Ideologies of Control: A Case Study

The Hunger Games trilogy, written by Suzanne Collins and created into four movies under the direction of Francis Lawrence, provides one example of how leadership and control can be used for public manipulation in a dystopian environment.  Drawing from examples in The Hunger Games trilogy and subsequent movies as well as the second chapter of Popular Culture: A User's Guide by Imre Szeman and Susie O'Brien (2017), I argue that the merge of two ideologies, capitalism and productivity, has resulted in class stratification.  And, surveillance and enclosure of space by the entity/organization/individual in power are used in order maintain this social control. 

Capitalism and Productivity 

According to Szeman and O'Brien, it was during the "Industrial Revolution" that capitalism took hold of British economic interests (34).  Capitalism is an economic ideology geared toward the attainment of profit through competitive means.  In this system, it was the bourgeoisie (i.e. businessmen) who owned the labor (i.e. working class or proletariat).  As a result, this system led to the alienation of the working class, who are seen as exploited tools for the creation of profit (Szeman & O'Brien, 35).  Here, the worker could be seen as being dehumanized and exploited in order to produce a commodity that yields profit for the businessmen.

This exploitation continued with the introduction of mechanization, first conceived by American Henry Ford.  Mechanization takes on an "assembly-line" approach to production, where one individual's job is to create a small part of a larger product (Szeman & O'Brien, 35-36).  Although this has increased productivity immensely for a consumer economy which demands more, this mechanization results in the degradation of human agency, leaving the human to complete minuscule, repetitive tasks for a larger product. 

The alienation and exploitation of the working class is shown explicitly in The Hunger Games trilogy.  Throughout the first book of the trilogy, The Hunger Games, Katniss is characterized by Collins as having a very negative, hatred towards the Capitol and their decisions, that ends up increasing throughout the book series.  Katniss notes the sectionality between the twelve, once thirteen, districts and the Capitol as well as each district against the others (Collins, 5-6, 13-14, 18-19, 91, 103-104).  One example of this is what Katniss calls the "Career Pack" in "The Games."  The closer the district is to the Capitol, the more resources and opportunities its people have for training for "The Games."  As a result, those districts closest to the Capitol may breed certain children specifically for competing, or having a career in, "The Games" (Collins, 94).

Moreover, Szeman and O'Brien mention that the dramatic increase in capitalist and production-based ideology has changed social organization, allowing for a structure "based on discipline, uniformity, and atomization" (35).  In order to control the working class laborers and to maintain profit, businessmen look to rules and regulations to accompany their ideologies.

This idea of uniformity is depicted by the clothing of The Hunger Games movie series directed by Lawrence.  Each image below shows the uniformity of a particular location of the Capitol and its districts based upon their class level and societal values.  

Katniss, Prim, their Mother, and Gale at Annie and Finnick's wedding in The Mockingjay Part II movie.  Notice that the uniformity of the clothing in District 13 is dark brown, unlike the picture below of the white-clothed Capitol members.
Image retrieved from pinterest.com on Fri., Feb. 14, 2020.

Peeta, President Snow, Peacekeepers, and Unknown Capitol Woman wearing all white to signify the purity of the people of Panem in the Capitol.  Image retrieved from movieviral.com in a post from Michael Lee titled "The Hunger Games:  Mockingjay Part I: Viral Video - District 13 has a Message for Panem" on Fri., Feb. 14, 2020.

Previous victors who have become tributes for the "Third Quarter Quell Hunger Games."  Notice their uniform clothing that seems grey and mechanized in color.  Image retrieved from coolpapae blog post
(created on Jan. 25, 2014) on Fri., Feb. 14, 2020.  

Surveillance and Enclosure

One way that businessmen may try to contain their laborers is through surveillance (Szeman & O'Brien, 34).  Surveillance allows for the control of individuals by making them feel a loss of privacy.  This loss of privacy and feelings of constantly being watched by another forms the idea of panopticism, conceived by philosopher Jeremy Bentham as a prison structure idea.  Michel Foucault examines the concept of the panopticon prison by consisting of "[...] at the periphery, an annular building; at the centre, a tower [...]" where "backlighting" causes the convicts inside to be unable to see the guards (5-6).  The convicts are left to develop a state of fear, anxiety, and stress resulting from creating "a state of conscious and permanent visibility" by the guards, who are standing in the center, "that assures the automatic functioning of power" (Foucault, 6).

Interestingly enough, one of the key parts of a panopticon-based approach to social control is enclosure.  And, in the industrial revolution, laws were passed that restricted the mobility of working class individuals throughout public spaces.  In what is known as the Enclosure Acts in the 1830s in Great Britain, the previously-public spaces within a state, typically used for recreation, sport, or other leisure activities, were restricted (Szeman & O'Brien, 32).  This restriction was meant to enhance surveillance and control tactics that were enforced on the working class.

This regulation of space via enclosure intensifies the anxiety and pressure already found within the surveilled environment.  This idea is best expressed in the Catching Fire movie during the "Third Quarter Quell Hunger Games," where the physical arena is in the form of a clock.  In this arena, the movements are solely as a result of the Game-makers hoping to cause the deaths of the tributes.

Furthermore, this enclosure has led to the marginalization of the poor.  During the industrial revolution in Great Britain, Szeman and O'Brien mention that classist distinctions were made between the poor and middle classes.  For example, the middle-class added extended hours and certain "high-brow" activities, like the music hall, where the poor could not afford to be a part of or we not welcomed (47-49).

This idea of the lower classes of people, who live in the districts, not being welcome in the Capitol is illustrated by the fortress built surrounding it.  The Capitol lies on a mountain with only a train that leads to and from its districts.  Also, the fenced perimeter its districts shows the separation the Capitol intends to have between them.

With a panopticon system of surveillance, the Capitol is able to manipulate the districts and its own people through fear tactics.  Using enclosure of space, members of society are forced to maintain uniform standards.  And, with surveillance and enclosure, the capitalist and production-oriented ideologies of society can persist, allowing the Capitol to maintain hierarchy over its districts for some time.

Word count:  788 words (excluding introduction, captioned images, and conclusion)

Works cited

Collins, Suzanne.  The Hunger Games.  Scholastic Press, New York:  2008.  pp. 1-374.

Foucault, Michel.  "Panopticism."  Discipline & Punish:  The Birth of the Prison.  Indiana University Press:  2008.  pp. 1-12.

Lawrence, Francis.  The Hunger Games:  Catching Fire.  Based on Catching Fire from The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.  Lionsgate:  2013.

Lawrence, Francis.  The Hunger Games:  Mockingjay - Part I.  Based on Mockingjay from The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.  Lionsgate:  2014.

Lawrence, Francis.  The Hunger Games:  Mockingjay - Part II.  Based on Mockingjay from The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.  Lionsgate:  2015.
Szeman, Imre & O'Brien, Suzie.  "The History of Popular Culture."  Popular Culture:  A User's Guide.  John Wiley & Sons, Inc.:  2017.