Critical Investigation - First Draft
"I mean, she saved my life."[1]
To what extent does 'The Hunger Games' trilogy subvert
traditional gender representations?
Judith Butler has been
an icon for the third wave feminism for the last couple of years. There have been several ways in which women have fought to be
seen and represented as equals. One way in that which this has been done
is through film. Women in film are often represented as sex objects and there for
the pleasure of men, which is argued by Mulvey in regard to the ‘male gaze’[2].
This is evident in films like ‘Tomb Raider’ (2001), which reinforces the
zeitgeist of that time. Over the recent years
these representations have been subverted and women are now beginning to make a
whole new image for themselves, with films such as ‘Divergent’ that came out
after the first Hunger games film, showing similar characteristic in terms of
the female lead character. The extent to which this may be true is
unclear in the sense that there are still women being portrayed in this
stereotypical way. However, we see that there has been a massive development in
not only how women are represented in films but also men. Men are becoming more
in tune with their emotional side in film and it is not just about their masculinity
and strength anymore. Gender representations in ‘The Hunger Games’ trilogy have
brought light to the different ways in which gender is stereotyped and how this
has exceeded those in the past. ‘The Hunger Games’ opened up opportunities for
“a host of girl power films”[3] since in its opening
weekend it was the “third best in the box office history”[4]. The film explores how different characters develop and their
role to the film through their behaviour, thought and emotions. The film
uses the binary opposition good versus evil as a narrative base whilst also
adding a unique touch that draws in the audience.
In a dystopian world
where the 12 districts are being controlled by the capitol and children are set
off to fight for their life, Katniss Everdeen volunteers as tribute to save her
sister from this fate. This is the first sign that we as an audience receive
that shows that Katniss is subverting gender stereotype with “heroism, a
stereotypically masculine quality”. [5]It is this simple action
that intrigues us as it is not often we see a young female character taking the
lead role and not being portrayed as a damsel in distress compared to men who
“are active, forwarding the story”[6]. “She is strong but soft”[7]. Katniss Everdeen is a
complicated character and maybe that’s why an audience of both genders are
drawn to her. She is able to show binary opposites within herself by portraying
a vulnerable and real side that allows the audience to connect and identify, whilst
also being presented as strong and courageous. She is a “21st
century heroine”[8].
In the film she portrays a dominant character that is smart and a symbol
of a revolution that isn't passive compared to Bella Swan in
‘Twilight’ where the narrative is driven by her feelings for the Edward. This is
something that may interest young females even more because it’s not something
that is often seen in films, “a strong stereotypically masculine and atypically
gender defined hero”[9] and has
changed the way women are presented in modern films. However, it would be wrong
to say that the film is completely immune from the “male gaze”[10]. This
is specifically evident when Katniss is being introduced as the ‘Girl on fire’.
She comes on stage wearing a figure revealing vibrant red dress. This
emphasises the fact that she is there to impress, to look good and show off her
female figure for the audience within the film and the audience watching the
film.
Jennifer Lawrence
almost seems like the perfect fit for this character. She portrays herself as
outspoken and self confident through her “strength of personality”[11] in the film industry.
Other film actresses tend to portray the ‘ideal’ body image. Whereas Jennifer
Lawrence allows herself to make sure that her “body is healthy-looking”[12]. This emphasises how
Jennifer has become a role model for young teen females. This is evident in the
way that she advocates wanting to be physically healthy which subverts the
stereotype of females in the film industry are conventionally thin. This can be
used as a way to please men in the “male gaze”[13] as they would find this ‘ideal’
body shape visually pleasing. In recent events, there has been a change in
women confidence within Hollywood. In light of the allegations against Hollywood
producer Harvey Weinstein, women, even men, are tweeting their stories with the
hashtag #metoo, which became a “cry against sexual assault and harassment”[14].
There is power in
femininity. In the first film we see Katniss meet Rue in the arena. Rue helped
make sure Katniss stayed alive whilst she was unconscious. In return Katniss
offered her company and protection. This subverts stereotypes of women as it
shows that they are not dependant on a man to save them. They are dependent on
each other if not themselves. Rue becomes a “feminist archetype”[15] when she befriends
Katniss. They build their strength based on their sisterhood relationship and
mutual support for each other. It is when the females embrace their femininity
and nurturing nature that has shown to benefit them in their survival and that
fighting against this strengthening bond will get them killed just like it did
with Clove. “Sisterhood
is powerful.”[16]
This is a continuous motif throughout the film especially since it’s what
motivated Katniss to volunteer as tribute. Her love for her sister sparked the
courage within her to volunteer despite knowing the possible outcomes. The audience are sutured within the film using close up of the
characters Katniss and Primrose to show their affection for each other and
their closeness which is used as a technique to emphasise the role of
sisterhood and support for each other. This gives femininity and alternative representation of how
it would have been described in the past. There
is strength within females and not just when trying to be equal to men. This
highlights that females do not have to adopt an aggressive form in order to
show that they can be strong. In fact being in touch with their feminine and
caring side and showing that they can band together in order to be powerful.
Katniss
is a role model for young girls. She sees emotion as a weakness and doesn’t want
to be “associated with its connotations”[17] but
then later on in the film she realises that empathy/love doesn’t have to mean
weakness but can also bring strength, “Katniss is what Jacobson calls “feminine
ferocity””[18]. When it came to
saving Peeta she had to remember what her mother would do. She learns to accept
the value of “feminine strengths”[19] which in turn
helped her win her first Hunger Game. She is the symbol of
rebellion for the districts and she inspires a revolution during a time where
the people are suffering. She is a strong female lead/heroine and every aspect
of her has an opportunity for the audience to identify with her and also have a
personal relationship with them. Katniss Everdeen is shown to be a
lot more subverted as she also takes up a masculine role in the film in the
sense that she is the one that takes care of the family in a very
protective manner which she is inclined to as her father is no longer
present. “Katniss is a hunter”[20] which
helps her hunt for food in order to serve as the role of the breadwinner. She
can be seen as “tough and hostile”[21] because
all she wants to do is survive. Her concerns, at first, is not with how nice
people are and especially in the first film she doesn’t allow herself to be
clouded by love, the fact that her relationship was a front which highlight
that relationships are not her priority. It is clear that this is the average
young adult movie where the narrative is usually based around love and
relationships.
Not only have there
been improvement on the representation of females. There have been some changes
in the way men are represented. In The film we see that Peeta plays the very
important secondary role to Katniss. Peeta’s affectionate nature is first seen
when we see flashback of him giving Katniss a loaf of bread. Typical masculine
traits are said to be considered a “provider, capable of love but not made
vulnerable because of it”[22] compared to now where
masculinity includes being able to show sensitivity, vulnerability and fear. Peeta
encourages Katniss to be more open. They can be considered binary opposites,
since she is more restrictive compared to him who is more open. He can be seen
as “Katniss’ perfect ‘movie girlfriend’”[23]. This shows gender
subversion through ‘Propp’s character roles’[24] where in the past I was
mainly male lead roles who were very masculine and strong, whereas now
“masculinity is something more fluid.”[25] The
Hunger Games is challenging stereotypes by “empowering boys”.[26] This is
a film that is female dominated and therefore appeals to girls than boys.
However, the fact boys are also reading the book shows that they are being
empowered to read things that are typically more girly since girls are not
judged for doing things that boys do but boys are. This encourages them to step out of this stereotype since
“gender policing is much stricter with boys than girls”[27].
This film has made it easier for “boys to embrace a female perspective”[28].
Peeta sets the example for this as his skill is that physically he is strong
but then on the other hand he tells Katniss that “he’d rather stay true to himself”[29].
This emphasises the change in how men are represented since the 1970s. He has a
“sense of self-preservation” [30]which
is evident towards the end of the first film where he is injured but instead of
being hyper masculine and trying to attempt any “feats of bravery”[31],
he chooses to hide. This goes against the conventional stereotypes of men and
is quite interesting to see how the female lead and the secondary characters
are binary opposites that complement each other when brought together in a
scene.
When
looking at the change in gender representations over the years, you can see
that there have been some major changes especially since the release of ‘The
Hunger Games’. Tomb Raider’s (2001) Lara Croft is seen to be a very over sexualise
despite being portrayed as a strong
character. She wears tight, figure hugging clothes that are revealing which
emphasises her body shape. She is highly objectified especially in the shower
scene despite being the lead role which highlights the zeitgeist and importance
of the “male gaze” [32]in
the film industry during those times. Despite
the fact that she is a ground breaking female action hero, her sexual
objectification in order to appeal to the male audience seem to be a part of
the film that is heavily focused on. However in the Hunger Games, this isn't
the main focus, in fact, it could be argued that Katniss Everdeen is not
sexualised in this film, Although in the poster it does show her to have a
curvy figure and skin tight clothing that shows of the figure which would
suggest an argument that that could be a form of sexualisation of the
character. However during her fighting scenes it can be seen that she is a
strong female character and that she can take care of herself. This can be used
to highlight the dominant ideologies then where females in Hollywood adopt a
sexualised front in films for the film to bring some form of success. Princess
Leia in ‘Star Wars’ (1977) she is speaking
directly to the Antagonist Dark Vader which highlights a sense of bravery and
confidence. This emphasises the second wave feminism in
which we begin to see a change in the way women are portrayed in film. Women
were becoming less of a passive character within films although they have not
yet secured lead roles and are “given less screen time”[33]. This change in cinema
from films always focusing on “male heroes”[34] compared to now where in
films females have “become tougher”[35]. These two examples show
how the films are a zeitgeist as it shows how the different values of society
at the time, the fact that different things were considered important. The
change in how females are represented and how that change has affected how
gender roles and portrayals have now been altered.
It wasn’t long after
the release of the first ‘Hunger games’ when the “gender pay gap”[36] was recognised publicly
using the hashtag #AskHerMore. This shows how women are standing up for the injustice that they are facing
during this “fourth wave feminism”. [37]With
this help of social media platforms it is now being spread more easily and
quickly. It suggests that ‘The Hunger Games’ has sparked a new way of thinking
whether it is subtly or directly. We are seeing
more dominant female political leaders in recent years. For example Hilary
Clinton running for President which highlights the fact that females are
stepping up for the more dominant jobs and not settling for whatever they can.
This indicates towards the change in society which is also evident throughout
the Hunger Games film series. Despite that, Katniss rejects having “the power”[38]
she is still seen as someone with a lot of influence which is evident in the
last scene in ‘The Hunger Games’ trilogy where she is to kill President Snow
and you can see that the districts have gathered behind her.
In conclusion, the way gender is
subverted in ‘The Hunger games’ can be considered a refreshing and “lovely
reversal”[39] of
roles especially between Katniss and Peeta. This
representation of women and men shows the different attributes within a gender
and that there is no one specific and conventional way of portraying gender. Throughout
the film Katniss “rejects dated ideas regarding gender roles”[40]. Over
time traditional views of gender have been developed and changed to fit the
gradually changing society and ideologies. Yes, traditional stereotypes are
still present in this film however; those stereotypes are almost overshadowed
by the subversion of those stereotypes and ideologies. Where the audiences are
introduced to a hyper masculine character, the film also introduces a more sensitive
male character to create almost a balance.
Bibliography
Work cited
Books
- Balkind, N. (2014). The hunger games. Bristol, UK: Intellect Books.
- Gauntlett, D. (2002). Media, gender, and identity: An introduction. London: Routledge
- Hooks, B. (2015). Feminism is for everybody: passionate politics. New York, NY: Routledge.
Websites
- Bell, L. M. (2015, January 20). How 'The Hunger Games' Is Challenging Gender Stereotypes - by Empowering Boys. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/laura-m-bell/hunger-games-gender-stereotypes_b_6185320.html
- Ellis, S. (2014, August 12). Why The Hunger Games' killer Katniss is a great female role model. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/aug/12/why-hunger-games-killer-katniss-is-a-great-female-role-model
- Khomami, N. (2017, October 20). #MeToo: how a hashtag became a rallying cry against sexual harassment. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/20/women-worldwide-use-hashtag-metoo-against-sexual-harassment
- Moore, S. (2013, November 27). Why The Hunger Games' Katniss Everdeen is a role model for our times | Suzanne Moore. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/nov/27/why-hunger-games-katniss-everdeen-role-model-jennifer-lawrence
- Rankin, S. (2017, April 19). How The Hunger Games Revolutionized Female-Led Blockbusters. Retrieved from http://www.eonline.com/news/837977/how-the-hunger-games-revolutionized-female-led-blockbusters
- Schwarzbaum, L. (2013, November 26). Culture - The Hunger Games: Action-film feminism is catching fire. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20131126-a-movie-heroine-revolution
- Seltzer, S. (2013, December 12). The Hunger Games' Gender Role Revolution. Retrieved from https://rewire.news/article/2013/12/12/the-hunger-games-gender-role-revolution/
- Stark, R. (2015, March 25). Why Katniss is a Feminist Character (And It’s Not Because She Wields a Bow and Beats Boys Up). Retrieved from https://www.tor.com/2012/03/21/why-katniss-is-a-feminist-character-and-its-not-because-she-wields-a-bow-and-beats-boys-up/
Magazines
- MM55 - The Fourth Wave? Feminism in the Digital Age
- MM36 - Marty, Bob and Leo: the Changing Nature of Masculinity. The collaboration between auteur Martin Scorsese, Robert de Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Work Referenced
Book
- Greer, G. (1971). The Female Eunuch. London: HarperCollins.
- Mulvey, L. (1989). Visual and Other Pleasures.
- Wood, J. T. (1994). Gendered lives: Communication, gender, and culture. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub.
- Hall, S., Evans, J.,& Nixon, S. (2013). Representation. London: SAGE.
Websites
- Challies, T. (2016, November 04). What Makes The Hunger Games So Popular? Retrieved from https://www.challies.com/articles/what-makes-the-hunger-games-so-popular/
- Ford, R. (2012, March 22). Why 'Hunger Games' Is Not the New 'Twilight'. Retrieved from https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/hunger-games-twilight-jennifer-lawrence-lionsgate-summit-303338
- Orange, R. (2018, January 06). Hard-hitting film takes aim at Ingmar Bergman's flawed way with women. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/jan/06/ingmar-bergman-beauty-beast-flawed-way-with-women-great-art
- Peter Bloom Lecturer in Organisation Studies, Department of People and Organisation, The Open University. (2018, January 09). Why the message of the Hunger Games films is dangerous. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/why-the-message-of-the-hunger-games-films-is-dangerous-35231
- Stanley, T. (2015, November 18). Why Left and Right both love The Hunger Games. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/the-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-2/politics-protests-katniss-suzanne-collins/
- A. (2013, November 22). The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - review. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/nov/22/review-the-hunger-games-suzanne-collins
- Thomson, D. (2012, March 27). David Thomson on Films: Why I Hate ‘The Hunger Games’. Retrieved from https://newrepublic.com/article/102038/the-hunger-games-collins-lawrence-ross-terrible-un-american
Magazines
- MM44 - The Gender Politics in The Walking Dead and The Hunger Games.
- MM34 - Engendering Change: What’s Happened to Representations of Women?
- MM56 - Furiosa and the ‘Male Gaze’
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