The revolution is here.
Part one of the epic conclusion of the “Hunger Games” series hits theaters Friday after a year of leaving fans dangling on the edge of their seats with one of the most heart-breaking cliffhangers in young-adult film history.
“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I” is the third film in the four-part series based off IU alumna Suzanne Collins’ highly acclaimed book series.
In the two films that preceded “Mockingjay,” audiences developed a close relationship with the story’s heroine, Katniss Everdeen.
In the first film, “The Hunger Games,” the audience is dropped into a dystopian world separated into 12 districts, from which two children per district are plucked every year to battle each other to the death in what is known as the Hunger Games.
Katniss, played by Academy Award-winner Jennifer Lawrence, volunteers in her younger sister’s place to save her life. Peeta Mellark, played by Josh Hutcherson, is the selected male tribute.
In the end, Katniss and Peeta are the survivors. Because, as we learn in the subsequent film, when it comes to the Hunger Games, there are no winners.
In “Catching Fire,” Katniss has unknowingly sparked a series of uprisings throughout the districts, much to the chagrin of President Snow (Donald Sutherland). To squash the hope Katniss represents, Snow plots to get rid of her through the Games.
The new gamemaker, Plutarch Heavensbee, played by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, designs the game to select tributes from a pool of former victors.
Katniss and Peeta soon find themselves back in the arena, but this time with allies.
The pair teams up with victors from other districts: Deetee and Wiress of District 3, Finnick Odair and Mags of District 4 and Johanna Mason of District 7.
Katniss manages to electrocute the force field, and the arena begins to crumble around her. The audience is then hit with a load of information in two short, separate waking scenes: the Capitol has captured Peeta, and District 12 is in ruins.
That brings us to “Mockingjay.”
The rebellion is forming, and citizens of the districts will attempt to rid their homeland of Capitol control.
Katniss is taken to District 13, where the rebels are organizing. She is asked to become the symbol of the rebellion, the mockingjay.
There’s a lot to expect from “Mockingjay.” The story is expanding and deepening. This is no longer a cruel game. Katniss and company are now part of full-out war.
Hopefully, splitting the book into two films will allow the writers enough space to properly portray the important and critical themes of “Mockingjay” on the big screen. So far, we’ve seen it work for big finales such as “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” and, God help me, “Breaking Dawn.”
There’s always a risk of losing the moral of a story to film. In this particular series, it is especially important that the main points are not lost.
“The Hunger Games” is about a society in which children are forced to murder one another for audience entertainment. It’s about the manipulation of the media. It’s a wake-up call to our own media. It’s about a traumatized teenage girl constantly forced to bear the weight of the world on her shoulders.
It’s imperative that these themes aren’t romanticized by overplayed love triangles puntuated with awkward kisses and fancy special effects.
What we should hope to see is a strong female character not defined by the desires of the men around her as female characters so often fall victim to.
Katniss is the hero this generation needs. She is by no means perfect. She’s clever, but she’s not the smartest. She’s skilled, but she’s not the strongest. She’s brave, but she isn’t without fear. She has been damaged, but she doesn’t break.
That is the kind of strong female character missing in the media today, and “The Hunger Games” series is the slap in the face we all needed.
Love the effects, cry at the soundtrack. But don’t let those aspects of the film distract you from the real issues “The Hunger Games” series brings to light.
If we let the flashy lights and OTPs dominate our thoughts, we are no better than those in the Capitol.
