MIGRAIN key concept research

Media Representations

Who is being represented? In what way? By whom?

One example of character representation in 'The Hunger Games' film franchise is Katniss Everdeen, the protagonist, who is represented as being noticeably less feminine than a female stereotype would indicate. A conventional female stereotype would suggest that women are generally weak, emotional, unable to lead, less intelligent than men, polite, "prim and proper", gossipy etc. Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss Everdeen subverts all these stereotypes, proving to be strong, emotionally stable, the leader of the franchise's rebellion, extremely intelligent, arrogant, athletic and dignified. Suzanne Collins, the author of the books from which the films are adapted has described Katniss as being an independent strong survivalist, lethal, but good at thinking outside the box. Other female characters in the films including President Coin, Johanna Mason and Cressida also tend to subvert the societal stereotypes given to women and represent themselves as strong, independent females.

Why is the subject being represented in this way? 

I think she is represented in this way to show audiences that women are perfectly capable of performing tasks that would ordinarily be expected of men, things like leading a rebellion. It sends an empowering message to female audiences that their existence and contribution to their community has just as much value and validity as men, despite what society has been saying for centuries.

Is the representation fair and accurate?

I think that the representation of the female gender in these films is more fair and accurate than the representation society has been giving women over the years, right back to when women weren't allowed the vote, based solely on male opinion. I think these films give females a much more rounded representation, showing us how women really behave both at their strongest and at their most vulnerable, rather than how the majority of media texts over the years have portrayed women, in many cases just to appeal to a male audience.

What opportunities exist for self-representation by the subject?

I think in these films, most of the characters, especially Katniss are already self-represented in the sense that their independence and strength as female characters comes from the fact that they know who they are and what they're capable of and don't rely on other characters, particularly male characters to do that for them.

Media Languages and Forms

What are the denotative and connotative levels of meaning?

In the first film, 'The Hunger Games', Katniss's younger sister Prim is selected to compete in the Hunger Games, to which Katniss responds by rushing forward and shouting "I volunteer as tribute!" with no hesitation. The denotation of this is that she is volunteering to compete in the place of her sister. The connotation of this is that Katniss is extremely brave and selfless and would clearly be prepared to die for her sister. 

What is the significance of the text’s connotations?

They give the audience the opportunity to have a much deeper understanding behind characters' actions and make subtle connections between events e.g. President Snow's favourite flower is a white rose and throughout the films, whenever a white rose appears, its immediate connotation is President Snow and his ever-present cruelty.

What are the non-verbal structures of meaning in the text (e.g. gesture, facial expression, positional communication, clothing, props etc)?

There are clear differences between the clothing worn and things owned by members of District 12 and the Capitol and this is a clear indication of the financial differences. In District 12 everyone wears clothing of drab colours and has very little in the way of materialistic possessions. This sits in complete contrast to the residents of the Capitol who hold materialism as their biggest priority. These differences essentially create a connotative hierarchy of class and reinforce stereotypes that the more you own, the higher your class and therefore the higher your value.

What is the significance of mise-en-scene/sets/settings (CLAMPS)?

C - The contrast between the clothes Katniss wears in District 12 and the clothes she is given in the Capitol and wears during the games emphasise not only the financial differences between those two places but also the power differences - it's very clear to see who is the most powerful of the two.

L - In one particular scene in the last film, the rebellion squad are fighting mutts in the sewers. The only light they are provided with is the light from their torches so this creates tension and its unclear where the mutts are coming from which makes it all the more scary when they jump out suddenly from a tunnel. This effect wouldn't have been achieved with high-key lighting because it would expose the mutts and we'd be prepared for their attack, making it less exciting for us.

A - Some of the actors in these films have been well known for decades for very different film roles: Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Stanley Tucci, Lenny Kravitz, and others were starring in other major productions simultaneously to 'The Hunger Games': Jennifer Lawrence (X-Men) Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones) so for audiences to see these actors in such different roles to ones they'd previously played would definitely grab their attention and also encourage them that these are probably good films if they star actors as legendary as Donald Sutherland.

M - The first character I think of when I think of makeup in 'The Hunger Games' is Effie Trinket because her makeup and her hair is always over the top and bold and extravagant and it's as if she is one person representing the whole of the Capitol. Whenever Katniss is in the Capitol she also has her makeup done boldly but beautifully. Cinna (Katniss's stylist) is also well known for wearing gold eyeliner. This use of makeup emphasises how much the Capitol values materialism and reiterates its identity as a place. 

P - The majority of props in these films tend to be technology or weapon based so this gives you an inclination as to some of the subject matter and themes of the narrative. They also tend to be very advanced so this again reiterates how powerful and technologically advanced the Capitol is. This contrasts with the props we see when Katniss is at home in District 12 - she has very little in the way of material possessions and keeps the things that mean the most to her - a photo of her father, a pearl retrieved from a clam by Peeta for her and of course, her Mockingjay pin and her bow and arrows.

S - There are several settings that we see the in the films, including District 12, the Capitol, the training room, Katniss' Victor House, the arenas from the games, various train interiors, sewers, President Snow's mansion and many others. These settings are all indicative of the mood and atmosphere that is present while the characters are there. For example, whenever Katniss and Peeta are in the Capitol, the mood is always very eccentric and energetic and full of life and celebration. Whenever we are taken to District 12, there's always an underlying sense of melancholy but also community. In Snow's mansion, there's a definite sense of power and wealth dominating us as an audience. Settings are definitely essential in conveying meaning to an audience.

What work is being done by the sound track/commentary/language of the text?

In terms of language, there are many repeated phrases that are used throughout the franchise by different characters that have now become known by audiences worldwide. The first one that is used from the very beginning of the first film is "May the odds be ever in your favour." This could be seen as ironic because for Katniss, this is the complete opposite of what happens to her. Another example of these repeated phrases is "Remember who the real enemy is." This creates united hatred for President Snow and therefore a real sense of togetherness between both the characters and the audience is further developed. Regarding the soundtrack, in the penultimate film, Katniss sings a song called "The Hanging Tree". The lyrics imply that the song is about people being executed by way of hanging but as Katniss sings, a chorus of people join in and the sense of community is extremely strong. Despite its depressing subject matter, Katniss sings it as a symbol of hope and rebellion. One of the lyrics is "wear a necklace of hope side by side with me". President Coin reveals that the original lyric read "necklace of rope" but she changed it to encourage the people of Panem to have courage.

What are the dominant images and iconography, and what is their relevance to the major themes of the text?

In the first film, the major theme is survival; when Katniss asks her mentor Haymitch for advice just before the games begin he responds with "stay alive". Iconography that is relevant to this theme is the weaponry they are provided with in the games, the protective clothing, the gathering of allies and the parachutes sent to competitors which represent help from sponsors, therefore aiding survival. As the franchise continues, the most dominant theme that develops is rebellion. By this point, survival is less of a priority to Katniss as she begins to stand by the mantra "Kill, or be killed." The most obvious image that is relevant to rebellion is the Mockingjay. In the first film, its only significance is as a lucky charm Katniss buys at her local market that she labels as being protective. However, throughout the films, it becomes much more symbolic and eventually Katniss herself is known as the Mockingjay and President Snow later makes an announcement saying "all images of the Mockingjay are now forbidden. Possessing them will be considered treason. Punishable by death." 

of The Mockingjay





are now forbidden.





Possessing them will be





considered treason.

Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=the-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-1





Punishable by death.

all images





of The Mockingjay





are now forbidden.





Possessing them will be





considered treason.

Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=the-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-1





Punishable by death.

What sound and visual techniques are used to convey meaning (e.g. camera positioning, editing; the ways that images and sounds are combined to convey meaning)?
One scene that combines sound and images to effectively create meaning is when Katniss walks out into the sqaure preparing to kill President Snow in front of the whole of Panem but kills President Coin instead. The scene starts with the camera behind Katniss, the only sound we hear is the diegetic sound of drums beating dramatically, joined soon after by the sound of people walking behind Katniss. When Katniss stops walking and President Coin starts talking, the drums stop which means all we can hear is President Coin. In film, music is usually a good indication of what is about to happen and we can usually get an idea of what is going to happen by the type of music that's playing, but since there is absolutely no sound whatsoever, diegetic or non-diegetic apart from President Coin's voice, we are left in the dark, given no clues as to what Katniss is going to do. Then when Coin stops talking, a low, choral piece of music starts which indicates that Katniss is (according to the audience) about to shoot Snow. The music starts to build up and then when Katniss shoots Coin and she falls onto the platform below, the music reaches its crescendo and symbolises the realisation and shock of what Katniss has just done.

Narrative

How is the narrative organised and structured?

In the first film, the narrative revolves around the 74th annual Hunger Games, happening as it would every year. We are introduced to Katniss and Peeta, Katniss' family and the other tributes briefly. We are then introduced to the relationship between Katniss and Peeta and the narrative continues revolving around both their 'romance' and them learning to survive together. Survival is the major theme of the first film. At the end, Katniss breaks the rules of the Hunger Games and causes an uprising amongst the Districts and the Capitol. This leads onto the second film in which Plutarch Heavensbee, the gamemaker, along with President Snow decides that this Hunger Games' reaping would be from the pool of existing tributes in each District. This controversial decision causes a lot of friction amongst those who are selected to compete. The main theme of this film is rebellion. At the end of this film, Katniss rebels again by firing an electricity fuelled arrow into the sky in the arena, destroying the system. She almost dies and is airlifted away to the hospital. When she wakes up she discovers that Peeta has been captured. During the next two films, District 12 is destroyed and Katniss joins the military rebels and they begin to fight against President Snow. These two films are more action-packed than the first two films and although people die in those films, they die in the Hunger Games - in the last two films, the people that die are being killed by President Snow and his followers. It would appear that according to Todorov's Equilibrium Theory, that 'The Hunger Games' is the equilibrium of the franchise, 'Catching Fire' and 'Mockingjay Part 1' are the disequilibrium and although it takes a while, 'Mockingjay Part 2' brings us the new equilibrium with both President Snow and President Coin dying and Katniss and Peeta getting married and having two children.

How is the audience positioned in relation to the narrative?
When each of the four films end, the narrative is paused between each film. The audience will have immersed themselves in each character's own narrative and will be desperate to know how they continue in the next film so the narrative is very cleverly structured to leave the audience wanting more from the succeeding films.

How are characters delineated? What is their narrative function? How are heroes and villains created?

President Snow is clearly delineated as the villain in this text as he has characteristics and morals that the majority of the target audience would strongly disagree with e.g. he wants Katniss and her group of rebels dead. His narrative function is to create the disequilibrium in Katniss's heroic actions and disrupt the equilibrium that she is trying to restore.

What techniques of identification and alienation are employed?

Since Katniss is the protagonist, producers want us to identify with her the most and be on her side throughout the franchise. They do this by giving her the characteristics of a strong, heroic female that will appeal to a largely female target audience, compelling them to stay loyal to Katniss and her individual narrative. We are also encouraged to feel alienated from President Snow, as he is the central antagonist.

What is the role of such features as sound, music, iconography, genre, mise-en-scene, editing etc within the narrative?

The music that is used in the franchise usually tends to vary between being either soft, choral and haunting, or loud and dramatic. Each piece of music that accompanies a scene helps the narrative to be told effectively to the audience, evoking the right emotions both the producers and composers want the audience to feel at that particular moment. The role of iconography within the narrative of the 'Hunger Games' franchise is to allow the audience to recognise different symbols as being representative of different people, themes or events e.g. the Mockingjay symbol is representative of the rebellion, a white rose is representative of President Snow and bread, although it doesn't appear as frequently as the other two, is representative of Peeta and his relationship with Katniss.

The role the editing plays in this text signifies when a scene is either full of tension or full of action. For example, the editing during the huge mutt attack in the sewers consists of extremely fast-paced editing that creates a lot of excitement for the audience, retaining their attention throughout the scene. However, the scenes leading up to the huge mutt attack as the team walks through the sewers has a completely different feel to it. The editing is much slower-paced and this is effective in building up tension and forcing the audience to ask questions (Barthes' Enigma Codes) and wonder what is going to happen.

What are the major themes of the narrative? What values/ideologies does it embody?

The major themes of the narrative include: survival, rebellion, romance, political corruption, family values and the fight between good and evil.

Genre

To which genre does the text belong?

According to IMDB, the genre of the four films varies between Action, Adventure, Sci Fi and Thriller.

What are the major generic conventions within the text?

There are many conventions of the action genre within these films, one obvious one being the vast number of weapons that are used in many action sequences. There are many violent fight scenes involving both humans and creatures e.g. mutts, savage monkeys. During these action scenes the editing is very fast paced which helps emphasise the excitement of the scene. Some of the camerawork is handheld to add realism to the scene and make it more immersive for the audience. The conventions of the adventure genre are perhaps less explicit than the action conventions. One convention of the adventure could be the strange locations of the games arenas: a forest in the first film, a giant clock controlled lake and forest in the second film. The Sci-Fi genre is made obvious by the extremely advanced technology, the flying vehicles, the advanced weaponry, the genetically engineered dogs in the first film. The thriller genre is evident from the violence, the fast paced action, the tense mutt attack in the sewers, the narrative of children killing each other for survival.

What are the major iconographic features of the text?

The biggest iconographic feature of the franchise is the symbol of the Mockingjay which represents the rebellion throughout the films.

Another major iconographic feature of this text is Katniss's bow and arrows which she uses as her weapon of choice in each film, demonstrating her elite skills in archery.

What are the major generic themes?

One major generic theme in this text that remains throughout each film is the fight between good and evil. We see this in many forms - we see Katniss and President Snow having personal confrontations, we see Katniss having confrontations with Snow's followers during which she becomes close to death, we see Katniss' military team trap Snow's workers in a cave and essentially bury them alive. It's especially clear in the symbolic hand signal introduced in the first film which later becomes a symbol of the rebellion that people use to show that they support Katniss; some people are executed for using it in the penultimate film.

To what extent are the characters generically determined?

I don't think any of the characters in this franchise are generically determined at all Katniss Everdeen is given at least two names by the Capitol - The Girl on Fire and The Mockingjay. She has her own identity, as do all the other characters. Even the minor characters like Lieutenant Jackson who only appears in the last film have a clear personality and it's easy for audiences to form opinions of them almost as soon as you're introduced to them. Having said that, unnamed characters like the residents of the Capitol could be quite generically determined as all being eccentric and extravagant and materialistic - that doesn't mean that they all are - Cinna, for example, isn't.

To what extent are the audience’s generic expectations of the text fulfilled or cheated by the text? Does the text conform to the characteristics of the genre, or does it treat them playfully or ironically?

I think an audience's expectations of an action movie would generally be that it would include fight scenes, excitement and adrenaline, fast-paced editing, weapons, gun violence, chases -perhaps in cars or some sort of vehicle. I think on the most part, these expectations are fulfilled by the text. There are plenty of violent fight scenes in all four films, each one packed with fast-paced editing to create adrenaline filled scenes that will keep the audience enthralled from beginning to end.  

Does the text feature a star, a director, a writer etc who is strongly associated with the genre? What meanings and associations do they have?

Jennifer Lawrence, the main star of the films was relatively unknown in the film industry when the first film was released in 2012, having only starred in a few feature films in the previous four years that (apart from X-Men: First Class) didn't have much critical acclaim so she was immediately recognised worldwide as Katniss Everdeen. She has since gone on to star in the previous two X-Men films, drama films e.g. 'The Silver Linings Playbook', 'American Hustle' and 'Joy' and is starring in the upcoming horror film 'Mother!' but I think her massive success in The Hunger Games means that she will always be seen as Katniss Everdeen before anyone else. Francis Lawrence, the director of 'Catching Fire' and 'Mockingjay: Parts 1 and 2' also directed 'I Am Legend', the 2007 post-apocalyptic horror film starring Will Smith. Since discovering this, I have been able to identify links between 'I Am Legend' and the last of the 'Hunger Games' franchise, mostly through the dystopian settings being similarly dilapidated and reminiscent of a sparsely populated industrial wasteland. 

Media Institutions

What is the institutional source of the text?

Lionsgate Films

In what ways has the text been influenced or shaped by the institution which produced it?

Lionsgate has produced a large number of films since the 1990s, including some major films franchises including the 'Saw' franchise (2004-2010), the 'Twilight' franchise (2008-2012), the 'Divergent' franchise (2014-2016) Although the 'Twilight' films are set in the modern day while the 'Hunger Games' films are set in a dystopian world, they do include similar character storylines and involve young people fighting each other to save their families. The 'Divergent' series, similarly to the 'Hunger Games' series is set in a dystopian world.

Is the source a public service or commercial institution? What difference does this make to the text?

Lionsgate is a commercial institution which means that it needs to make money from its productions, so therefore needs to entertain its audience and fulfill their needs in order to make enough money.

Who owns and controls the institution concerned and does this matter?

Lionsgate Films is owned by Lionsgate, an entertainment and media company. Other than films, it has also produced major TV shows including 'Mad Men'. 

How has the text been distributed?

All four films were released in the cinema, each one in the November of its year of release and are now all available on DVD, two of the four films are available on Netflix and all four are available for purchase on Amazon Video.

Media Values and Ideology

What are the major values, ideologies and assumptions underpinning the text or naturalised within it?

The major ideologies naturalised in this text are that you are judged by your District and what you have/how financially fortunate you are and also how popular you are which could also link to society nowadays. Another ideology that becomes more evident as the narrative develops is that women are much more capable of things than they have been presented as being over the years. One of the more obvious ideologies that is evident throughout the narrative is that politicians are corrupt.

What criteria have been used for selecting the content presented?

I think that because nowadays there exists a general ideology that politicians and world leaders are corrupt, producers have used this as criteria to make it a dominant ideology and present President Snow and his henchmen (Peacekeepers) as evil. I also think that casting a female protagonist and relatively strong female characters was not coincidental and that the rising issue of gender equality and women's rights in today's society played a big part in selecting the content in regards to that.

How does the text fit into the current political landscape?

For centuries, the issue over gender equality and feminism has become more and more prominent in the media and public figures e.g. Emma Watson have campaigned for equal treatment of genders. The 'Hunger Games' franchise also addresses this issue with characters such as Cressida and President Coin who, as expressed by Natalie Dormer, "could easily have been played by men." They are gender neutral, in the sense that they don't have characteristics that determine whether they are played by men or women.

Does the text promote a particular political viewpoint - either explicitly or implicitly? 

Besides the gender debate, another political viewpoint that is promoted explicitly by this text is the idea that politicians are corrupt. President Snow is an obvious example of this. His cruel, heartless nature that leads him to justify the bombing of a hospital full of innocent men, women and children simply because they associated with Katniss makes him the perfect example of a corrupt politician. He also hijacks Katniss's love interest, Peeta, with tracker jacker venom giving him false memories of his past and making him believe that everything going wrong in Panem is Katniss's fault, leading him to attempt to kill her twice.

Although President Snow is explicitly evil, President Coin also has qualities that are just as evil, although this is not revealed until the end of the last film and even then, it's not that clear to the audience. It is revealed that behind her good-willed facade, all she wanted was Katniss to kill Snow just so she could have his level of power; she never liked Katniss in the first place like everyone thought she did, and it was her that released the parachutes that killed Katniss's sister. In my opinion, President Coin is more corrupt than President Snow because she makes herself appear nice and a good leader while secretly planning to take over Panem, whereas President Snow doesn't lie about his actions and while what he does to people is worse, he doesn't hide behind a different persona.

Media Audiences

To whom is the text addressed? What is the target audience? (Demographics, Psychographics)
I think the franchise's main target audience would be people that have already read the 'Hunger Games' books and therefore have an understanding of and passion for the narrative and characters that other individuals being introduced to it for the first time wouldn't have. I think the majority of these people would range from 13-30, no younger because some of the content is quite violent and distressing and no older because most of the main characters are within that age range and the narrative revolves around teenagers fighting each other for survival. I think its audience would be of a range of classes and ethnic backgrounds and I think in terms of gender, since the narrative follows the story of a 16-18 year old girl, and many of the male characters e.g. Gale could trigger the Female Gaze suggested by Laura Mulvey, there would be a higher proportion of females in its target audience, I'd say around 70% female, 30% male. In terms of psychographics, I think the group that best fits this text is 'Explorers' as they are said to value 'difference and adventure', things that are provided in abundance by the 'Hunger Games' films.

What assumptions about the audience’s characteristics are implicit within the text?

Much of the text is set in the Capitol, a place whose inhabitants live eccentric, extravagant lives, which is evident from the way they dress, the food they eat and the houses they live in. In today's society, these people would be regarded as odd, strange, and would most likely be avoided by socially 'normal' people. Perhaps from this, we can assume that some of the text's audience find themselves reflected in these characters and see themselves as the mavericks of society (Personal Identity) and therefore gain comfort and escapism from watching these characters (Diversion).

What assumptions about the audience are implicit in the text’s scheduling or positioning?

Aside from the first film which was released in March 2012, the remaining three films' UK release was in November in each of their respective years. All four films were given a 12 age rating. Since this franchise of films has been adapted from a series of books, the knowledge the author and producers would have had of the books' audience could have assisted producers in deciding the films' age ratings.

In what conditions is the audience likely to receive the text? Does this impact upon the formal characteristics of the text?

Audiences who are fans of the franchise would have first viewed the films in cinemas. Other conditions in which the audience are likely to receive the text include: on DVD, on mobile devices, laptops, streaming services like Netflix. I think if an audience were to watch these films on a mobile phone on the Netflix app for example, they'd probably be in an informal, laid back situation themselves with surrounding distractions and therefore be less likely to pay attention to the formal characteristics such as the cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound etc. than if they had watched them at the cinema with no distractions and the film as their sole subject of attention. Since the way an audience reads a text is impacted much by its formal characteristics, if their focus is not entirely on the film, they won't read it or react to it in a way that the producers wanted them to.

What do you know or can you assume about the likely size and constituency of the audience?

Having attended the London Premiere of Mockingjay: Part 2, it was made clear to me that the franchise's audience stretches around the world, as I saw people who had come from different continents just to be at the premiere. I also see fans of the franchise from many different countries creating fan accounts on social media dedicated to a character or the films in general. Due to the broad spread of actors in the films I think that although these people don't fit the film's target audience, there will be people it its audience that its legendary actors like Donald Sutherland will appeal to because they know and love him from his previous work e.g. 'The Eagle Has Landed'.

What are the probable and possible audience readings of the text? 
The preferred reading of this text would probably be that Katniss is a strong, independent female character who is Panem's saviour and 'The Girl on Fire' and the symbol of the rebellion against Snow. Another preferred reading of this text would be that Katniss and Peeta are weak without each other and need each other to stay alive.

What are the audience pleasures, uses or gratifications?  (Refer to theory).

Due to the many different characters that feature throughout the films, the opportunity is definitely there to form strong opinions of them all, good and bad, and either bond with them until their death (or the end of the last film) or regard them with utter contempt. For example, Finnick was one of Katniss's friends who stayed with her and helped her fight from 'Catching Fire' until his death in 'Mockingjay Part 2'. Because he was such a popular character, his death was probably one of the most controversial and audiences everywhere would have been heartbroken after following his own narrative and watching him get married and dying in the same film. This is an example of Personal Relationships. Audiences may even find themselves reflected in some of the characters or in a situation and feel that there are definite similarities. For example, someone watching may also have had a father or sister die like Katniss does and therefore is able to relate to her. This is an example of Personal Identity.

How do you, as an audience member, read and evaluate the text? To what extent is your reading and evaluation influenced by your age, gender, background etc?

Personally, as an almost 18 year old female, I'm now the age that Katniss is in the last two films, in which she is at her strongest, her most powerful and most independent, yet also her most vulnerable. It's also the age at which she witnesses the death of her sister, and the death of some of her closest friends. As an audience member of the same age and gender, I find myself wondering how I would cope in these situations/whether I would cope at all, and therefore have nothing but respect and admiration for her. I can't necessarily identify with her being fatherless and having a sister and living in a financially deprived area, but I can definitely identify with her having internal conflict and not wanting to be alone. For this reason, I read the text from Katniss's point of view and indirectly support her throughout her journey. However, my favourite character is Cressida and although she isn't as major a character as Katniss, I'm mostly influenced here by the fact that she is played by Natalie Dormer, my favourite actress and in various interviews she has said that she sees herself reflected in Cressida and since I see myself as being quite similar in personality to Natalie, having met her multiple times, I therefore also see myself reflected in Cressida, making her my favourite character, so I'm more likely to favour Cressida over Katniss e.g. if ever the two characters disagree, despite having admiration for Katniss, I find myself siding with Cressida. Regarding the political side of the franchise, having grown up witnessing the arguably controversial behaviour of political figures, an obvious recent example being Donald Trump, I find myself holding the ideology that politicians are corrupt and therefore do not trust President Snow, or in fact any of the political figures in the franchise - I even find it hard to trust Plutarch Heavensbee who turns out to have Katniss' best interests at heart, simply because he previously worked with Snow and even once said "I agree she should die, but in the right way, at the right time," about Katniss.