Reaction Paper: Catching Fire - A Parallel World That We Should Avoid

               Catching Fire is the sequel of the film The Hunger Games. It tells the story of how the Capitol, the nation’s ruling city, controls the very poor districts of Panem by annually holding the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is an event where 24 teenagers, a pair from each district, are sent in an arena to fight and kill each other. The last man standing will be called the victor and will be able to live in prosperity and comfort.

                For me, this film is not science fiction. It is more of a dystopia. According to Gutenberg.org, a science fiction is a “…genre of fiction in which the narrative world differs from our own present or historical reality…” Yes, the film might include high-tech computer-controlled arenas, but the “narrative world” is still the same as ours. The same in the way that there are still ruling classes. The people in poverty are still being oppressed by the powerful. For me, the technological advancements that they have in the Capitol are just props to make the story interesting, but the main plot revolves around a dystopian society.

                Catching Fire is also an interpretation of the reality, its past, present and future. The storyline contains the elements of discrimination, power-tripping, great economic gap, rebellion, and survival of the fittest. In our history, we can see how empires and kingdoms rule their respective territories, the same as the capitol ruling its districts. We can also see from our past that there is always the element of discrimination among the different classes of society, which we can still see up until the present. Today, we can still see poor people everywhere, some people who kill, steal and commit crimes just to be able to eat at least once a day. This proves the economic gap that our society has. Finally, as time progresses, technology will become more advanced. However, same as Catching Fire, no matter how advanced a society is, as long as there are ruling classes, there will always be people who are living in poverty and darkness.

                The success of science, technology and society (STS) in Panem can be seen through the various products that each district produces. In the world of Panem, each district produces a specific good for the capitol, such as luxury items from District 1, grain from District 9 and coal from District 12. Science and technology also succeeded in the Capitol because of its high-tech structures, such as the computer-controlled Hunger Games arena. However, the failure of STS can also be seen in the story because technology should be able to improve people’s lives and to bridge the gap. However, it only improve the lives of the wealthy people from the Capitol. Instead of bridging the gap, science and technology, with the help of prosperous societies, only widened the economic, and cultural gap between the upper and lower class in Panem.

2013-59623

Ragaza, Marco Paulo P. 

STS THX