The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 is coming. And with it comes a whole new and innovative slate of posters and promotions that have just arrived online.
Reading Suzanne Collins Hunger Games novels, it's easy to get caught up in the story of its tough-as-nails heroine Katniss Everdeen, whose forced to fight for her life and incidentally becomes a symbol of rebellion. But it's impossible to ignore the dark mechanizations and politics at play in the YA novel where America has become a land firmly divided between haves and have-nots. Playing on the themes therein, Lionsgate offers these stunning propaganda posters from the affluent (and evil) Capitol, which in theory celebrate the "heroes" of Panem. But look closer. You'll notice something insidious.
Lionsgate has done an incredible job in not only bringing to life the world of brewing class warfare that The Hunger Games presents, but also in giving the film's world a sprawling life online. The Capitol, where the wealthy and the only social class that doesn't have to compete in the deadly Hunger Games resides, has become an enviable element of the films' promotion with character posters that promote its luxury, though always with a hint to its cost. These latest posters don't focus on characters from the movie. Instead, they give us a look at the narrative world beyond the film, with visual cues to captivate our attention and imaginations.
Consider the picture below, meant to herald the contribution's Katniss's own District 12 brings to Panem. What an adorable little girl, right? But clearly this photo is meant to draw out attention to the dangerous working conditions of the mines of District 12. Remember how Katniss's own father died in mining accident? Well, it seems the District has since added child labor into these horrid conditions.
District 3, where Beetee and Wiress of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire came from, is the center for Panem's tech development. But there is something slightly chilling and almost unhuman about their representative here.
Likewise, the "hero" from District 10--known for livestock--is cloaked in fur, a prop that detracts from his humanness and makes him seem less than.
The beauty from District 9 (Grain) could be on the cover of a fashion magazine. But the brace she's wearing--while striking--also implies what backbreaking work she endures in the gathering of grain when the Capitol's camera crew and make-up team isn't around.
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Head to the next page to see three more amazing Hunger Games posters!
The final three images are more direct with the toll their districts' roles have on their people. District 7 (above) features a lumberjack cradling a lovingly detailed wooden leg. He's brawny, proud and sexy. But sitting aside a pile of wood, this image suggests he's just another commodity in the eyes of the Capitol. District 4's fisherwoman looks lovely, but the nets that surround her are unsettling when considered with the whole of these photoshoots. Like the fish she's snared, she too is trapped.
And lastly, we see a hunk from Panem's transportation sector, District 6. He's strong and tough, but pants made of tire tread remind us how easily and casually the Capitol runs down all those they consider less. Which yes, means all of these beautiful, exploited heroes.
Be sure to check out The Capitol's website for details "thanks" to each of the heroes above. Lionsgate is masterfully constructing an addictive and world-building tool there. Don't miss out.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 opens November 21st.
