Dippel 1

Sydney Dippel
Professor Kendra Parker
English 113-03
January 29, 2015
NEED TITLE
Through the illustration of flawed post-apocalyptic societies forming from the ashes of a
past nation, movies like The Hunger Games and The Giver have begun to examine current
societies and force viewers, especially those within American culture, to consider the flaws
within their own society and view their way of life through a different lens.
Firstly, the rising popularity of post-apocalyptic movies highlights the informal
separation of people into social classes, which raises issues about where the United States is
headed. In The Hunger Games, the people of Panem are separated very rigidly into districts, each
of these districts being responsible for providing a certain aspect of society for the others. The
wealthiest region of Panem is the Capitol, where the lawmakers live and work as the officials of
the country. The rest of the districts work to supply the rest of the country with natural resources,
food, and energy, but they live in poverty. Because the people of the Capitol can keep the
citizens oppressed through policies and rules, the districts continue to starve and struggle along
while the Capitol lavishes in the riches of their hard work. In American culture today, people are
divided into social classes based on their socio-economic status, their background, or where they
live. Although these divisions are unlike those in The Hunger Games because they are unofficial,
this entire concept is contrary to what the United States was founded on. The basis of the United
States Constitution is that everyone was created equal, however, our current practice of this
suggests that not everyone should be treated equal. It may be a slippery slope from informal

Julia Condotti 1/27/2015 2:26 PM

Comment [1]: Meal plan (Evidence)
Julia Condotti 1/27/2015 2:26 PM
Deleted: has
Julia Condotti 1/27/2015 2:31 PM
Comment [2]: Need intro J
Julia Condotti 1/27/2015 2:37 PM
Comment [3]: Meal plan (Main assertion).
Good use of it throughout the entire paper
Julia Condotti 1/27/2015 2:38 PM
Comment [4]: Meal Plan
(evidence/analysis) Great job with
explaining in depth about the Hunger Games
and The Giver. Really helped me to fully
understand your topic

Dippel 2
social classes to rigidly enforced separation of people, and the United States may be heading in
the wrong direction down that slope.
Similarly, the rising popularity of post-apocalyptic movies exposes the subtle racism that

Julia Condotti 1/27/2015 2:47 PM

Comment [5]: Good last sentence of
paragraph to link to thesis

still exists within American society, which may escalate cultural movements surrounding racial
inequality. Although every United States citizen is equal in the eyes of the law, deep-seated
prejudice against African Americans in American culture still causes tension and even
discrimination in some cases. In The Hunger Games, there is an entire district consisting mostly
of African American citizens, and this district is responsible for growing and harvesting the
crops that feed all of Panem. The relationship between the racial composition of this district and
its role in agriculture, suggests subtle ties to slavery and the history of African Americans in the
United States. This parallel between the racial stereotypes in this movie and recent events that
have highlighted discrimination due to race, tempers may flare as people think about how they
have been treated in the past. Discrimination still exists in American culture, despite unrelenting
efforts to eradicate the idea that not all Americans deserve equal treatment. Because of the wide
range of perspectives that people take on movies, the on-going incidents surrounding this issue
may become escalated because of the subtle racism implied in the movie.
Moreover, the recent rise of The Hunger Games portrays a negative view of a revolution,
which may provoke a controversial opinion on how the American Revolution was different. As
an American, the American Revolution is presented as a courageous feat by strong-hearted men
to get what they deserved: independence. But, from the view of the oppressed people in The
Hunger Games, the Revolution of District 13 is an irrational attempt to get even with the Capitol.
The people of District 13 fought against an enemy for what they thought they deserved, just as
the 13 American colonies did with Great Britain in the 18th century. The primary difference

Julia Condotti 1/27/2015 2:44 PM

Comment [6]: Sign, signal, and
significance

Dippel 3
between these situations is that the American Revolution was successful, which is why the
American people revere it as a triumph against a tyranny that catapulted their nation in the global
sphere. Instead of a victory, the Revolution of District 13 gave the Capitol an excuse to
annihilate the district and use this as an intimidation tactic against the rest of the districts; thus
the commencement of the first Hunger Games competition. If Americans start to perceive the
history of their country through the perspective of this book, a very different interpretation of the
American Revolution may begin to emerge.
The rising popularity of movies depicting a flawed society after the assumed breakdown
of the United States makes people consider the governments control in their lives, which may
demonstrate that the government is beneficial because it organizes and institutes order in the
world. Most people would agree that some aspect of governmental control is necessary to
maintain a society and keep it running smoothly. But in the movie The Giver, almost all of the
people believe a very extreme version of this concept. Because the government controls every
aspect of their lives--including their jobs, marriages, childbearing, and death--they do not feel
pain, they do not suffer, and they do not experience loss. These negatives emotions are
nonexistent in their lives because the government, the Elders, think that ignorance is bliss. The
people simply see that all of society is in order, that all is as it should be, and that they are
experiencing the only way of life anyone has ever known. While this is an extreme example of
governmental interference, many people in todays modern society have a similar view when it
comes to governmental control. They think of the government as the institution that helps a
society run smoothly and that people should buy into that system. Although some may not agree
with the extent of governmental control as in The Giver, the society functions smoothly with
minimal despondency from the citizens. If that is not the goal of a community then, what is?

Dippel 4
On the other hand, the rising popularity of post-apocalyptic movies makes people
reevaluate the governments prevalence in their lives, which may imply that the power the

Julia Condotti 1/27/2015 2:39 PM

Comment [7]: Good transition

government has over the American people is too great. Contrary to the vast majority of the
citizens in The Giver, the main character Jonas and his mentor, The Giver, are not limited to
recognizing only pleasurable emotions. Their job is to receive all the memories of the world, in
order to be of counsel to the Elders when a decision requires this higher knowledge. The Giver
transfers all the memories, all the emotions, and all the realities of the past to Jonas, as it
becomes his responsibility to take over the position. He begins to see and understand everything
that his entire community does not. He sees that death it painful and tragic, he learns about pain,
and failure, but he also learns about love and what it means to yearn for someone. Jonas realizes
that the Elders have been holding everyone else hostage to what it truly means to be human. This
movie puts the whole institution of organized government under the microscope; making the
viewer examine how much of their own life they actually control. Obviously, the United States
government is not wiping the brains of its citizens clean of all emotions, but the concept makes
viewers consider the motivation behind the restrictions that are being implemented on them.
Maybe to experience life in its entirety, people must be exposed to unimaginable pain, so they
can better appreciate unimaginable joy.
Julia Condotti 1/27/2015 2:39 PM
Comment [8]: Conclusion/wrap-up
paragraph neededOverall, I really enjoyed
your paper. I have very little corrections,
great job!