Katniss vs. the Capitol: Gender and Power

Katniss and her symbol as "The Girl on Fire"

                                            Introduction

The Hunger Games (2012), directed by Gary Ross, tells a story about a young girl from district 12 named Katniss Everdeen. Katniss is forced to fight for her life in a competition created by the Capitol. While the movie is about survival, it also says a lot about gender. The Capitol uses the fighters that are mostly young teenagers and turns them into performers for the Capitol's entertainment. While also pushing them into roles that match old ideas about men and women. At the same time, Katniss challenges these roles by being a hunter, protector, and a symbol of resistance to the district. By looking at the way the games are staged, how Katniss acts, and how the setting shows class and gender differences. We can see how the story ties survival to identity.

Gender on display

Katniss and Peeta showing off their fire outfits.

One of the clearest ways gender appears in The Hunger Games is with the Capitol and their obsession with turning survival into a performance. Before the games begin, Katniss is turned into this symbol among the Capitol and the watchers as “the girl on fire.” Her appearance was designed to attract attention and admiration. While Peeta, on the other hand, is made appealing on tv through his confession to Katniss. These contrasting roles show how the capitol forces traditional gender roles. Women, not just Katniss but many of the other district women are displayed as these beauty symbols while the men are admired for their romance and loyalty. What seems like harmless entertainment to watchers and readers is actually a manipulative way of control as it is forcing these tributes to fit into the capitol’s expectations rather than letting the tributes act as they want as they might be headed for a possibly gruesome ending. In this way, the games show how gender itself is used to help entertain, keeping old stereotypes even in a futuristic setting.

Breaking the rules

Even though the Capitol is wanting Katniss to be seen as this glamorous symbol, she complicates those expectations because she doesn’t fit into the Capitol’s idea of femininity. In her own district, she is the provider for her family, hunting illegally to keep her family alive as her sister is too young and mother too mentally checked out since Katniss’s father’s passing. When she volunteers to take Prim’s place, she steps into the role of a protector, a role often associated with fathers or brothers. In the arena, her survival skills being archery and tracking are also traits usually associated with male characters. By placing these traits in a female character, the film challenges the idea that strength and independence are only masculine. Katniss’s character shows that women can be tough, caring, able to provide, protect, and lead all at once.

Using Femininity to Survive

Katniss helping Peeta with his wounds.

  At the same time, Katniss shows that femininity can be used as a tool for survival. The romance storyline with Peeta is not entirely genuine, but Katniss plays along with it because Katniss and her mentor Haymitch know it will drag in sympathy which gives more sponsors. In doing so, Katniss demonstrates that she can “perform” the idea of the Capitols version of femininity, which is softness, vulnerability, and the most importantly romance. While she demonstrates this, she’s also secretly using it to her advantage. By doing this, Katniss changes the Capitol’s plan. Rather than being stuck in a role the Capitol forced upon her, she uses it to survive and help save Peeta. This shows that gender roles can limit people but also be used as power.

Beauty 

Capitol Men and Women

The film also shows how when class is changed the gender roles are also experienced differently. In the Capitol, women are expected to focus almost entirely on beauty, fashion, and the overall display of themselves. Their bright colored wigs, extreme makeup, and usually the most colorful outfits make them show off their wealth which also then makes them seem shallow. The women in the Capitol are trapped in a different kind of control, treated like some decoration, focused only on looks with no actual power behind them. In contrast, the women in the districts, especially the bigger numbers like district 12 are shaped by survival and poverty. Katniss illegally hunts in the woods to be able to feed her family, which is a role that is usually catered towards more men. In district 12, instead of being valued for appearance, people are valued for what they can provide. This difference shows that gender isn’t specifically only one role but changes when it comes to class and power. Where when it comes to wealth, women are trapped in an endless cycle of beauty and weakness. But, when it is poverty, women must be strong and resourceful.

                                        Final Thoughts

Overall, The Hunger Games uses its dystopian world to show how gender and power are linked to survival. Katniss is forced into the roles of beauty and romance, but she ends up using it to her advantage. At the same time, the Capitol’s obsession with image shows how appearances can be used as a tool of control. The movie suggests that challenging control means more than just using violence and force, it's also about claiming power and deciding on how that power is used.

                                                                        Work Cited

Ross, Gary, director. The Hunger Games. Lionsgate, 2012.