Catching Fire: Reaction Paper

On November 21, Catching Fire premiered here in the Philippines and in several countries worldwide. The movie starts a few months after the victory of Peeta and Katniss in the 74th Hunger Games, the first one with two victors, showing the world that love can indeed conquer all. This story has deeply touched and moved the people of Capitol, but President Snow thinks of it more as a threat to his power and sovereignty. 

This is a science fiction film as it shows us an imaginary world, a different form of reality, based on highly technological advances. Examples of which are the trains they use, their infrastructure, the training area the tributes use with force fields and holographic dummies, and the arena itself.

We can view this film as a commentary on our past, present, and future. It depicts the past by giving us a glimpse of what the world was like when slavery was still acceptable. It also shows us how people who longed for change were pacified and neutralized for the status quo to remain the status quo. It also shows us how it only takes one person to inspire the rest of the nation to stand up and fight for the change they want and deserve, much like the case of Jose Rizal and the Katipunan, and the People Power Revolution. This realization is still relevant in our lives today.

On a lighter note, the book was also written by Suzanne Collins as a commentary on how people view Reality TV. Though not as morbid, the Hunger Games is basically a reality TV show similar to what people enjoy watching today. It shows us how people are so easy to identify and relate to contestants, how they tend to root for one and hate another. It may also show us how much time we waste on watching TV.

However, going back to the serious topics touched on by the world of Panem, we can see that this type of future is possible if the gap between the masses and the rich continue to grow. The poor may continue to grow poorer until they cannot get out of the level they are in.

Technological advancements in this world may be seen as a success or failure, depending on which side of the society is viewing it. For the rebels, when Katniss shot the arrow to the sky, they saw the failure of Capitol to predict this kind of action as a success for their cause. The technology used in the arena might have been viewed by the Capitol as a success for their objective to pacify the people, but in the long run failed them because it was used by the rebelling tributes against them. In the end, he who knows the system most, wins.

Overall, this movie and the book it was based on is a must-watch because of its entertainment value and the substance that comes with it. I personally cannot wait for the next.

Lizabeth Ann Franco

2009-29329