1.X:
The Reaping Scene in the Hunger Games allows us to view the changing nature of the role of women within dystopias by characterizing Effie Trinket.
Detail 1:
The majority of the scene creates an eyeline vector in which Effie is look down on the people. Since she is looking down at the people, Effie is seen as superior to and more powerful than the people of District 12. This allows us to characterize Effie as as a very dominant and powerful individual, who must have some level of competence in order to have acquired power.
Detail 2:
Effie has very bold and flashy costuming compared to the costuming of the people of District 12. This makes Effie stand out in the crowd leading us to characterize her as a very independent, unique figure. In addition, her costuming may have been intentionally ostentatious to show that she is an important character in this scene and to an extent this movie.
2.Y:
Alternative Futures? Science Fiction and Feminism by Jenny Wolmark discusses how feminist SF writers are attempting to alter the role of women to a more independent, assertive and competent (Wolmark 52) role. Therefore forcing the reader to reconsider their cultural ideology in regards to the roles of women and the concept of patriarchy in dystopias.
Detail:
In this scene, Effie is depicted an independent, powerful, bold, and competent character, which supports the new roles of women that can be found in the examples of feminist SF narratives in Wolmark’s essay.
3.
In relation to Jenny Wolmark’s Alternative Futures? Science Fiction and Feminism, this film argues in support of changing the cultural ideology of the traditional female role in a dystopian work. Therefore, forcing the audience to reevaluate the dominant cultural ideology about in regards to the roles of women.
Aditi, I like the ideas behind your claim here, but I want to challenge your reading of Effie a bit: is Effie really a "role model" for young women in the context of the film? One might also see her dramatic dress and glib way of speaking as a sign she is vain and, at worst, a callous person for her role in perpetuating the entertainment aspect of the hunger games when she's seen the state of the capitol. In light of this, what is a tension we find in Effie? What might her representation this film be critiquing about gender roles in a more complex way?
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