the saga The Hunger Games, became one of the highest-grossing films in cinema. But also, one that combined the best points of the literary original, with the action genre. This, in the midst of a very harsh social criticism, which analyzed the power and mass manipulation of a despotic totalitarian state. The result was a story that spanned from the birth of a leader in the midst of suffering to the outbreak of a revolution. Something that allowed the set of four films to explore unusual topics in franchises dedicated to youth audiences.
The prequel Ballad of songbirds and snakes follows the same trend as the feature films that preceded it. So he analyzes the autocratic state of Panem from its worst features and vices. But he also does something else: he delves into the sinister games designed to maintain control of the oppressed people, from their beginnings. At the same time, through the perspective of one of its central characters. The past of President Snow (played as an adult by Donald Sutherland and in his youth by Tom Blyth), will be the center of the story. But also, the point that links the previous film series with the current one.
This is the opportunity to understand a particularly complex figure and, through his past, the way Panem was built. A point that is barely mentioned both in the books and in the franchise that ended in 2015. But this time, it takes on special emphasis and shows that the plot imagined by Suzanne Collins It is much more complicated and extensive than one might suppose.
The expanding universe
If the plot throughout the franchise The Hunger Games In the fall of the totalitarian regime that ruled Panem, its prequel shows its rise. Book adaptation The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakespublished in 2020, the story is based on a young man Coriolanus Snow. It which places him 64 years before the stories that have already reached the big screen. By the time the prequel begins, Snow is an eighteen-year-old boy who witnesses the birth of the cruel competition that gives its name to the saga.
Much more, it delves into how the games system was structured through its first decade. Although in the previous franchise, it was implied to be the result of punishment, the competition is much more than that. In reality, it is a way to avoid any possibility of reconciliation between the Districts and also, their possible unification into a common stronghold.
In the book, Snow and his classmates become the tenths’ mentors. The Hunger Games annual. Which allows the story to analyze from the dome of power that survived the first great rebellion – which formed the Districts – and the way in which it became tradition. Something interesting in the prequel is that unlike among many others, it adds important information to the chronology of the previous feature films.
Another perspective on ‘The Hunger Games’
Specifically, the plot focuses on his evolution from student, political figure, peacemaker, and finally, dictator. At the same time, the corruption that allowed the central power to become a totalitarian nucleus with propaganda objectives. However, in Snow’s case, By mentoring the District 12 tribute, it allows us to understand the reason why it was the seedbed of the future rebellion.
Additionally, the character of Lucy Gray (Rachel Zegler) is introduced, her influence and weight on the future of games. As a competitor of the poorest and most problematic place in Panem, she allows us to understand the reason for the measures that Snow will later take to quell any heroes arriving from the region.
In fact, a good part of the story delves into the actions of the future president and explains each of his acts, even the most barbaric ones. Which allows both the book – and undoubtedly the film – to create a new chapter of a world that is especially difficult to understand.
The chronology of the fight for freedom
Thanks to the care that Suzanne Collins devoted to the timelines in the original, it is possible to see the evolution of Panem as a whole. The plot begins at a milestone of considerable importance to the rest of the story. The war is still part of the memory of everyone involved — both in the organization of the games and the participants — so its symbology is clear. The death of young people is a consequence — rather than a tragedy — of the conflict and is even considered necessary by the districts.
In one way or another, Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the origin of a villain with multiple nuances and a more human face than one might suppose. Also the analysis of what led Panem society to agree on the need for an annual slaughter. A topic that is analyzed through the ten years that have passed since the war and that provides context to the half century and a little more, into which the narrative extends.