The Hunger Games: A blockbuster action or a social realism film?

The Hunger Games (2012) is a film based on Suzanne Collins’ novel directed by Gary Ross, staring Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. In reference to the macro elements of film (narrative, genre, representation, and audience) this essay will conclude that The Hunger Games is in fact a social realism film and not just an action film.

One reason the film can be classed as social realism is due to its representation as it includes: the wealthy and the poor, ethnic minorities, and male and female roles. Given that the 12 districts portray the poor and the capitol conveys the wealthy, this could be seen as reflecting real life where the wealthy dictate and control the lower classes. Furthermore, Rue is from district 11 where the majority seem to be ethnic minorities thus imitating reality as historically, and still in certain places in the world, black people and other ethnicities have been segregated from white people. In addition to this, the way in which male and female characters are represented contradicts the way we might view these genders in real life. For example, Katniss Everdeen is portrayed as being emotionless and strong, “He made me look weak”, and Peeta Mellark is conveyed as being more compassionate and less serious than Katniss. This brings light to gender stereotypes that are apparent in our society and tries to challenge them. Therefore, The Hunger Games can be received as a social realism film due to its representation that reflects but also challenges society in reality.

However, The Hunger Games could also be described as an action film with elements of other genres. For instance, the growing relationship between Peeta and Katniss throughout the film could imply the film is in fact a romance although it could also be argued that this romance is important to the story as it results in the audience forming an emotional attachment with the characters and that this doesn’t necessarily mean that the film is a romance. The Hunger Games also has aspects of comedic dialogue however it would be incorrect to class the film as a comedy as this is just much needed comic relief to the social realism genre that it is. The film may have been considered as an action film in order to drive audiences to see it at the cinema, as action films usually do better at the cinema than social realism films. This is because action films tend to be more of a spectacle with CGI and sound effects whereas with social realism films most people prefer to discuss them during the film and the budgets are normally smaller so there isn’t a need to see it on a huge screen. So therefore by classing The Hunger Games as an action film it would have earned a higher worldwide gross, $694,394,724, compared to a film classed as a social realism film such as Pride which accumulated $7,285,099.

The narrative of The Hunger Games emphasises that the film is more of a social realism than an action film. The plot is in a linear sequence with a number of flashbacks throughout to help the audience understand the characters more, this highlights that the film can be categorised as social realism as reality also follows a linear structure. There is also predictable chain of effects with cause and effect taking place which also relates to what happens in real life as it is fairly predictable with consequences, which usually isn’t an action film convention as action films tend to be unpredictable and quite unrealistic. On the other hand, it can be argued that the film still includes moments of action such as the killing and fighting of the tributes as well as Katniss running from the fire and animals that they put into the game. However, the film includes more that would categorise it as social realism such as gender stereotypes, the capitol having sovereignty over the districts, as well as the divide between the rich and the poor. All of which relate to real social and political issues in the world.

The different genre conventions of The Hunger Games appeal to many audiences so it is difficult to argue if it is an action or a social realism film purely based off of the audience that the film pulls in. The Hunger Games appeals to teenagers and young adults as that was what Suzanne Collins’ novel appealed to; in addition to this, the film was given a 12A certificate in  order to maximise young audiences to go and see it. This may imply that the film is more of a romance/action film as this is what usually appeals to younger audiences. However, The Hunger Games still appealed to many adults due to its hidden social realism elements.