The 75th Hunger Games, featured in Lionsgate’s 2013 release the Hunger Games expects spectacle, bloodshed, and one victor at the end of it all. At least, that was the expectation before the 75th Annual Hunger Games.
Catching Fire, the second film in The Hunger Games movie franchise, takes place a year after Katniss and Peeta win the 74th Hunger Games. The districts, much like Katniss, are amid a tug of war, with President Snow’s suppression tactics on one side, and a steadily growing rebellion on the other. While the outcome of the special Quarter Quell would decide the fate of Panem moving forward, its cause speaks to the oppression in Panem and of the tributes themselves.
The 75th Hunger Games In Catching Fire Didn't Have A Victor
As Haymitch tells Katniss, no one wins the games, a statement that rings very true in Catching Fire. Typically, the last tribute alive is crowned victor, the exception being Katniss and Peeta’s double win in the 74th Hunger Games. Their decision to die together rather than kill the other was an incredibly intelligent strategy. They knew that faith in the games was kept by the promise and possibility of winning. By threatening to have no winner, thus destabilizing belief in the games in the districts and the victors, they set the gears in motion for the Quarter Quell’s outcome.
Katniss’s actions in the previous film made her a beacon of hope for the oppressed districts. Her spite and comion also inspired a rebellion within the Capitol itself. Through Head Gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee’s careful puppeteering of President Snow, Plutarch is able to return the victors to the arena and save Katniss. Uniting the victors through anger allowed them to rebel against the games. Although initial strategies went awry, Katniss made a statement by electrifying and destroying the arena, forcing the Quarter Quell to end. Since Plutarch rescued the tributes, there was no victor.
It must be the Capital that ends the games and, as the game was interrupted by Katniss and Plutarch, a victor could not have been crowned by Snow. He would not have rewarded the surviving tributes with food and wealth regardless; he tortured both Joanna and Peeta for rebelling. Yet the fact that there was no victor showed a newfound unwillingness to play the Capitol’s game, especially from those within the Capitol itself. The results of the game marked a change in power dynamics that would affect all of Panem in Mockingjay.
What The 75th Hunger Games Result Meant For Panem
Although it was not the first tribute rebellion, even the 10th games had unrest, it was the first major success and destabilization of the status quo. There would be no more games after the Quarter Quell; the 76th games refer to Mockingjay's Battle of the Capitol. The teamwork of the rebels, and, albeit unknowingly, Katniss, revitalized the districts with power, bravery, and confidence. By relocating the victors to District 13, the hidden district became a powerful rebel base. District 13’s ability to control the media, interrupt Capitol broadcasting, and produce Mockingjay propaganda, encourages uprisings and recenters power in Panem.
Panem would see immediate retaliation by The Capitol after the games, mostly through attacks on Katniss. District 12 was destroyed by bombings and Peeta was hijacked with tracker-jacker venom to brainwash him into hating Katniss. This was a more gruesome twist on Snow’s plan of making Katniss a Capitol darling by manipulating her actions in the games and on the Victory Tour. When this failed to quell rebellions, Snow harmed her loved ones and the districts to regain control. Panem’s future would now hinge on Katniss’ actions, making her a powerful player in the game.
Was There Ever Going To Be A Victor For The 75th Hunger Games
There is evidence that Snow wouldn’t have allowed a victor. Snow views the victors as problematic: they are growing too bold and too united. He tells Katniss she should have died for her berry trick, reminding her of his ability to manipulate death in the arena. Snow would not allow another mistake. Reaping the victors for a mass death would send the message that no one, not even the beloved winners, is invincible. He would sacrifice people’s belief in the games to restore order and control. This desire for control and power at another’s expense is central to Snow’s character.
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In contrast, the Quarter Quell tributes had planned for Katniss’ victory in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. While Katniss fought to keep Peeta alive, the rebel tributes, Plutarch, and Haymitch worked to ensure Katniss’ survival. This was done through the tributes’ sacrifices, protecting Peeta, and recruiting Katniss’ chosen allies. If Katniss were to die, the revolution was certain to fall apart before it had even really begun. Although Katniss did not and could not win, her survival solidified her role as the rebellion’s Mockingjay, initiating the next phase of the revolution as the rebels had hoped for all along.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
- Release Date
- November 22, 2013
- Runtime
- 146 minutes
- Director
- Francis Lawrence
Cast
Katniss Everdeen
Josh HutchersonPeeta Mellark
WHERE TO WATCH
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire follows Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark as they embark on a Victor's Tour after winning the 74th Hunger Games. With unrest brewing in the districts, President Snow orchestrates the Quarter Quell, the 75th games that threaten to alter the future of Panem.
- Writers
- Simon Beaufoy, Michael Arndt
- Sequel(s)
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
- Franchise(s)
- The Hunger Games
- Studio(s)
- Lionsgate
- Distributor(s)
- Lionsgate
- Budget
- $130 million
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