Abstract:
The critically and commercially recognized dystopian young adult novel, The Hunger Games
(2008) by Suzanne Collins is often read as a political tale in which the author examines the
various political manifestations of Panem‘s government. President Snow‘s authoritarian rule
manipulates hunger as a control mechanism to suppress the inhabitants in the outlying
districts of Panem. The abundance and absence of food serve as a symbol of power vs.
powerlessness. Fear is manipulated as a mode of exerting power and severe punishment
methods including the annual Hunger Games pageant. Censored communication, the reality
television phenomenon and unimaginable technology used in Capitol further augment the
capacity of Capitol‘s authority. The Hunger Games was adapted into a feature film by the
American Director, Gary Ross in 2012 which too was both critically and commercially
acknowledged. Thus, this study evaluates the depiction of Panem‘s forms of exerting power
in both the novel and its cinematic adaptation. Aspects of the Theory of Adaptation such as
elision, addition of scenes, alteration, and cinematic techniques such as camera angles are
incorporated to thoroughly analyse the film. Theories related to hunger and reality television
are also taken into consideration during the content analysis of the two media. The findings
proved that the adaptation has aptly portrayed the theme of power using a variety of camera
techniques and alterations to the plot of the fictional effort. The additions of scenes and
modifications in the cinematic version have enhanced the verbal demonstration of the theme
of power in the source novel. The elision of certain incidents in the cinematic counterpart
does not have an impact on the overall demonstration of the methods of power used by
Panem to oppress the districts.
