The Hunger Games the Darkness of This World Can Be Changed by Hope and Love

MOVIE-BASED DISCUSSION GUIDE – LEADER’S GUIDE

The Hunger Games The darkness of this world can be changed by hope and love.

Early on in The Hunger Games, we realize it is set in a world none of us

would want to live in. Yet it is ironically similar to our own. A place of shocking inequity, the rich thrive at the expense of the poor and grow

stronger on the suffering of the powerless. Shimmering technological advances contrast comically with the natural world. And self-absorbed people seek entertainment in unspeakable violence.

This study helps us consider what the choices and consequences of characters in this fictional world can teach us about life in our own world. It guides us toward the Bible’s teachings on how we

should live in a world pervasively darkened by sin. It asks us to consider the consequences of our own actions. And ultimately, this study points to the promise that hope and love can not only

survive but change a world like ours.

Based on: The Hunger Games (Lionsgate, Inc., 2011), directed by Gary Ross, rated PG-13.

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Movie Summary

The Hunger Games is set in a bleak, yet disturbingly believable, post-apocalyptic future

world in which the nation of Panem has risen out of the ashes of what once was North

America. This nation’s central government controls its outlying population through various

cruelties, most horrifying of which is an annual reality show featuring young people chosen

from the land’s various outlying districts. The young people, ages 12 to 18, are forced to

fight one another to the death, for the sport of the Capitol’s citizens and to remind the

districts how completely they are at the mercy of their rulers.

The movie opens on Reaping Day, the day when two young people from each district are chosen by lottery to represent their district in that year’s Hunger Games. We meet Katniss

Everdeen, who is dedicated to helping her family survive, even if it means breaking the law,

and who is devoted to her younger sister, Primrose. When 12-year-old Prim is chosen,

against all odds, to represent District 12 in the games, Katniss desperately volunteers to take

her place.

We join Katniss and her fellow tribute, Peeta Mellark, on their journey to the wealthy,

stylized, and bloodthirsty Capitol. There they are prepared for the games, both through

training and beauty treatments. They are interviewed on television, paraded before fanatical

crowds, and forced to come to terms with almost-certain imminent death.

When the games begin, Katniss is at the mercy of the Gamemakers, who can control nearly

every element of the games by manipulating the environment, and her “mentor,” Haymitch

Abernathy, the only living Hunger Games victor from District 12. Unbeknownst to her, she

is also protected by Peeta, who has had a growing love interest in her since they were young

children, and who is determined to save her at the cost of his own life. Armed with her

hunting skills and a lifetime of doing what it takes to survive, Katniss is forced to make life-

and-death choices both inside and outside the arena. And the choices she makes in the

arena with her fellow tributes attract the attention of a more powerful enemy.

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Rated PG-13

The Hunger Games is rated PG-13. It is a dark movie that deals with adult themes and

features children killing other children.

Discussing the Scenes

Select one or more of these themes to discuss:

1. Hope in a Dark World

2. Choosing Violence

3. Sacrificial Love

1. Hope in a Dark World

(John 1:1–5; 1 Corinthians 15:12–22; 2 Corinthians 4:16–18)

The world of The Hunger Games is dark and oppressive, with people isolated from one

1 another in various districts that exist only to serve the desires of the citizens of the

powerful Capitol. They have no apparent power to change their situation, no prospects for

a better life than what they know. And the ultimate reinforcement of their powerlessness

comes each year with the Hunger Games themselves, as their children are threatened and a

few torn from their families and forced to kill each other for the Capitol’s entertainment.

Yet there is hope in this world, which in many ways is not much different from our own. In

reality, God shines his light in even the darkest places, and his power is always greater than

the terrors that threaten us.

[Q] Throughout the film, hope appears in small pieces of the natural world amidst a

highly controlled, false world: the woods beyond the fence where Katniss and Gale

meet, the lullaby Katniss sings to Prim and Rue (“Deep in the meadow, under the

willow, a bed of grass, a soft green pillow. . .”), the virtual view outside Katniss’s window, the butterfly on her hand after the first round of canons in the games, the

flowers she places around Rue. Where else does hope appear?

This question insists that things in the natural world show hope. I don't believe that's true, otherwise

the entire arena with all its natural beauty would have signaled hope, and it didn't. At best, natural

beauty can have a calming effect, but that's a far cry from hope. But trying to answer the question as

it's been posed, it may be argued that the mockingjays represented hope. We didn't actually see the birds but their sounds were going to be used by Katniss and Rue to communicate, which gave the

girls hope that such a "tool" could help them survive. But REAL hope, in my opinion, comes not from

natural beauty but from the recognition that bad situations can be changed, and CHANGE usually

comes from human action. For example, as in this film, there's hope in the solidarity of oppressed

peoples, to overcome the oppression through combined effort. We see it when Katniss volunteers to

take her sister's place in the games and her people, instead of applauding what they believe is her

choice of death, raise their hands in a three-finger salute that signifies their solidarity with her. That

gesture is even more potent when Katniss salutes the camera after Rue's death, and the people of Rue's District 11 return the salute, in solidarity with someone NOT OF THEIR OWN GROUP. Hope

appears in Peeta's vow to not let the games change him (presumably, into a selfish, bloodthirsty

monster), meaning that at least in that small way, he WILL defeat his oppressors. Hope exists in

Peeta's sacrifices to give Katniss an edge, such as by giving up his training time, because we want to

have hope that Katniss will survive, to return to support her family. Hope is displayed in Gale's

continued protection of Katniss's sister, even as he's hurt by Katniss's seemingly growing love for

Peeta, because we can hope that even if Katniss perishes, her sister will survive. There's hope in the

respect and affection Cinna shows for Katniss because he may be able to make a difference in Katniss's ability to survive, and there's hope in the sobering of Haymitch (as he grows increasingly

invested in the survival of Katniss and Peeta) because he has talents that, if they can be employed in

a sober way, could help Katniss. There's even hope in President Snow's fear of the EXPANSION of

hope, because if HE feels threatened, there really is a possibility that his monstrous government can

be defeated.

! How do these appearances affect the characters and change the way they see their

circumstances?

As I wrote above, I think natural beauty can soothe but HOPE comes mostly from human action, so

I'm answering this question with regard to having hope of any sort.

Hope gives the characters the emotional strength to face their horrors, and to make hard choices with

love and honor. Hope allows them to recognize the fact that their positions offer them opportunities

to save others (if not themselves). Hope inspires them to fight back, even against what seems

overwhelming odds. This is significantly demonstrated by Katniss's decision to share the nightlock

berries with Peeta, knowing (she insists Peeta TRUST her, meaning she knows there'll be a positive

outcome) they have the power to make the Gamemakers back down, thereby exposing the fact that

the latter are vulnerable and at least in one small way (to begin with), capable of being defeated. Hence, Snow's fear of Katniss, and what her courage and cleverness could mean to his empire.

At several points, Katniss recalls a time when Peeta risked the wrath of his mother to [Q] give her bread from his family’s bakery. During the games, she reminds him of this.

How do the bread and the broth give them hope?

Receiving bread from Peeta when she was starving gave Katniss hope that she needn't fight life's

battles completely on her own, that some people ARE good. In that moment, Peeta was her savior.

When Katniss fed Peeta the broth, it was a sign to Peeta that Katniss really did care about him, even

if, in part, Katniss was doing it to affect the audience and win sponsors. In that moment, Katniss was his savior. The bread and broth serve as a metaphor for the bread and wine at the last supper. Each

pairing represents hope for salvation: Hope for temporal salvation in the case of Katniss and Peeta;

hope for eternal salvation in Christ.

! How else do these two “feed” each other with hope?

As each faces doom, the other is there to feed his/her need for contact and support. Katniss is

paralyzed in a hallucinatory fugue and it's Peeta who breaks through the fog to get her going to

safety. Peeta is dying from a sword-wound and despite the fact that it'll threaten her ability to survive,

Katniss refuses to abandon him, and this gives Peeta the courage to keep up his struggle, if not for

himself, then for Katniss.

[Q] Katniss seems to find hope in wearing the mockingjay pin. Why do you think the pin

is so important to her? And how might the pin inspire hope in others?

Katniss originally gives the pin to Prim, as a token of protection against the latter's being selected at

the reaping. As Katniss is about to leave for the Games, Prim returns the pin, to protect Katniss. At

that point, the pin represents the love between the sisters and is a reminder of Katniss's commitment

to do whatever she can to win, and return to Prim. The symbolism is further enhanced as Katniss

and Rue, who form a sisterly bond almost as strong as that between Katniss and Prim, use the

mockingjays in the Games to communicate and keep them connected, or in a sense, to act as a

device in their mutual protection. Ultimately, the pin signifies a commitment between people to help

one another, inspiring hope that together, through love, they can be saved. In a Christian sense, the

pin represents the cross, through which, in conjunction with the love of our Lord, we can enjoy eternal

salvation.

[Q] President Snow says that hope is the only thing stronger than fear. What makes hope

stronger than fear?

Fear (the desire to avoid pain) is a potent motivator in the short run because it acts upon our reptilian

(i.e., non-rational) brain and we instinctively do what's necessary to survive. Hope, on the other

hand, is a rational process by which we consider alternatives, choose an appropriate path, and

submit to living within that choice. Eventually, the instinctive avoidance of pain (fear) will give way to

thought, and if there's no hope, the person will create hope by choosing to fight or flee. On the other

hand, if you offer hope at the outset, you get to choose what that hope is, thereby defusing the fight

or flee scenario while gaining long-term submission with a modicum of effort.

! Why would the president want people to have “a spark” of hope?

If people have a spark of hope, presumably that things will get better or at least turn out ok, they'll more likely wait docilely for that possibility. With regard to the Games, there's the hope, albeit tiny,

that your loved one will survive. That small amount of hope will keep an oppressed people from

fighting back. A spark of hope will keep them cautious.

! Why do you think he tells Seneca that a lot of hope, on the other hand, is

dangerous?

If the oppressed people in the outlying Districts start to feel hopeful that things could get A LOT

better if they fight back, or if they perceive their oppressors as vulnerable such that there's enough

hope they could defeat them, they may attack the Capitol, or at least give the Capitol much more

trouble. A lot of hope will make them dangerous.

In contrast to the spark of hope President Snow wants Seneca to “contain,” Katniss is [Q] “the girl on fire.” In what ways might she be like a spark not contained? How does

she threaten the established order?

I think the image of Katniss being "the girl on fire" is a great metaphor for the concept of Snow

desiring a contained "spark" of hope, but abhorring the "flames" of hope that Katniss generates. By the end of the Games, she's exposed the weakness of the Gamemakers by defying their intention of

having her kill Peeta, and she gets away with it! Even more significantly, the genuine love she

showed Rue, in contract to the vicious inhumanity of the Games, ignited the brewing discontent of at

least District 11, resulting in an insurrection which could embolden other, seething Districts. She's

become a symbol of unification amongst Districts that heretofore have been kept divided, and

conquered.

[Q] When we first meet Haymitch, he gives Katniss and Peeta this advice: “Embrace the

probability of your imminent death and know that there’s nothing I can do to save you.” After years of “mentoring” District 12 tributes who were slaughtered in the

arena, how is Haymitch awakened by hope and how does he respond?

It seems that Haymitch has been using alcohol and cynicism to shield him against caring for young

people who will certainly die in the arena. As he comes to realize that Katniss has the courage, strength of will and bow-talent to win, and especially factoring in Peeta's willingness to sacrifice

himself in trying to make that happen, Haymitch inadvertently drops his guard and Katniss and Peeta

invade his heart. Prompted by hope, and arguably, love, we start to see some of the genius that

probably delivered him victory in his own Games. Even if he IS continuing to drink, he's cut back

enough to be a skilled analyst of circumstances, a gifted strategist, and an effective agent for his

charges amongst potential sponsors.

[Q] Read John 1:1–5. Define “the Word” as it’s used in this passage. How does this

passage offer hope? How does this change the way you see the world?

1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in

the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. 4 5 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. - John 1:1-5 (NLT)

"The Word" is Jesus. No matter what obstacles have existed through time, He was there, to defeat

emptiness through his presence and all creation flowing through him, and to drive back the darkness

with his unfailing light. With the love and support of our Savior, we can expect ultimately to win, and

the world need never seem so fearsome as to deliver us into despair. Jesus is forever our hope.

[Q] According to 1 Corinthians 15:12–22, where does our hope come from?

12 But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no

resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either.

14 15

And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles

would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised.

17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, 19 all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be

pitied than anyone in the world. 20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great

harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. 22 Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone

who belongs to Christ will be given new life. - 1 Corinthians 15:12-22 (NLT)

Our hope comes from the resurrection of Jesus, which proves that we who belong to Him will also be

resurrected into a new, eternal life.

! Why does Paul say, “If our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be

pitied than anyone in the world” (v. 19)?

I think there are two answers. If our hope in Christ ends with our eternal death, then living for Christ

would be waste, and worse than living for ourselves. Or, if hope in Christ is only for our time in this world, then we are seriously misguided and deserving of pity from those less foolish.

! What does the hope of our own resurrection and eternal life mean for this life? For

the way we work our way through the years we have on this earth? 1

It means this life on this temporal plane (the world) isn’t as important as we tend to believe, hence, we

needn’t be afraid nor worried about setbacks because the worst that can happen is we die in this world and rise again to a glorious, eternal life with God.

[Q] How does 2 Corinthians 4:16–18 give you hope?

16 17

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For

our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things

that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last

forever. - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NLT)

As long as we live in Christ, our bodies are of little consequence; it’s our spirit which will live into

eternity. The troubles we suffer in this world, offered to God in sacrifice, reaffirm our position with

regard to salvation, thereby offsetting, by an infinite margin, the relatively short-lived sadness they bring in this world.

[Q] Consider Rue’s death, perhaps the most senseless and crushing moment of despair in

the film. How does hope make itself apparent even in her death? How can we find

hope in life’s darkest events?

Rue’s death moves Katniss to do homage to the young girl, by adorning the child’s body with flowers.

I think the flowers represent the sweetness and beauty of life with God in the kingdom. Hope comes

from the fact that every year, the Games kill 23 young people, but that merely sends most of them

into the arms of God. Even in our darkest hour, we can look forward to eternity with the Creator.

2. Choosing Violence

(Matthew 5:38–48; 1 Peter 3:8–9; Matthew 26:47–56)

Violence and the threat of violence are constant throughout this film, from Katniss’s deer

hunting, to the reaping ceremony when children silently hope for someone else to be chosen

for almost certain death, to the games themselves, to President Snow’s “congratulating”

Katniss after her victory. This sense of threat creates a terrifying world full of anxious

people who are forced to go along with a destructive system in an effort to save themselves

while others are brutally slaughtered. And those who might have power to stop such

brutality are themselves held captive by the entertainment value of what they see—and by their own appetite for more. Like the residents of Panem, we are surrounded by violence,

and sometimes numb to its effects or even its presence. How do we respond when that

violence hits us directly? When it stays at a safe distance but destroys other people? When

we ourselves are directly or indirectly responsible for it?

[Q] The residents of the Capitol thrive on the violence inherent in the Hunger Games.

How do they display their appetite for violence? How did you feel when the residents

of the Capitol were cheering and chanting in the streets the night before the games,

while Katniss and Peeta pondered their deaths on the roof?

The Capitolists show their appetite for violence by engaging in a loud party, amping-up for the

great fun to follow. Most, after 74 years of Hunger Games, have never known a time when there wasn’t such killing. It’s a tradition, more common than the Super Bowl, and I doubt many dwell

upon the fear and sadness of the tributes, their families, and the Districtors. Those that consider

the pain probably mitigate feelings of guilt by letting themselves believe the Districts continue to

deserve this punishment. It reminds me of eating meat without thinking about how the cows,

chickens and pigs suffer so we can be fed as cheaply as possible, or how we accept animal

research, because it’s essential to our ever-improving quality of life, even though we’re aware

there’s suffering. The Capitolists are not too different than us, feeling little or less for their

victims. Their celebration, in anticipation of murdering children, is shameful, and it’s an indictment of OUR behavior.

The rulers of Panem make some outrageous claims about the nature of the games. [Q] Among them is their claim that the games are a show of generosity and forgiveness

toward the districts that rebelled in the past. How do you think Effie manages to

deceive herself about the purpose and nature of the games?

The Games have been around since long before Effie was born, and because the Games are an

important part of how the Capitol controls the Districts, negative publicity about the Games has probably been thwarted by the Government. Effie and the other Capitolists would naturally

believe that if the Games are considered acceptable (there are few negative comments) by

everyone else (that is, all of THEIR people, in the Capitol), the Games must truly be generous (an

opportunity, once a year, to bathe downtrodden tributes in luxury for two weeks, then elevate

one, victorious, District child to stardom) and forgiving (no longer outright killing masses of

rebellious, Districtors). Most Capitolists, represented by Effie, are thereby free to enjoy the

beauty, pageantry, symbolism and excitement of the Games without guilt at their participation in a

horror.

! How do the other Capitol residents seem to justify the annual spectacle?

See immediately above. When cell phones became a widespread pleasure in 1999 – 2000, even

otherwise intelligent people were arguing that driving while holding a cell to their ear was not

unsafe, despite ample evidence to the contrary. The enjoyment was too great to admit to a

significant down side which could curtail their pleasure.

! Why do you think they might believe the Government’s claim that the games help

them heal from the past and knit them together as a nation?

The Capitolists have lived in peace and relative luxury, and largely in ignorance of the abject

misery in the Districts, for at least 74 years and with the Government crushing negative publicity

about the Games, their wonderful lives would seem to confirm the spectacle to be the successful

device the Government touts. When people enjoy something, they want to believe it’s also good for everyone. To the Capitolists, the Games are a win-win.

[Q] For most people in the Capitol, the Hunger Games are great entertainment. How do

you think watching the games onscreen, with commentary, might affect their

judgment about the horror of such entertainment?

The commentary in the film was mostly playful. Even moments of commentator-sadness were

purposefully staged, to give the impression that ultimately, everything was in fun and not to be

taken too seriously. Such commentary allowed the Capitol audience to distance themselves,

emotionally, from the brutality and suffering. But if this question is asking if truthful commentary,

highlighting the effects the Games were ACTUALLY having on tributes and their loved-ones,

were to be offered to the Capitolists, I think it would be much less likely they’d allow the Games to

continue.

! How do you think this might mirror our own society?

We love our football. Commentaries, though occasionally thoughtful with regard to injuries,

mostly portray the sport as good fun. Even as we learn of the widespread incidence of brain

damage among retired football players, commentaries continue to expound the value of football,

especially in developing desirable traits (perseverance, courage, teamwork) in our children. There’s a big difference between children being forced to fight to the death in the Hunger Games,

and boys and men choosing to play football, but in both cases, audiences love to hear the good

about what they enjoy, and generally discount negative information.

[Q] Several characters echo what both Gale and Cinna say: “They just want a good show.”

And early in the film, Gale says, “If no one watches, they don’t have a game.” How

are the Capitol’s residents complicit in the deaths of the participants? How about the

residents of the districts, who also watch the games?

The Capitolists love the Games and as long as they demand such entertainment, the

Government doesn’t have to worry about stopping it. Hence, the Capitolists are, to some extent,

culpable in the murders. But probably more important is the viewership within the Districts. The

main purpose of the Games is to control the Districts through intimidation (“Look what we can do

to your children each year. Imagine if we wanted to do more!”), so if Districtors refused to watch (of course, that could mean their execution), there would be no point in staging expensive

Games, as the non-viewed deaths of 23 District children each year wouldn’t have much more

impact than a few more deaths at the hands of starvation and disease.

[Q] During the games, we see the Gamemakers and their staff, dressed in white uniforms,

sitting in a sparkling clean room, surrounded by screens. They put their skills to use

creating virtual weapons, manipulating the weather and other conditions in the

arena, and inflicting violence on children—with no risk to themselves. How might

this kind of ability allow people to override their conscience and to distance

themselves from the consequences of their actions?

The room in which these people work, scrubbed free of life’s messiness, is their reality – a reality

without the distractions of life’s natural discomforts that could trigger feelings of empathy or compassion. The arena, subject to their demagogical whims, becomes a computer-simulated

playground, and the children are reduced, in Gamemaker/staff consciences, to avatars --

unfeeling representations of people designed to be manipulated. Once the tributes have ceased

to be real to these technicians, suffering and death are little more than game-points to be

tabulated.

! How do you see this play out in the world we live in?

One of the best examples would be the use of drones in warfare. The pilots are safely

ensconced in (probably pristine) control rooms, perhaps thousands of miles from the drones

they’re driving, and the targets are probably not much more recognizable than graphic-

representations in a video game, except those targets are human beings and the collateral

damage will sometimes be innocent people. If the pilot was sure he had a target in his sites, and he/she knew that target was in proximity to unidentified people, it’s more likely he’d fire on the

target from a control room than toss a grenade and perhaps witness the dismemberment of a

child.

[Q] Read%Matthew%5:38–48%and%1%Peter%3:8–9.%%In%the%movie,%what%have%been%the%

consequences%of%the%Capitol’s%choice%to%repay%a%war%of%rebellion%with%74%years%of%

unspeakable%cruelty?%%Has%anyone%benefitted?%%If%so,%how?

38 “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth

for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the 40 41 other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. 42 Give to those who ask, and don’t

turn away from those who want to borrow. 43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and

44 45 hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will

be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good,

and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are

you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in

heaven is perfect. - Matthew 5:38-48 (NLT)

8 Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and

sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. 9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with

insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to

do, and he will bless you for it. - 1 Peter 3:8-9 (NLT)

When we hurt someone, even in retaliation, it makes it a little easier to hurt someone else, in the

future. Doing evil for any reason changes us, if only a little bit at first, from generous and loving

people into selfish and callous combatants. Residents of the Capitol, after torturing the

Districtors for 74 years, have become comically self-absorbed, as demonstrated by their dress, makeup and hair, and shockingly desensitized to the suffering of the tributes and the misery in

the Districts. As shown in Mathew 5:38–48 and 1 Peter 3:8–9, God wants what’s best for us, so

He counsels against doing the very things the Capitol has done, and we can see how the

1 Capitolists are paying the price, in the gradual diminution of their humanity.

Character aside, the Capitolists have been hurt in ways they probably haven’t considered. People are more productive when they can reap the benefits of their labor, hence, the Capitolists

would probably be even richer if they hadn’t oppressed the Districts, but instead, partnered with

the latter in trade. America is richer, for having become trading partners with Germany and

Japan after WWII, than if we had punished those two countries and retarded the growth of their

economies.

If the Capitol had made friends of the Districts, they wouldn’t have the tremendous expense of

occupying the Districts, to discourage them from attacking the Capitol, and Capitolists wouldn’t have to live in fear of an uprising, such as the one ignited in District 11 when Rue died in the

Games. American friendship with Germany and Japan probably contributed significantly to the

ultimate dissolution of our greatest enemy, the Soviet Union, and we don’t live in fear of a

German or Japanese military attack on us.

! How do you think the residents of the districts should respond to this situation?

I don’t think Matthew 5:38–48 and 1 Peter 3:8–9 suggest no resistance at all, but rather, they counsel a crafty resistance. Defeat your enemy without allowing him to draw you into

aggression, and certainly not into violence. I think the clue as to how the Districts could handle

the situation is offered by Gale when he says, “If no one watches, they don’t have a Game.”

What if District 12 were to stop producing coal, and District 11 were to stop producing food? And

the rest of the Districts were to stop providing for the needs of the Capitol? The latter would try to

defeat the strikes by killing many people but if the Districts could hold firm, the Capitol would

have to return their freedom or die themselves. Frankly, long before the Capitolists would start

dying, I believe they’d be so horrified by the massacres that they’d demand an end to the Government’s oppression of the Districts, but still, it would take fierce, God-given courage on the

part of the Districts to win without resorting to physical violence.

! How might Jesus’ call to “love your enemies” apply to them?

I don’t know how the Districts could hold back from physical violence unless the people could

love their enemies, the Capitolists, enough such that they would rather die than kill, but if they

could so love their neighbors, they almost certainly would win their freedom. Hence, Jesus’s

admonition to love your enemies would prove a success.

[Q] Read Matthew 26:47–56. How does verse 52 play out in the film?

47 And even as Jesus said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a crowd of men armed with

swords and clubs. They had been sent by the leading priests and elders of the people. 48 The traitor, Judas,

had given them a prearranged signal: “You will know which one to arrest when I greet him with a kiss.” 49

So Judas came straight to Jesus. “Greetings, Rabbi!” he exclaimed and gave him the kiss. 50 Jesus said,

“My friend, go ahead and do what you have come for.” Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 52

But one of the men with Jesus pulled out his sword and struck the high priest’s slave, slashing off his ear. “Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will die by the sword. 53 Don’t you

realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly?

54 55 But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?” Then Jesus

said to the crowd, “Am I some dangerous revolutionary, that you come with swords and clubs to arrest me?

Why didn’t you arrest me in the Temple? I was there teaching every day. 56 But this is all happening to

fulfill the words of the prophets as recorded in the Scriptures.” At that point, all the disciples deserted him

and fled. - Matthew 26:47-56 (NLT)

First, there was a civil war at least 74 years prior. We don’t know the reasons for that war, nor

know the justified party (if anyone going to war can be called justified), but the Districtors took up

the sword and now, more than seven decades later, are still dying by the sword as the Capitol, by

force of arms and the Hunger Games, oppresses them.

Second, The Capitolists currently champion violence through the Games and the armies

occupying the Districts. Paraphrasing Jesus, those who live by violence, die by violence.

Although the sequels to this film will better demonstrate the wisdom of this verse, we see the start

of such consequences in this film when the death of Rue, and Katniss’s three-finger solidarity

solute, ignite violence in District 11.

! How have you seen this principle at work in our own world?

The Russians occupied Afghanistan and the insurgency took it back. The insurgency gave rise to

the Taliban who controlled the country through violence and the allies took it away from them.

Now the Taliban struggle to get it back. Saddam Hussein controlled the Shiite majority through

violence, and the Shiites took it away. Now al Qaeda and the Sunnis continue to fight the Shiites. On the other hand, after WWII, the Allies didn’t punish Germany, Japan and Italy under threat of

violence, and those three countries are peaceful today.

[Q] In the film, the Capitol and its residents aren’t the only ones who engage in violence.

All the tributes participate—directly or indirectly—in murder. And we briefly see the

residents of District 11, Rue’s home district, form a violent mob after her death. Is

there any difference between these examples of violence and the violence the Capitol stages for revenge, oppression, and entertainment? If so, what makes them different?

If not, should they have chosen to respond differently?

Violence begets violence. Jesus admonished against all violence, making no distinction as to

justification. All violence is wrong, so tributes are wrong to kill one another and District 11 is wrong to violently respond to Rue’s death. District 11, and all the Districts, could have refused to

send their children to the Reaping. People would have died but the Capitol may have been

thwarted. Districts 1 and 2 trained their children to kill. If the other Districts trained their children

to form alliances to protect one another, but never to kill, the Games would probably collapse. Of

course, these solutions depend on people submitting, without resistance, to execution, in the

process of developing these tactics but ultimately, such tactics would work. To truly follow Christ,

we must be willing to die for our principles. Such behavior is not in our animal nature as our

instinct to preserve our lives, at almost any cost, is extremely powerful, but if everyone COULD extinguish that instinct – and that’s why the Great Commission is vitally important -- the world

would be a much better place.

3. Sacrificial Love

(John 15:9–17; 1 Corinthians 13:4–7; Philippians 2:1–11)

Even in the brutal fight-to-the-death world of the Hunger Games, sacrificial love exists—and

a small act of sacrifice can make a big change. True sacrifice hurts, and even in our own

world, among people who have more than they’ll ever need, it’s not easy. But it is one of the

most powerful things we can do. Jesus is, of course, our ultimate example of sacrificial love.

We are called to love as he has loved us.

[Q] Katniss is our first example of sacrificial love in the film. She clearly loves her little

sister, Prim, and has given up what could be an opportunity at a life with more

freedom—running into the wilderness with Gale—for her sister’s sake. She volunteers

to serve as a tribute to the games in Prim’s place. And as Katniss says goodbye to her

family, she unselfishly thinks only of Prim’s well-being. Why do you think she has

this unflinching sacrificial love for her sister?

I don’t know why we love some people with one level of love (for instance, occasionally, love

between best friends), and others with agape (the selfless love often experienced by a parent for

his/her child), but there is such a distinction. I think agape is rare between siblings but clearly, Katniss feels agape for Prim. When Katniss’s family lost the father, and the mother withdrew

emotionally and couldn’t care for her children, Katniss was forced to take leadership of the family.

Not only did she have to develop skills to feed the three of them, including hunting outside the

fence and bartering within, but she had to become a parent to Prim. Gale was willing to leave his

brothers behind and go with Katniss into the wilderness because he had never been forced to

take over the role of parent to his brothers. Katniss became Prim’s mother and would sacrifice

anything, including her life, to save her child.

! Why did her sacrifice resonate with people in the Capitol?

I don’t think many people in the Capitol are in such bad straits that one feels compelled to

sacrifice for the survival of another, so any instinct they may have had to do so had atrophied. On the other hand, it’s dog-eat-dog in the Districts and when you’re fighting for survival every day,

your instinct to sacrifice for another is weakened, so it’s probably very rare for one child to

sacrifice him/herself to save another at the Reaping, hence, there had been very few (and none

from District 12) tributes who’d done such a thing. Katniss, in replacing Prim, probably awakened

an awareness in both Capitolists and Districtors that an instinct to make the ultimate sacrifice

DOES exist within most of us, and giving your life for another is the greatest gift one of us can

give to another. Katniss became a hero to everyone. As a side note, I think her sacrifice opened

the hearts of District 11 such that when Rue died, the residents were finally willing to die if necessary (fighting the Capitol occupiers), to show they’ll no longer quietly abide the Reaping of

their children.

! What did her acts of sacrifice accomplish in a world where people are forced to

fight one another to stay alive?

See the answer to the question immediately preceding this one.

[Q] How does Rue’s sacrifice save Katniss?

It’s important to note that since only one tribute can live to the end of the Games, almost every

time one tribute helps another, he/she may be reducing his own chance of survival, hence, “help”

arguably translates to “sacrifice.” Rue helped Katniss, and in so doing, risked exposure to the

murderous tributes: first, in the tree when she pointed out the tracker-jacker hive, second, the

days she cared for Katniss when the latter was unconscious, and third, when she set at least one

fire to distract the other alliance so Katniss could blow up the latter’s supplies.

Some may suggest that Rue’s taking the spear was a sacrifice because it gave Katniss time to

kill Marvel, except Rue was farther from Marvel than Katniss so Rue couldn’t have taken the

spear intentionally, so I don’t see that as a sacrifice by Rue. But if Rue's death can be deemed a sacrifice in the sense that any child's death in the Games is a sacrifice, then the sacrifice of Rue

possibly did save Katniss. Rue's death led to District 11 riots, which led Haymitch to persuade

Seneca to get things under control by promoting "young love," which led to the suspension of the

rule that there be only one victor, which led to Katniss and Peeta teaming up to defeat Cato,

which may have saved Katniss's life.

! What does it spark in her home district and why do people respond to her death as

they do?

The people in District 11 had watched the love grow between their tribute and Katniss, and they

knew that had it come to it, Katniss would have fought to save Rue. That was more than they

had done when Rue was Reaped. When Katniss turned to the camera and gave the three-finger gesture, she was telling District 11 that through Rue, she and they were standing in solidarity. I

think that’s really what brought on the riot. District 11 had lost a gentle, heroic daughter and they

were deeply saddened, and their newly adopted daughter, Katniss, kind and braver than they had

been, would have to continue to fight for her life. Grief collided with rage, and the spark ignited a

1 courage to take on the Capitol.

! Do you think her death is meaningless? Why or why not?

Rue’s death would probably not, in and of itself, have caused District 11 to riot, but as I explained

above, the relationship between Rue and Katniss gave the former’s death greater meaning,

moving District 11 to finally stand up to the Capitol and in so doing, could amend the docile nature

of other Districts. President Snow certainly showed concern about that. Rue’s murder could

prove much more significant than the death of just another tribute.

[Q] Peeta is perhaps the most consistently sacrificial character in the film. How many

ways did he sacrifice himself for Katniss?

As I mentioned above, since only one tribute can survive, almost every time one tribute helps

another, he’s sacrificing. (1) Peeta early-on understands that a tribute’s survival depends on

being liked, so he/she can get help from sponsors. As soon as their train pulls into the Capitol, he gets up to waive, then turns to encourage Katniss to do the same. (2) Off camera, he gets

with Haymitch and tells him that he’s willing to sacrifice himself so that Katniss will have a better

chance of winning, and one of the outcomes is that Peeta gives up his face-time training with

Haymitch to Katniss. (3) When he interviews with Flickerman and talks about his romantic

feelings for Katniss, Peeta's trying to make people like her, which will perhaps get them to

sponsor her (possibly, resulting in the loss of sponsors he may have gotten). (4) During the

Games, he joins an alliance out to kill Katniss so he’ll be available to help her if they find her, and

this pays off when Katniss is stung by tracker-jackers and Peeta’s there to get her to run away before the other tributes can come back and kill her. (5) When they're in the cave, Peeta is very

ill from his sword wound but he demands she not go out to get him help because he'd rather die

than expose her to danger. (6) When Seneca revokes the dispensation that both Katniss and

Peeta can live as victors, Peeta immediately turns to allow Katniss to kill him. (7) Perhaps years

before the Reaping, Peeta risked his mother's wrath by throwing a burned loaf of bread to save

Katniss, who was starving.

! How do you think his choices will affect the world they live in?

Peeta’s choices quickly win over Haymitch, and eventually Katniss, until the three bond in a real,

caring relationship, and all of Panem gets to watch how this brings success to the District 12

tributes. Peeta’s and Katniss’s expressions of mutual concern, demonstrated in teamwork and

sacrificing for one another, and ultimately winning together, are symbols for how the Districts can work together to overthrow the Capitol.

[Q] During the games, Katniss makes sacrifices for Peeta as well—most notably when she

nurses him to health and goes to the feast to get medicine for him rather than set out

to win the games on her own. The love (feigned or real) between these two characters

captivates the games’ audience after Haymitch tells Seneca, “Give them something to

root for: young love.” How does love change the outcome of the games and the way

the audience responds to the games?

The audience is captivated by a loving couple, each member sacrificing for the other, despite the

fact that until near the end, one’s survival would mean the other’s death. This inspires Capitolist Sponsors to help Katniss, and eventually persuades Seneca to change the rules so Katniss and

Peeta can both win. The effect is to change the balance of power, as demonstrated by the two

fighting Cato as a team, and defeating him. At the very end, when Seneca tries to get one of the

pair to kill the other by returning to the rule that there can be only one victor, Katniss foils the plan

by trusting that the audience has been won over, specifically by love, such that a double-suicide

would destroy any goodwill the Games may have garnered. She forces Seneca to back down

and I expect the vast majority of Panem is happy with the conclusion.

! How do you think the world might be different because of their choices?

Peeta’s and Katniss’s choices result in the audience loving them, giving them the power to defeat

the Government’s effort to preserve the single-victor rule. Perhaps for the first time in decades,

the Government doesn’t seem God-like. There’s a palpable shift of influence from the Government to Katniss and President Snow knows that if the Government is to regain its full

measure of power, and the Capitol is to maintain its hegemony, Katniss’s popularity and

inspiration must be destroyed.

[Q] Read John 15:9–17. In the film, who provided the best example of verse 13?

9 10

“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my

13 commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay 14 15 down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you

slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you

everything the Father told me. 16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce

lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. 17 This is my command:

Love each other. - John 15:9-17 (NLT)

I think there are TWO, equally good examples. (1) When Katniss volunteered to replace Prim in

the Games, she didn’t believe she would survive [She tells her mother to take care of Prim because she (Katniss) won't be there. I don't think Katniss was talking about taking care of Prim

for just the next month.], so even though she won the Games, she was willing to lay down her life

for her beloved sister. (2) Peeta was willing to give his life to preserve Katniss’s. Repeatedly, he

weakened his own chances to provide Katniss with advantages, and when, at the end of the

Games, Seneca tried to force a deadly confrontation between Peeta and Katniss, Peeta was

willing to expose himself to Katniss’s arrow.

! How do we obey what Jesus said and love each other in the same way he loved us

(v. 12)?

To be in Jesus’s love, we must obey Jesus’s commandments, one of which is to love each other,

even to the point of sacrificing our lives. If Jesus lives in the Father’s love by obeying the Father’s commandments, and we live in Jesus’s love by obeying Jesus’s commandments, then we are to

live in love for one another, which means we must live within each other’s commandments. I

interpret that to mean we must always acquiesce to one another. That ties to the scripture

quoted earlier which counsels us to always turn the other cheek, and love even our enemies.

[Q] Read 1 Corinthians 13:4–7. How was this kind of love demonstrated in the film?

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own

way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but

rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and

endures through every circumstance. - 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NLT)

These verses describe a gentle, abiding love, so complete as to be as natural as breathing. I

think it’s agape. Katniss shares such love with her sister, and later with Rue, probably because her relationship with each is almost that of a mother to a tiny child. Remarkably, Peeta’s love for

Katniss is very similar, with Peeta almost being a father to the other. It seems such love is

characterized by a willingness to die for the other. Katniss was willing to sacrifice her life for Prim

and would probably have done the same for Rue, and Peeta offered to let Katniss kill him so she

would survive to the end of the Games.

! How do you see it demonstrated in the real world?

You see it when a child needs something very badly and a parent is willing to sacrifice every

penny of savings, and work as many shifts as necessary, to provide relief. When a child loses

kidney function, it’s a rare parent that isn’t willing to donate a kidney. You see it when a grown

child is caring for an aged parent, and is willing to give up any semblance of a personal life so as

to be available, day and night, should the parent need him/her.

! How do you live up to this?

There’s only been one person for whom I felt such love and I considered her my daughter. She had a mental problem which prevented her from financially providing for herself and despite

significant physical and mental abuse at her hands, I never faltered in my commitment to treat her

with kindness, and preserve her well-being.

[Q] Read Philippians 2:1–11. How did Jesus’ sacrificial love transform the world?

1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship

together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by

agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and

purpose. 3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than

4 5

yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have 6

the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and

was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God

9 and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave 10 him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on

earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the

Father. - Philippians 2:1-11 (NLT)

Jesus was an example of self-sacrifice at every opportunity, culminating in his acceptance of the

cross. He gave more than he took, not because of a rule to do so but because his love for

everyone, the Father and people alike, allowed no other behavior. From his teachings and

modeling behavior, and through the witness of his apostles, we learned that such a life is

possible, and desirable. After two thousand years, western culture is so predicated upon these

principles that we take them for granted, assuming they’re as natural as our humanness, but many of us don’t realize that what we, even atheists, consider our “better angels,” derive from the

lessons taken from Jesus.

! How has it transformed you?

With only the exception noted above, my agape for a mentally disturbed person, I’ve not been in

close alignment with Jesus’s admonitions to love in complete self-sacrifice, but I can imagine a

world in which everyone lived in such a way, and it would be wonderful. Perhaps that’s why God

put us on earth, to learn these lessons and ultimately, for Him to separate out the goats who can’t

make them a part of their essence. The result would be, not a place necessarily, but a community

that could be described as “heaven.” At this point in my discipleship, I haven’t adequately

achieved Jesus’s hope for me but through my awareness of the goal, and its possible relationship

with the heaven to which we aspire, I continue to strive in that direction, hopefully growing, slowly

transforming into what God wants me to be.

As the Credits Roll

The end of the movie leaves us hanging, watching President Snow stride toward some future

events we can only guess at. For viewers expecting a tidy, happy ending, the tension and uncertainty of the closing scenes are unsettling. Katniss and Peeta have emerged from the

Hunger Games alive and healed of their physical wounds, but not sure how to move forward.

Katniss wants to forget what they’ve been through; Peeta doesn’t want to forget the

closeness they’ve shared. Twenty-two more children are dead at the hands of the games, the

Government considers Katniss a threat, and at least one district (11) is restless. As the residents of District 12 cheer the arrival of Katniss and Peeta, and Katniss musters a not-

quite-convincing smile, we are left wondering what will come next. And what it has all

meant.

[Q] Is it possible to win the hunger games? If so, did Katniss and Peeta win?

You win the Hunger Games by surviving, and by that definition, Katniss and Peeta won. But at

what cost? Peeta, before the Games, told Katniss he didn’t want to let the Games transform him,

presumably, into a person who’s killed and thereafter, sees life as cheap. [By the way, there’s no

evidence that Peeta killed anyone, unless we count the death of Foxface, who ate the nightlock

berries Peeta inadvertently brought to her attention.] We don’t yet know if the Games have

damaged Katniss and Peeta, psychologically, but we do know that Katniss has been handed

power and if she uses it wisely, to help the oppressed Districts, winning the Games, in Katniss’s

unique case, could prove a REAL victory.

[Q] How do you think their experiences will affect them now that they have survived and

returned?

Peeta will probably come away from the experience largely undamaged but more deeply, if that's

possible, in love with Katniss. I expect Katniss, on the other hand, to emotionally withdraw from

her loved ones as her new, informed view of life holds little long-term hope for the Districts and those dear to her. If Katniss withdraws, Peeta will be very hurt, because his time with Katniss

meant so much to him.

[Q] Despite the end of the games, why do the final scenes contain so much tension?

The battle in the arena, for all its manufactured drama, was mostly the staged murder of

meaningless children, but after the Games, the tension increases as the battle shifts to

something far more important -- a confrontation between the People's Hero, Katniss, and the Government, in the person of President Snow. I think Katniss would be happy to return to

obscurity but Snow knows Panem won't allow that, so he'll have to eliminate her threat to the

power-structure.

[Q] How do you think Gale will respond to Katniss’s return with Peeta, after seeing them

interact onscreen? How will the other people in District 12 welcome them?

Gale is a wise young man and I think he's (a) aware that Katniss's show of affection towards

Peeta may have been a manipulation of the audience/sponsors and not completely real, and (b)

grateful for whatever happened between the two tributes that resulted in Katniss's survival. But

even so, I think Gale's been hurt a great deal. I doubt Katniss, now distancing herself from bleak

expectations for the future, will want to resume her former, friend-almost-lover relationship with

Gale, regardless of his feelings. I expect the people of District 12 love Katniss and Peeta and will

proudly celebrate them as heroes who've brought respect to their region.

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