Social Stratification In The Hunger Games Movie Essay Example

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The Hunger Games movie is one of the best examples of a movie that depicts social stratification. It is a movie about who has the money and who does not have. The Capitol possesses money compared to other districts. However, a number of districts are a lot more fortunate compared to the others, for they have the advantage of training their people to do great in the Hunger Games. For these districts, they perceive competition as a means to obtain fame and glory. Katniss, one of the main characters in the movie, belongs to District 12. District 12 is a disadvantaged coal mining area that never takes risks in participating in the Games. For District 12, the Hunger Games is a form of punishment that has to be endured. This, for them, will only rob them of their little ones. However, after District 13 rebelled, the other twelve districts have each to provide two tributes, a young girl and a young boy. These young men and women will have to fight brutally to be declared as winners.
The Districts are separated. Such separation embodies social stratification. The first district manufactures luxury items including fashion and jewellery. The fourth district is concentrated to fishing. The eleventh district is focused in doing agriculture and the twelfth district is performing coal mining. Each of the districts has certain work to do and each of them contributes to the entire community. The first two highest districts – districts 1 and 2 – belong to the highest level of the strata. On the contrary, as the number increases, the means of living for those districts also decreases. The setup of the districts is apparently similar to a caste system. For them to elevate their way of living, they must participate in the Hunger Games competition. The competition tends to reinforce inequality as well as stratification among various districts.
Social stratification in Australia is demonstrated based on the arrangement of the groups according to occupation, wealth, income, and power. With regard to stratification in Australia, the relative social position of individuals in a particular social group is characterized according to the level of the individual or other social unit. In contemporary Western communities of Australia, stratification is divided into three major social class divisions - upper class, lower class and the middle class. These classes can be can likewise be subdivided into smaller classes units.
In the movie, the rest of the social stratification is conducted by the government. The administration takes control of all resources, including those that are used for production. Hence, the government is perceived to be the most powerful of all. This likewise extends a philosophy among the individuals that their community should be structured in that manner in order for peace and order to reign. When the government does not obtain an agreement from all the districts or from any of the district, the same punishment that District 13 suffered will be imposed on that district. District 13 questioned the power of the government. Hence, the latter used military forces to impose threats on other districts into conforming to the directives. The same thing happened to the eleventh district after it participated in a protest. Rue was viciously murdered. The eleventh district began to destroy the administration. The president exercised his power when he instructed one man to get things under control before the situation transforms into rebellion. The government has so much power to enforce the district to send two young tributes as a form of sacrifice.
Social stratification is based not only on the societal level but also on the material possession that the group has. Clothing, buildings, and significant properties serve as bases of stratification.

References

IMDb, (2012). The Hunger Games (2012). [online] Available at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/ [Accessed 18 Mar. 2015].
Mondal, P. (2015). Social Stratification: Meaning, Types, and Characteristics | Sociology (2446 Words). [online] Yourarticlelibrary.com. Available at: http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/sociology/social-stratification-meaning-types-and-characteristics-sociology-2446-words/6199/ [Accessed 18 Mar. 2015].
Shaffer, A. (2012). Moral questions in The Hunger Games. The Philosophers' Magazine, (58), pp.123-124.
Weil, L. (2014). Hunger Games. Foot & Ankle Specialist, 7(1), pp.11-12.