영화 <헝거 게임>에 나타난 폭력과 통제의 몸

Abstract

Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games Trilogy draws a lot of attention from the public. Among them, the first novel Hunger Games, filmed in 2012, shows the world of young adult literature through the relationship between violence and body. In particular, this novel puts an emphasis on the effect of violence conducted by the government or a nation, revealing the meaning of controlled adolescent bodies. Panem as a new-born nation has imperative and categorical power on its people. Its control power is phenomenal enough to classify the nation into 12 districts so that Capitol, their government, fully dominates them all. Such divisions reveal strategic confinement mechanisms to control the whole nation. Furthermore, they make a random choice of a boy and a girl out of every district to compete against other boys and girls in the most popular TV show, The Hunger Games. The governmental power for control is so huge that people cannot evade the shackle of their government. The comparison between haves and have-nots is abnormally apparent as if the relationship between two extremes looked like the one between puppets and humans. The rule of the game entitles winners to take it all. However, the only way to be a winner is tremendously deathward since they must kill each other by the time when the last survivor is left. Who the last survivor will be is of importance to show a certain possibility to stop adolescents’ joining in those nonsensical games. Even though the government wields controlling power and operates a panopticon to confine the adolescent bodies, Katness and Peeta overcome the limitation of the Hunger Games. It is possible that there will come a day when their dignity as humans is restored.