The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Is the film science fiction? Why or why not?

I view the movie a little bit in between science fiction and reality. I think the technology related to the arena is too advanced, that goes to the arena itself, the medium of transporting dead tributes out of the arena, and other technologies used by the individuals controlling the game. Meanwhile, the weapons are real: Katniss having the bow and arrow, the others with their specialty weapons. Even if I view it somewhere in the middle of sci-fi and reality, I do believe technology could drift apart from this state, and might actually shift from sci-fi to reality in the near future – judging by the exponential growth of technology today.

Is the film a commentary on past, present and future human society?

My opinion is that the film was a commentary to all of the time slots – past, present, and future. I am pretty sure about the past and the present, especially the present using the current rebellions and resistances of different views and opinions as evidences. The history of trying to pursue anarchy or some kind around the world reveals the attestation of the film resembling the past. I am not sure about the future, for I will never know unless it’s here; but I guess this would be a never-ending search for peace by rebellion, if not a long time search. I think this might go on to the future, people fighting for what they think is right; people trying to take down and change what they think is wrong.

How does science, technology and society fail or succeed in the world of 13 Districts?

Science, technology and society succeeded in improving and advancing technology, making new inventions or innovations or both. Technology has been more advanced than ever; think about a really huge arena controlled by people – the weather, the creation of the environment, the creation of almost everything inside that dome. It’s as if a creation of a new controlled world. However, the failure of science, technology and society was on the use of it, especially technology: for lethal entertainment, literally lethal. They get entertainment by using a bunch of people and putting them inside a man-created arena, watching them annihilate each other until almost everyone is dead. Most ethical views would not agree to such a menace, for such a chaotic – probably even demonic – game. I also think this film is a warning for the rapid advancement of technology: whether it would be use for the better of humanity or for worse.