Review

After surviving the 74th Hunger Games, "tributes" Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark return home to District 12. President Snow visits Katniss and explains that her actions in the Games have inspired rebellions across the districts. He orders her to use the upcoming victory tour to convince everyone her actions were out of genuine love for Peeta, not defiance against the Capitol. The tour first visits District 11, home of the young girl, Rue, whom Katniss befriended in the Games. Katniss and Peeta voice their personal thoughts regarding the fallen tributes. The crowd responds by raising a three-finger salute as a show of solidarity, but the instigator is immediately executed by peacekeepers before a shocked Katniss. Haymitch Abernathy, mentor to Katniss and Peeta, warns them that the "show" of their relationship must continue for the rest of their lives. Katniss suggests a public engagement between herself and Peeta, which is carried out and congratulated by Snow at his mansion in the Capitol. Returning home, Katniss warns her friend Gale Hawthorne of Snow's threat to kill both their families. Peacekeepers crack down on District 12 and Gale is publicly whipped after attacking new Head Peacekeeper Romulus Thread. Snow announces a special Hunger Games, the Third Quarter Quell, where all tributes will be selected from previous victors. Katniss immediately devotes herself to ensuring Peeta survives, recruiting Haymitch's help to do so. Effie Trinket draws Katniss and Haymitch's names, but Peeta immediately volunteers to take Haymitch's place. As they prepare, Haymitch reveals that all the tributes are angry at being returned to the Games. He advises Katniss to make allies, but Katniss is reluctant. In the pre-Games interviews, the tributes attempt to question the system. Katniss wears her wedding dress, as ordered by President Snow, but her stylist Cinna rigs it to burst into flames and transform into a representation of a mockingjay. As punishment, Cinna is later severely beaten by Peacekeepers before a helpless Katniss is sent into the arena. In the Games, Katniss allies with Finnick Odair and an elderly woman, Mags, from District 4. The arena's outer forcefield shocks Peeta, stopping his heartbeat until Finnick revives him. The group flees a poisonous fog, and Mags sacrifices herself so as to avoid slowing them down. When vicious primates attack, Peeta is saved by the unexpected sacrifice of a tribute from District 6. The group escapes to a beach and meets District 3's Wiress and Beetee, and District 7's Johanna Mason. Wiress discovers the arena is designed like a clock with regular hazards each hour. She then dies in a battle at the Cornucopia. Beetee suggests using one of the hazards, a tree that is struck by lightning every 12 hours, and a coil of wire to electrocute the other remaining tributes. The group separates to prepare the trap, but once alone Johanna appears to attack Katniss in reality cutting the tracker from Katniss' arm. Katniss returns to the tree and finds Beetee, unconscious with the wire from the tree attached to a makeshift spear. Unable to find Peeta, Katniss almost attacks Finnick, but Finnick reminds her to consider "who the real enemy is", as Haymitch had advised her prior to the Games in the Capitol. Katniss attaches the remaining wire to an arrow and shoots it into the arena forcefield as the lightning hits, causing a power failure that takes down the the dome's forcefield as well as the Capitol's surveillance. Katniss awakens in an aircraft to find Haymitch, Finnick and Plutarch Heavensbee, the head Gamemaker, who is revealed to be a rebel against Snow. He tells her they are bound for District 13, headquarters of the rebellion, and that half the tributes were aware of the plan to escape with Katniss, as a symbol for the growing rebellion. They were unable to rescue Peeta and Johanna, who were taken by the Capitol. A distraught Katniss is sedated after attacking Haymitch. She awakens to find Gale by her side, who reassures her her family is safe but tells her District 12 was destroyed as retaliation for her escape.

Reaction The Hunger Games trilogy is set in a dystopian future of the U.S.A. that has been divided to 13 districts. In the story, the districts are led by some loony people who hold Hunger Games annually. In this game,

they will choose two random people from each of the districts of Panem to bring pride to their group. Bringing pride means risking and gambling for their lives as they enter the game. In the Catching Fire sequel, Katniss Everdeen victoriously went home to her district together with Peeta Mellark. This time, they have to stay away again from their families as they have to tour all around the other districts to apologize and present their victory. As a victor, the Capitol decided to put them again as th the representatives of their district to the 75 Hunger Games. Another reason for choosing them is to get rid of Katniss, a lone girl who humiliated them. This story is obviously a science fiction but there are some aspects of it that can be in todays situation. We can tell that the technology in Panem is like the flight of a sky rocket as they can now put people in some kind of RPG games.We can also see that the Capitol as a Communist form of government that has long been an ideology of some countries. Remembering the days of battles in ideology and Cold War, the greatest contribution so far there is, is the Internet. From here, we can point out that technological advancement is a product of a revolt of a wrecked society. This, I must say is a Science Fiction with a realistic touch, something thats possible to happen In the future. I also have to say that this film is a commentary of both past and future of human society. This is so because the people in the past are more conservative, like the people of Panem, who embrace the traditional way of living, such as hunting and gathering. And yet, the people in the game can also experience a great wave of digital life. The fascist Capitol, of course, failed in developing the technology of the 13 Districts since Ive already mentioned that people from the districts are living in the primitive way. The technology they have is futile and moreover, it is destructive. In theory, technology should make our lives easier and efficient, but when used incorrectly, it can bring us uncontrollable problems. To wrap this up, Catching Fire is one of the must see films for a Science, Technology and Society student because it is a story and reflection of our combined past and future that is being told to us today.