Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games and the Society of the Spectacle

The theory of spectacle is introduced by Guy Debord in his famous book The Society of Spectacle. Debord presents the society of Spectacle as a mere representation of seemingly real images which is used by the capital for its own good. Spectacle consists of images such as games, entertainments or television shows which are political tools in the hands of the Capitol to stabilize its power. In fact, by applying these images through different exciting entertainments and shows, the Capitol disperses people more and destroys their unity so that people cannot be united to rebel against the Capitol’s power. This paper tries to apply the theory of spectacle to Suzanne Collin’s Hunger Games and as the title of the novel is very telling of itself, it revolves around the annual event of Hunger Games connoting the starvation of the poor people in the twelve districts and the Capitol. The setting of this novel is Panem which is shown as a dystopia because of its misusing of the modern technologies which are much more developed than our own so that people’s mind will be entrapped within the images produced by these technologies. This research tries to prove that the city of Panem, with its governor President Snow, well represents the society of spectacle. This paper shows the influence of such a society on the poor people of these districts and the way they overcome President


INTRODUCTION
The society of spectacle proposed by Debord is a society in which the capitalists or the dominant class rule people by the help of seemingly real images and visions. These images are embedded in media, entertainments and games which attract people's attention. This too much attraction leads people not to see the reality of the society and the dictatorship of the capital imposing inequality and enmity on people. In fact, People are so much reveled in these unreal but seemingly real images that they do not see these enmities and injustices. Debord believes that in the society of spectacle the life of the people is reduced to accumulation of spectacles suggesting the triumph of the mere representations or visualizations over real life. This is called "advanced capitalism" by Debord. It is called advanced because this kind of capitalism employs modern technologies in order to drown people's minds in its sea of unreal images which are called spectacle.
Spectacle is actually the mass media, entertainments and games affecting the labor with all their artificial representations. Best  "Entertainment is a dominant mode of the society of the spectacle with its codes permeating business, news and information, politics, education and everyday life ("Cybersituations" 137). In other words, the capitalists use this strategy to make people passive. People are so much reveled in the spectacle that they cannot rebel against the dictatorship of the capitalism since it is the force of vision that help capital to dominate the whole society and bring alienation, by means of inequality, for the people. Duncan defines this characteristic of spectacle in his article, this way: It is not unhelpful to think of the mass media as the visual manifestation, the visible and tangible expression of something that has far deeper roots. These roots are in a phenomenon that Marx identified in his early writings as the defining characteristic of capitalism: alienation. The spectacle is the aggregated sum total, the visual medium through which a society completely dominated. (2) Society of spectacle has dangerous effects on the mind and experience of people as consumers or as mere spectators. "The spectacle in its generality is a concrete inversion of life, and, as such, the autonomous movement of nonlife" (Debord 5). In fact, spectacle is a hidden unjust force that pervades the life of people through the unreal images which superficially seem to be real. To the public eye these hidden images seem real. It is called hidden because people cannot see what is behind and beyond the images. Actually they communicate with the surface of the spectacle distracting the people's minds from seeing the reality. "Appearances do not represent reality anymore, but a new stage of abstraction is reached in which the whole cycle of production, distribution, and consumption is presented in terms of abstract signs with no relation to an objective world" (Kosovic 19). According to Kosovic, the images are just represented as abstraction that is far from reality of the society and the whole world. The power of spectacle makes people passive because the "glaring images" on the surface are mere representations that prevent them from seeing a ruling class called capitalism and its dictatorship. Best and Kellner believe: But the concept also refers to the vast institutional and technical apparatus of contemporary capitalism, to all the means and methods power employs, outside of direct force, to relegate subjects passive to societal manipulation and to obscure the nature and effects of capitalism's power and deprivations. (Best, Kellner, "Postmodern" (4).
The result is turning people into passive consumers unable to revolt and take action against the dictatorship of the capital. "The spectacle is the bad dream of modem society in chains, expressing nothing more than its wish for sleep. The spectacle is the guardian of that sleep" (Debord 8). As Debord said in his book, spectacle makes people have a deep sleep or dream which means passivity since it is just a dream without any practicality or vitality which is required by everyone to overcome the cruelty of the society. For example some starving people are attracted to images of food highlighted in some games or television shows and they struggle with one another to gain those foods. They are in fact trying to gain the image of food and they do not know that they are actually drowned in these images deviating their attention from the inequalities and injustices imposed on them by the capital. Actually the images of the spectacle impose the dominant class's ideology on the public. This leads to degradation of people's knowledge, unity and experience, however it makes them alienated from the society;

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DISCUSSION
Suzanne Collin's novel The Hunger Games accounts a dystopian life of Panem which is divided into two parts of the Capitol and the twelve poor districts under the dominance of a cruel ruler called President Snow. He is a dictator who exploits the districts by imposing inequality on them. Each district is producing a product for the Capitol; for example district twelve produces coals. But the poor themselves are not allowed to use their productions and it is the Capitol that appropriates all productions for itself. Here a wide class distinction appears between Capitol and the districts. Katniss, the sixteen year old hero of the novel, lives in district twelve and by hunting she provides food for her mother and her little sister, Primrose, since the death of her father in a mine explosion. Katniss is a skilled hunter; she goes to the places where she and other inhabitants are prohibited to go for hunting; the Capitol determined a penalty for anyone hunting there. But Katniss has to go there as she is the breadwinner of her family: Even though trespassing in the woods is illegal and poaching carries the severest of penalties, more people would risk it if they had weapons. But most are not bold enough to venture out with just a knife. My bow is a rarity, crafted by my father along with a few others that I keep well hidden in the woods, carefully wrapped in waterproof covers. (Collins 5) Katniss lives in a place where even eating bread is a dream for her and the inhabitants. When Gale, Katniss's hunting partner, gives her a loaf of bread, she becomes surprised and says: It's real bakery bread, not the flat, dense loaves we make from our grain rations. I take it in my hands, pull out the arrow, and hold the puncture in the crust to me like this is for special occasions. (Collins 5) So, a wide class distinction and inequality pervade Panem. But why people do not rebel against this wide class distinction and injustice imposed on them by the powerful President Snow? This is what this paper tries to answer by investigating the novel in the light of Debord's theory.
Panem is the setting of this novel which is divided into two districts of different classes; one is the Capitol in which the wealthy people live and the other is the twelve districts who are poor and under the control of the Capitol. Peterson says: "while the citizens of the Capitol live in luxury and complacency, the citizens of District 13 are taught from an early age that they have to fight to survive and are forced to live under controlled circumstances" (5). District thirteen is entirely destructed by the Capitol because of its rebellion against the Capitol. Panem is ruled by the President Snow who is a cruel and unjust president who employs "spectacle strategy" to develop enmity among people. President Snow exploits the labor of the districts for his own advantage without granting any benefit to them and keeps the inhabitants hungry. Instead, in order to attract their attention to the images of food, clothes,

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wealth and comfortable life he brings the spectacle of the game of Hunger Games in which the participants are the poor. In fact, the victims of this game are the poor people of the twelve districts. "The rules of the Hunger Games are simple. In punishment for the uprising, each of the twelve districts must provide one girl and one boy, called tributes, to participate" (Collins 16). Even children living in twelve districts are educated based on the products they are supposed to produce in a near future. "Besides basic reading and math most of our instruction is coal-related. Except for the weekly lecture on the history of Panem. It is mostly a lot of blather about what we owe the Capitol" (Collins 38). In fact, the mob are prepared to be exploited by the Capitol in a near future. They are not allowed to decide about their education which is fundamentally a personal issue.
The Hunger Games is an annual event in Panem, which is a penance for the past rebellion of the district thirteen against the Capitol and it is also a way of separating people of the districts by making them compete against one another to gain their requirements. Every year a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18 should take part in this televised game. The Capitol coerces the people of the districts, because of their previous rebellion, to bestow a boy and a girl for the games. Katniss asserts: "whatever words they use, the real message is clear. Look how we take your children and sacrifice them and there's nothing you can do. If you lift a finger, we will destroy every last one of you. Just as we did in District Thirteen" (Collins 16). The mob are compelled to fight at the cost of their death till one remains; this remaining person is the victor of the games. The winner will be awarded with abundance of food, a glorious house and clothes. "The last tribute alive receives a life of ease back home, and their district will be showered with prizes, largely consisting of food" (Collins 17). This kind of unfair treatment enhances the enmity among the districts; one district may have much more sustenance than the other districts because of its winners. As Duncan mentions: "the spectacle thus unites what is separate, but unites it only in its separateness" (2). In other words, the Hunger Games gathers the young boys and girls from the twelve districts to play the Hunger Games but the rule of these games includes the tactic of separateness and killing in order to win the prize. This strategy of the games brings enmity and war to the districts but the districts are ignorant of the fact that it is the Capitol's desire to entrap the people in the web of glaring spectacles for its own good. Thus in the light of Duncan's claim the Capitol ostensibly unites the starving people but it truly leads them to separation.
As a political tool in the hands of President Snow, Hunger Games is a threat for the districts not to rebel against the Capitol any more. Every year President Snow reminds the poor of their past uprising and his control over the districts; that's why he uses glittering images of the televised Hunger Games to control the minds of the people. Collins, in an interview, states: "in the book, the annual Hunger Games themselves are a power tool used as a reminder of who is in charge and what will happen to citizens who don't capitulate" (Blasingame 726). The images of these games including the images of food and wealth are so inviting for the staring people of the districts that they can even kill one another to win the wealth. Thus the Capitol succeeds to manipulate the minds of the people by imposing its rules, demands and ideologies through modern technologies such as spectacle without bloodshed and physical war. In fact, spectacle is a deceitful game against the minds of the poor people who are deceived by these fake images. Consequently the people of the districts under the rule of the Capitol will not rebel against the Capitol's power. They even cannot talk about his injustice as it is explained by Katniss, the hero-narrator of the novel: "so I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts" (Collins 5). Hamre states that this entertainment or in other words punishment will be continued unless people take the step to rebel: "connected to this are also

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what consequences this type of punishment/entertainment might have on a population and how long mistreatment of the population can be allowed to continue" (12). Therefore, Hunger Games are one of the sources of inequality and enmity between people of different districts and this is the strategy used by the Capitol to prevent them from upheaval. Hunger Games and the images are just for absorbing people's attention and entangling them in the images which are based on their needs; though these fake images do not fulfill their needs. But how this Hunger Game makes an unreal mask of unification? Actually, there are some glaring images deceiving people and attracting them towards the Capitol and its seemingly generosity. One of these images is Tesserae which is giving food to those whose names are included in the Reaping day (the day on which lottery is done for choosing a boy and a girl from each district) more than once. Tesserae is a prize for those who are in need of more food and sustenance. This is another tactic of the Capitol to entrap the people in the deceitful game. The sadness of Katniss is described in the novel when she talks about Tesserae in a mournful tone: You can opt to add your name more times in exchange for tesserae. Each tessera is worth a meager year's supply of grain and oil for one person. You may do this for each of your family members as well. So, at the age of twelve, I had my name entered four times. Once, because I had to, and three times for tesserae for grain and oil for myself, Prim, and my mother. In fact, every year I have needed to do this. And the entries are cumulative. So now, at the age of sixteen, my name will be in the reaping twenty times. (Collins 11) So the names of those who do not need more food are included once like mayor's daughter. Gale (Katniss's partner in hunting) and Katniss's names, who are in need of more food, are included more than once. Gale's name is repeated forty-two times and Katniss's name is included in the Reaping twenty times. This leads to turmoil and upheaval in the districts. However, Hamre informs the people of this trick of the Capitol making separation among districts: "as mentioned earlier, one way of keeping the districts from forming an alliance against the Capitol is to always keep them separated both the districts and the people within the districts" (27). It is mentioned in the novel that Tesserae brings inequality and cruelty among the people of districts and it is a political tool in the hands of the Capitol: How the Tesserae are just another tool to cause misery in our district. A way to plant hatred between the starving workers of the Seam and those who can generally count on supper and thereby ensure we will never trust one another. "It's to the Capitol's advantage to have us divided among ourselves," he might say if there were no ears to hear but mine. (Collins 12) Another element in Hunger Games which make enmity among people is the rule of killing for gaining wealth and award. Thus, winning the prize of food and money is a glaring rule in Hunger Games to attract the people towards an unreal generosity of President Snow. Unfortunately, some are reveled in to this glaring image. Many boys and girls practice a lot and are the volunteers of taking part in the games with the hope of winning money. Hamre stipulates that how these tributes prepare themselves for the games in order to win the prize: These children seek to win the Games for glory. This only adds further to the split between the districts and also between the tributes in the arena. Everyone

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becomes an enemy for one reason or another. Furthermore, by controlling the channels of information and what the districts know about each other, the Capitol is keeping the districts from coordinating with each other and also keeping them from identifying with one another. (26) Katniss and Peeta (the boy from district twelve who is chosen as a tribute accompanied by Katniss for this year's Hunger Games) break this rule by introducing themselves as starcrossed lovers which is the suggestion of their mentor, Haymitch who guides them how to win. By this pretension, they win the sponsors' favors which are a great help to them; since the favors are in the form of foods and drugs which are very supportive during the Hunger Games. This will enhance their survival. Another example is the friendship of Katniss and Rue (one of the tributes from district 11) in the Hunger Games which is against the Capitol's rule as they violate the Capitol's rule and do not kill each other. They have a sense of trust and unity; that's why instead of killing, they help each other. Katniss believes: "Rue has decided to trust me wholeheartedly. I know this because as soon as the anthem finishes she snuggles up against me and falls asleep. Nor do I have any misgivings about her, as I take no particular precautions" (Collins 197). But other tributes like Cato and Clove follow the killing rule of the Capitol and behave brutally. They are so much reveled in the images of the prize for winning Hunger Games as a spectacle that they do not see the injustice being hold upon them; the injustice of killing each other, the injustice of killing a human. Thus, the result is their inevitable death and their district's deterioration for their district loses another boy and a girl. Consequently, the weaker the districts become the more powerful the Capitol becomes.
What is required is to make people aware of the unreality of the spectacle including Hunger Games, the exciting hunting, bloodshed and killings. Katniss and Peetah are informed about these deceitful strategies. Taking part in the games and getting more informed of its cruelty, Katniss confesses: It's the Capitol I hate, for doing this to all of us. Gale's voice is in my head. His ravings against the Capitol no longer pointless, no longer to be ignored. Rue's death has forced me to confront my own fury against the cruelty, the injustice they inflict upon us. But here, even more strongly than at home, I feel my impotence. There's no way to take revenge on the Capitol. Is there? Then I remember Peeta's words on the roof. "Only I keep wishing I could think of a way to ... to show the Capitol they don't own me. That I'm more than just a piece in their Games." (Collins 223) Hamre also encourages Katniss's and Peeta's victory as an initiation of a revolution against the unjust hierarchy of Panem. This initiation requires the corroboration and coordination of others: Katniss and Peeta's rebellious acts in the arena are what initiate the rebellion that continues in the next two books of the series and that will ultimately change the lives of the people in Panem. They both resist being pawns in the Capitol's Hunger Games and by doing so, they are initiating a chain of events that, when first started, is demanding a lot of them as human beings and which is also almost impossible to stop. The human aspects of the Hunger Games are probably what is the most unsettling about them, especially when it comes to how participants and viewers are affected. (17)

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Another glaring image of the Hunger Games spectacle is food. Food is something that the people of twelve districts lack and they daily struggle to provide it for their families. So, this is the point of weakness that the Capitol can maneuver on and can make use of for its own good. Actually, abundance of food and drinks in Capitol attract the poor and also the wealthy inhabitants of the Capitol. "The huge waste of food in the Capitol clearly shows that the resources are not being used or distributed fairly in Panem" (Hamre 31). Food is an innovation or a modern tool in the hands of the Capitol to keep the twelve districts under its own control and highlight class distinction. The starving people attempt to provide food for themselves at the cost of killing their citizens and friends, especially in the Games. Food is the dominant issue in the novel reminding the people of the Capitols' power. Katniss describes the table in the mansion as such: "the supper comes in courses. A thick carrot soup, green salad, lamb chops and mashed potatoes, cheese and fruit, a chocolate cake" (Collins 40). Because people are poor and have no access to food and drinks, President Snow can easily deceive them by employing spectacle strategy. Hamre suggests that the districts are unaware of the fact that they are deceived by the images of food: When it comes to the districts of Panem, the lack of food is a highly intentional move by the Capitol to keep the districts under control. And by in addition controlling the media, the Capitol makes sure that its own citizens do not know on what or at whose expense their feasting is done. (32) In the society of spectacle, the technology is a way in the Capital's hand to deceive people, maneuvering on their needs and requirements. "The spectacular society spreads its narcotics mainly through the cultural mechanisms of leisure and consumption, services and entertainment, ruled by the dictates of advertising and a commercialized media culture" (Best, Keller, "postmodern" 4). The same happens in this novel in which the Capitol uses lots of technologies and innovations to make such entertainments such as the televised annual Hunger Games. Entrapping by these entertainments, the ignorant people of districts are so submerged in the pleasure of watching the games that they do not rebel against the cruel society.
In addition, food represents fighting since there are poisonous Nightlock berries in the games so that the chance of winning would be decreased if the people eat them mistakenly. Katniss refuses to eat these berries during the games because her father informed her of the danger of the berries when she was a child. Hamre believes that refusing to eat Nightlock berries reveals rebellious nature of Katniss: "food becomes the utmost symbol of rebellion when Katniss pours out, and threatens to eat the Nightlock berries that would ensure the failure of the Gamemakers to produce a winner" (32).
As it is obvious, food is a tool for the Capitol to reach its brutal aims which is entrapping people's soul and body so that they are kept unaware of the cruelties of President Snow and consequently they do not revolt against the Capitol and its dictatorship. People are submerged in food entertainments which is one of the devices in the hands of the Capitol to promote class distinction in Panem. There is an extreme starvation in the twelve districts while the inhabitants of the Capitol have abundance of food. In the districts people like Katniss and Gale hunt to provide food for their families whereas in the Capitol people waste food easily. President Snow uses food as a way of gaining political, social and economical power. Hamre quotes Despain: "Collins uses this poisonous quality of food throughout the novels as foodstuff moves from daily sustenance to political power play" (32). As Debord says in his book Society of Spectacle, an image is not real though it seems real at first glance.

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In fact, providing food for the winner of the Hunger Games is a deceitful and glaring illusion for the people of the districts; it just increases enmity and injustices among them. "The whole life of those societies in which modern conditions of production prevail presents itself as an immense accumulation of spectacles. All that once was directly lived has become mere representation" (Debord 5).
The last element which can be called an unreal image in the Hunger Games is paying too much attention to looks and appearances. In fact, paying so much care to appearances such as glaring fashioned clothes is a way to deviate people's attention from the cruelties done by the Capitol. Employing this strategy, President Snow keeps the districts and also the inhabitants of the Capitol under his control. Katniss's clothes for attracting sponsors and people who are attending the television shows are noteworthy. "The extreme focus on looks and appearances may tempt some people to take drastic steps to obtain a desired appearance" (Hamre 37). So, according to Hamre and theoreticians of the society of spectacle, getting too much involved in appearances provides people with a mere dazzling image and consequently prevents them to see the reality behind it. The reality which is the cause of their poverty and weaknesses.
But in the eyes of smart Cinna, the cloth designer of Katniss and Peeta, using colorful clothes, a power in the hands of the Capitol, is a power which should be in the hands of the people of the district twelve. For the opening ceremony he decides to make the clothes showing the distinct identity of Katniss. He tells Katniss: "for the opening ceremonies, you're supposed to wear something that suggests your district's principal industry" (Collins 60). That's why he designs the clothes of the two tributes (Katniss and Peeta) from district twelve in this way: "so rather than focus on the coal mining itself, we're going to focus on the coal," says Cinna. "And what do we do with coal? We burn it," says Cinna" (Collins 61). Thus, Cinna wants to make clothes and appearance as elements of revolution for the districts, as a reminder of districts' identity.
But this rebellious act of Cinna does not lead to wearing black clothes with a burning fire. He tells Katniss and Peeta to hold each other's hands before the audience. By this, they show their unity which is against the rule of Hunger Games and as a result against the Capitol's. "I think he said for us to hold hands, says Peeta. He grabs my right hand in his left, and we look to Cinna for confirmation. He nods and gives a thumbs-up, and that's the last thing I see before we enter the city" (Collins 64

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Apart from Cinna, Katniss and Peeta also become aware of the dictatorship of the Capitol and the deceitful games of annual Hunger Games. Katniss confesses before participating in the Hunger Games: "all I can think is how unjust the whole thing is, the Hunger Games" (Collins 111).Thus, the games are the best outlet for them to pour out their disgusting feelings towards the Capital. By winning as star-crossed lovers they deceive the Capitol and break the rule of Hunger Games. Hamre believes that their winning paves the way for the people of the districts to initiate a revolution: Katniss and Peeta's rebellious acts in the arena are what initiate the rebellion that continues in the next two books of the series and that will ultimately change the lives of the people in Panem. They both resist being pawns in the Capitol's Hunger Games and by doing so, they are initiating a chain of events that, when first started, is demanding a lot of them as human beings and which is also almost impossible to stop. The human aspects of the Hunger Games are probably what is the most unsettling about them, especially when it comes to how participants and viewers are affected.

CONCLUSION
Hunger Games describes a dystopian city in which dictatorship and injustice rule over people's minds through the power of glaring images called spectacle. On the other hand, in this society, the Capitol's aim is to impose its ideology and keeps people under its control. "The spectacle sets the dominant patterns of behavior in a given society" (Kosovic 19). In other words, spectacle through its seemingly real images including entertainments, games, and media entertains people with the appearance, falsehood and unreality. Actually spectacle is used by the Capital to impose its ideology on the people. the spectacle strategy employed by this society is a dangerous strategy since it seemingly seems real and the people are unwittingly deceived by its glaring images on one hand, and on the other hand, even those who are aware of its fakeness rarely revolt against this strategy since it is intertwined with threat and fear the cruel society of the spectacle deliberately mingles with its rules and principles. The television shows or Hunger Games are those deceiving images in which the inhabitants of Panem, especially the poor districts are entrapped. That's why they cannot rebel against President Snow who threatens them through the spectacle of Hunger Games.
The images of food and clothes also reinforces the impact of these images over the people. Among all these characters, Katniss, Peeta and Cinna are aware of these deceivingly glaring images. In other words, Katniss and Peeta by pretending to be star-crossed lovers win the games and break the rule of the Capitol. That's why President Snow becomes angry and orders to kill the game maker Seneca Crane for not being careful enough to keep the secret of the Hunger Games' rule. Katniss is so persistent in approaching the chance of winning; Schneider asserts: "Katniss uses her hunting and tracking skills, forms an alliance with a small girl named Rue, and receives help from drunken Haymitch, a former Games winner from District 12, and from the sponsors of the Games" (31). Cinna also takes step in opposing the Capitol by making clothes with burning fire in order to show that district twelve, like other districts which produce something for the Capitol, is responsible for producing coal which is exploited by the Capitol. The fire is also reminder of a rebellion. Thus, they are initiators of revolution against the Capitol which employs modernity and technologies in order to exploit people easily. It is because of the spectacle and its deceitful images that people cannot revolt; though among these ignorant characters there are some wise characters like Katniss, Peeta and Cinna who are neither deceived nor intimidated by these images and rules. Thus, as Collins tacitly shows, it is not impossible to get out of the deceitful games the society of the spectacle provides for the mob.