Notes and Quotes

Media Texts

To what extent do films such as 'The Hunger Games' series prove that gender stereotypes are being increasingly subverted in the film industry?

Primary text: 'The Hunger Games' quadrilogy (2012-2015)

Online Texts

Online Interviews
"I'm interested in feminism meaning equality"

"What's interesting to me is roles that are interchangeable; it's irrelevant whether they're male or female."

"President Coin could easily be played by a man."

"There are some really good blockbusters at the moment where the gender roles could be interchangeable, and I think that's ultimately what we're aiming for."
"Suzanne Collins has written such wonderful, fully developed female characters and that is unusual"

"Both of our characters are very strong and very powerful"

"The movies more generally represent the life that I see than the one that's generally depicted in films


  • This scene is from the final film in the 'Hunger Games' quadrilogy: 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2'. In this scene, Katniss and her Star Squad are being chased through Panem's sewers by lizard mutts released by The Capitol.

    It's worth noting that for the first 12 seconds, the sound is all diegetic. Although this is a relatively short length of time, the realism this use of purely diegetic sound creates is successful in building up the tension that leads to a 'jump scare' moment when the first mutt attacks and kills Lieutenant Jackson, at which point dramatic, fast paced music begins; this also cues the increased pace of the action of the actors and also of the editing. This immediately changes the atmosphere of the scene and captures the audience's attention, retaining it throughout the scene. Until 1:11, the only lighting provided comes from the torches each character has attached to their firearms, and the occasional explosion caused by Katniss's specially made explosive arrows. This significantly low-key lighting makes it difficult for the audience to distinguish what's going on, thus making us all the more intrigued as to who is/isn't surviving the attack and what the eventual outcome will be. In terms of cinematography, most of the shots used in this scene tend to be long, medium long and medium. We very rarely see close-up shots and when we do, they are usually during climactic moments, for example at 0:15, we get our first glimpse of what the mutts look like at their most ferocious, instilling immediate fear in us. We get a similar close up shot at 1:46 when the mutt attacking Katniss appears to be gaining the upper hand, perhaps about to kill her, and as he moves his head closer to Katniss, he simultaneously moves his head towards us, almost as if he's attacking us.

    I think the representation of gender in this scene is very intriguing. There are some representations, particularly of male characters that reinforce the stereotypes inflicted by society. For example, at 2:44, we see Finnick (Sam Claflin) kill a mutt about to attack Katniss and briefly, all the attention diverts from all other characters and the focus is on Finnick as he continues to kill other mutts. The camera revolves around him, making him appear physically central, and even the music changes, making him appear all the more heroic. This reinforces the stereotype that men are strong and the heroes of conflict, saving vulnerable characters, usually women, from the enemy. However, this is quickly subverted when we see Cressida (Natalie Dormer) run into the scene at 2:56 and kills a mutt attacking Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), shouting "GO GO GO GO GO!", grabbing Peeta and ensuring he gets out safely. She lets Peeta get out first and continues to shoot mutts as she herself escapes. This representation completely opposes the female vulnerability stereotype and also the male hero stereotype. I think that by doing this, it encourages audiences, particularly female audiences to feel empowered in that by seeing strong female characters acting just as heroically as their male counterparts, they too have that heroism and they don't have to conform to how society portrays them.

    This has a clear link to the ever-increasing media debate revolving around gender equality and I think it's a very successful way of contributing to it because whereas some media texts explicitly try and force the message on audiences in an unhelpful, almost aggressive way, these films mask the message with a gripping, entertaining narrative, but the idea of feminism is still just as present, relevant and empowering.








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