Hunger Games when Katniss is in the arena she looks up straight into the camera kisses her hand make puts up three fingers in the air. In her world it is a sign to all her friends, family and public to show respect for the death of a little girl named Rue. That sign is then a sign of rebellion; it gives people hope and belief in Katniss. People now post pictures of themselves doing this sign in reality, it could be because they really like the film and really look up to this character or it could be just for fun. It is the little things that make a huge impact on the audience and this is a way of creating a cross media platform. It doesn’t always have to be books, films or social media that creates a platform but one form of action that carries it on into the real world. When people think of the Hunger Games they remind themselves of that particular part and groups of friends do it between themselves. What is the text trying to say? What sort of identity are they trying to portray out of Katniss. I feel like that it is sending out a message, a message that says no matter who we are how ,rich or poor we can show mercy and be a good influence for society. To show those people who are more superior that they can’t treat the less fortunate like they are useless. Which is why it is a sign of rebellion, that the lower class people will one day fight for their right and cause the world to be equal which in the film the ‘Capitol’ do not want. 
Going back to what I have mentioned before, the use of merchandise gives fans a chance to have something to hold that can relate them to the film. It makes them feel part of something and you can buy online such as Ebay a mocking jay pin. The same pin Katniss is giving in the first film and is her signature item to represent her district. Why would someone want a pin from a film? The only answer could be is that this specific case study and the audience have a bond and to make this bond stronger, they then buy souvenirs like this pin, buy the books, have discussions about the Hunger Games on an online blog. This expands in so many ways so that the audience can interact. What else was very interesting and public are now doing is singing the tune which Katniss sang to call for her friend Rue in the arena.
Anne Torkelson says ‘Whether you compose, perform, or just listen to music you know that it influences your emotions’ (2012, p26) which I agree with, when your sad you listen to songs that have a meaning and relate to you because that’s how you are feeling, when you are happy you listen to upbeat music which makes you feel good. Then Anne Torkelson asks these questions ‘We know how music affects us as individuals, but can it change a whole society? Could it even be dangerous to political stability? Could it be powerful enough to incite a revolution and bring down a regime as powerful as the Capitol?’ (2012, p27) I would like to believe that in reality it could but, do we really think that the power of song could take over say our government, that one person could have such an impact to society to want to fight? Not really possible, but in the Hunger Games they show that they can which is why the song and this pin are very popular for the audience. For a long time we haven’t really seen a lot of female heroes, the Hunger Games changes that. Probably most of the audience and fans would be females, why wouldn’t it be? Imagine Katniss being your role model, a young 17 year old girl who hunts, takes care of her mother and sister, and is brave enough to take her siblings place in a game which could lead to death. A girl who is poor but yet always puts others before her and even if in the game she doesn’t want to kill she avoids it as much as she can because she feels she shouldn’t die this way. A woman who is an actual human being and expresses emotions like pain, sadness, love and is affectionate. It goes to show that women can be heroes and powerful, it isn’t just the men, and I can’t imagine what little girl wouldn’t want to be as brave and powerful as Katniss, she shows she isn’t perfect but no one is and still does the right thing, which is sending out a really good message to teenagers. I am a fan of Harry Potter and he was also a good role model for teenagers who always stood by his friends and would risk his life for others but Katniss I feel had a lot more to her which made myself like the character more. In the Hunger Games the Capitol is the rich part of their world. They believe that food, drink, fashion and entertainment are what makes them happy, is what makes them upper class than everyone else. The relationship between Katniss and Peeta break that sense of ‘living’ and show that love is what bring happiness, all you need is love. It doesn’t matter what you have or what you wear, when you’re with the people you care about most happiness will follow. I feel like this is a very good example and the audience would agree. You would have to be very, very lonely if the only things that make you happy is fashion, food and watching a big screen. Also some people would comment that this trilogy is very similar to Twilight, a girl having to choose between two men and this whole love triangle but I have to disagree it is not based around them three, it is about being able to live and doing what you can to save as many people. Going back to Hunger Games vs. reality in today’s world some countries are similar to Panem the town in which all the districts are. Like district 12, they have no food and are starving and fighting to survive, there are a lot of countries in this world who hardly have any food and are starving. Also this obsession with looks is beyond selfish, models encouraging girls to be size 0 thinking they are beautiful when they just look anorexic. People wanted to change their look by getting plastic surgery done just to fit in like everybody else which reminds me of the Capitol; it’s all about fashion and looking good. It may be written in a book and shown on the big screen in a different time and be about Katniss fighting for her life but it is also sending out another message to the audience. We as a world can relate to the world hunger and see what the rich are doing to their bodies. Why? We need more people in the world who can stand up and make a difference or at least try to. What Panem also have that we struggle with is a way of keeping crime to a minimum and punishments. Although if we lived in a world like Panem it would be far to cruel with the punishments they do but it they have ‘peacekeepers’ which patrol every district 24 hours, 7 days a week and make sure no one steps out of line. True we have police officers who work long hours of night and day but crime still happens. Violence happens every day and real terrible deaths occur countless of times, what you see and read about this text you just know that they have no way of getting away with murder until these annual games start. Would it be good for our world to have on time in the year which certain people are chosen to commit a crime to the death? In some cases it would mean a lot more people would be alive, but still, is it fair for those 12 people yearly to fight with only one survivor? I guess no one can come up with a good enough answer, no matter how the world would deal with problems there would always be the good and the bad, the rich and the poor. Would we want a world like Panem, or is it just right the way we live now? I feel like improvements could be made and would be better if everything was fair.
Some things I have learnt from the research I have done is that for example books have greater more detail in them and when the audience argue that the films are worse, especially comments on the Hunger Games that the film was too nice compared to how more evil it was read in the books, sometimes the more population of the audience have power on how a film should be produced because then the greater population of people will be able to enjoy it. You wouldn’t give a 12 year old the Hunger Games book if it is too graphic and gory, films are adaptations. The same with games, you won’t see a 40 year old playing the Hunger Games app because they have a more mature set of mind and other things to worry about it life. A game would be specifically designed for a child. The use of sound and props can be very popular in reality like I mentioned before with the mocking jay pin and the song Katniss whistles, we copy and want these things because we want to be part of a world that is not real. In cross media platform everything product is created in a way to relate to an audience if different ways, which is why it works and which is why we question who really has power over a text? I would say everyone can. I don’t feel my thoughts changed throughout the textual analysis, I very much believed that the Hunger Games has a real impact on the audience especially the females and the way we interact with this is the way our society will be like. With everything that I have mentioned in this analysis I may sound bias. I am a fan of the Hunger Games myself and really enjoy the books and films and I have the app on my phone. What I would probably do next time is really see both sides of the argument and try not to defend the text only because I favourite it. In future media consumption I should look more into the approach and technique because I feel I mentioned that a bit but did not go into great depth. We live in a world of democracy and if we have power than we hate it, if we don’t, we want more and better, which is what is happening with texts and is why there are so many media cross platforms.
In conclusion with my findings The Huger Games as a text has succeeded to show the audience the difference between their world and reality. Audiences all around the world have cross media they can relate to such as websites, social media like Facebook and Twitter which they can discuss, argue and enjoy each other’s interests. The purpose of films and books is to interest us and entertain, so they are adaptations and re-makes but it is all for the audience so that we can relate and be who we want to be in my opinion. I think Katniss is a great character and is a great person to look up to which is why there are apps and games to do with her and why the books and films have succeeded so much. It gives us a different point of view on our society and as an audience we take it into consideration and want change. In many ways our world is very similar to Katniss world. We would not want to have that fear of maybe being chosen to play a game to the death to remember the rebellion which there once was in the past. Are we the rebellion now? Due to all the wars that are happening, countries like England and America who are wealthy but not being able to help the poor at least survive on food, is the Hunger Games saying hypothetically this is what could happen to us in the future? Hopefully it will only get better, even with both the Hunger Games and reality there is some similarities but also differences. In some way it is like we are part of the Hunger Games, but it does not have to be like that. Love and bravery will conquer.
