Class and Status In the Hunger Games

Sociology 001

Janae Sayler

In Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games series, the stratification of class and status is a

major component of the plot of the entire series. Specifically the first movie, Collins creates her

own way of showcasing how the stratification of class and status is represented in this alternate

universe through the use of districting. In Panem, there are twelve districts that vary in poverty

levels, number one being the least poverty bound, and district twelve containing the highest

poverty levels. These different levels of poverty are shown through the infrastructure, clothing,

and even food options in each district. These districts are segregated and citizens tend to stay in

the district they were born into. Since one’s district, or status, is determined by birth, those in

different districts tend to not inter-marry, therefore, keeping these districts completely separate.

This plot and situation that Collins’ has created relates to a Marxist definition of class and

status, which would define class as a group categorized by their mode of production, and that

these classes are always in conflict with each other (Engels and Marx 1848/1978). This

definition of class is shown in the main setting of the movie which are the actual Hunger Games .

This competition is an annual event in which one person from each district is chosen to compete

in a death match. Contestants are then expected kill each other, while also defending themselves,

until only one person remains. This competition is fought between the twelve different districts,

since one person is chosen to represent their districts in the games.

Prejudices and other stereotypes against each district are used for predictions in

determining who will win in the game and in training the competitors. The lower districts, like

district twelve and eleven for example, would not be expected to win due to the lack of money,
resources and moral support in their district, since they are the two lowest status districts in all of

Panem. Throughout the movie, we see the bourgeoise of this universe reap the benefits from this

capitalistic structure, since the competitors from these upper-class districts get better training and

are more equipped, giving them an advantage in the games. The competitors from these lower-

class districts are not treated with the same respect as the higher-class district competitors, which

helps to stem this prejudice held between all of the districts.

Low-ranking districts would be compared to the proletariat described by Marx. In the

Communist Manifesto, Marx defines the proletariat as, “ the class of modern wage-laborers who,

having no means of production of their own, are reduced to selling their labor-power in order to

live.” The lower districts produce food and other resources that are used throughout Panem and

are employed by the Capitol. In comparison, the bourgeoise are defined as, “owners of the means

of social production and employers of wage labor.” In terms of the movie, those in higher ranked

districts, like district one and two, would categorize as the bourgeoise and are at the top of the

social ladder and economy. These districts produce leaders who go to work in the Capitol, or the

main body of government, therefore they control all aspects of life due to their birth-right class

(Weber 1922/1946). The Capitol is composed of higher-classed individuals who control all of

the districts and determine what jobs each district specializes in, and then the citizens in each

district work in jobs with this specialization.

In conclusion, the use of Marx’s definition of status and class can be directly reflected in

the movie Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Due to districting and inequitable resources, there

are varying levels of poverty between the districts, which can cause tensions between those that

are lower class and those that are higher class.

 Bibliography

Weber, Max.  1922/1946. “Class, Status, Party.” Pp. 180-195 in From Max Weber: Essays in

Sociology.  Edited by H. H. Gerth and C. Wright Mills.  New York: Oxford University

Press.

Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. 1848/1978. “Manifesto of the Communist Party.” Pp. 473-500

in The Marx-Engels Reader, Second Edition. Edited by Robert C. Tucker. New York: W.

W. Norton.