Featured Humanity vs Reality

Poster Session
Kealiʻi Rapozo  

Literature in any form is an excellent representation of what we can't see physically but visualize within ourselves. However, when these themes are brought to life, countless factors and perspectives come into play. This study considers the fictional dystopian world written through The Hunger Games franchise that portrays these literary concepts through multiple aspects of perspective, media, and identity. "May the odds be ever in your favor" is the motto these games live by, but when analyzed thoroughly, were there ever odds, to begin with? These games are where the innocent are thrown in to fight to the death at the hands of a previous generation’s uprising against the capital. All while being enjoyed by the rich as they harness the pain of these districts for their entertainment. These events are paraded as entertainment, games that all can tune into, and they turn this into a spectacle. A spectacle is an exceedingly visually striking experience; "the world is watching," as the franchise describes it, proves that these games are not for honor, nothing near dignity, but pure entertainment. Each district has its area of specialization, up until the point of the actual games as they are stripped away from them. Today, it is essential to understand the rules and ideas we live by and the possible routes they can lead to creating our reality. We do not always have control over the decision process, but we have control over what we make of it.