New gender identity and roles in the hunger games

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Professor Timothy Daniel

Anthropology 04, Cultural Diversity

Sarah Elgohary

Fall 2014

For this Ethnographic Cultural diversity assignment I chose to complete project number three.   As a result, the movie I analyzed is the “Hunger Games, Catching Fire”. I chose this award winning 2013 film because I believe the main character Katniss Evergreen and the other characters in the movie really give true insight on the traditional gender representations of men and women and how gender roles are changing in society. 

 I feel as if the movie the “Hunger Games, Catching Fire” is one of the first movies in media production to symbolize the importance  of a new age of traditional gender roles and how they are changing over time due to the differences in socialization of men and women  in society . I chose to examine this movie because traditional gender roles how gender roles are changing in society is a topic that I have been researching.  Therefore, my goal was to have a feminist ethnography, this feminist approach led to the group of people I interviewed to be six women on campus each of them having different  reactions to my questions and they have . The interviewees have different opinions on the masculine and feminine portrayal of the characters in the movie that represented the gender socialization of men and women in society.   

Micro Analysis

While the research was being conducted and my interviewees giving their reactions to the questions I discovered that there are many similar patterns in my interviewees responds.  There were also many differences in my interviewee s responses I will discuss and interpret all of my research result, for this paper.

            The first pattern among my interviewees was the fact that all of the women thought that Katniss was a good role model for women on a scale of 1-10 for many reasons. The scale rating is one being the least appealing and ten being the most.  The first woman that I interviewed was Nina. She gave Katniss an eight out of ten because she believed that Katiss was always looking to do the right thing, stand up for what she believed in even when times were bad. In addition, Nina thought that Katniss was in a vulnerable position saving her sister. 

       The second woman that I interviewed was Stephanie; she gave Katniss an eight out of ten because she believed that Katiss was strong and resilient with good leadership qualities.  

     The third woman that I interviewed was Heather. She gave Katniss a ten out of ten because she believed that Katniss was a good role model but she did not say why.   

     The fourth woman that I interviewed was Michelle; she rated Katniss a seven out ten. She was the only interviewee to rate this way because she felt Katinss, although strong and independent and a good role model, just doesn’t strike her as the most vital in the whole story. Michelle also thought Katniss had a lot of responsibility in the movie taking care of her sister. 

My interpretation of the role model pattern is that it was significant that all the people that I interviewed felt like she was a good role model for women, just like I did, but they each had different reasons. Stephanie believes that Katniss is in a vulnerable position when she decided to save her sister. She was able to be part of a larger cause due to her personal reason of saving a loved one. Katiniss Was motivated by her personal choice, To  protect her sister prim by taking her place In the hunger games. By making this decision Katniss became able to fight for what she believed in and never gave up; even If she feared dyeing it was not apparent by her actions. On the other hand, Heather gave Katniss a ten out of ten because she believed that Katniss was a good role model but she did not say why. I think that heather was just answering my question based on the fact that she likes the movie and she wanted to help me with my project because she    was trying to be nice to me based on the fact that she was feeling sorry for me because I am in a wheelchair . I feel like Heather was answering my questions by telling me the answers that I wanted to hear. Therefore she gave me The Impression that she was just agreeing with my own opinions Of the movie for each question I gave her. As a result I feel like heather’s answers to all my questions were very straight forward answer with no detailed explanation and thought I wish that heather would have elaborated  her answer to why she thought that Katniss is a good role model for women. Michelle; she rated Katniss a seven out ten. She was the only interviewee to rate this way because she felt Katinss, although strong and independent and a good role model, just doesn’t strike her as the most vital in the whole story. Michelle also thought Katniss had a lot of responsibility in the movie taking care of her sister.

                  The second   Question in my interview  was “ How do you feel about the diversity  in the movie and why. When I asked this questions to my interviewers  I expected to find similarities in answers about diversity that would create another pattern  with the interviewers. On the contrast to my surprise I did not find any similaries of To diversity In my interviewers reaction to my question.  Instead each woman that I interviewed had a different reaction or opinions for the reason of diversity in the movie which I thought was very unique . 

FOR example Stephanie believes that the movie’s diversity was unusual she talks about   the fact that there are twelve different districts in which each group of people were  divided into. Stephanie believes that district 11 Were the only African-Americans people districts  while all the other distracts have Caucasian people Stephanie “said this was unfair in a way because  we live in a country where everyone has a different ethnicity. “ She said “but when I saw What was the In the movie,  everyone was somewhat separated from each other “(Stephanie). She emphasizes that this is unfair.   

 The second woman that I interviewed was Farina.   Unlike Stephanie Fariha thought the race, gender were well balanced, In the movie especially since  rue who was the leader of district 11 Was an African-American woman She said that” there were many leadership  role from both genders. Heather thought The diversity throughout the movie was good with no particular reason why I think  she likes the diversity of the different characters in the movie 

The fourth woman that I interviewed was Michelle She  thought the movie was not diverse in the category of race because the movie does not have many characters  who were not Caucasian she said with the exception of movie Beetee and wireless ON the Other hand Michelle” did  think the movie was diverse in the FACT that it shows individuals with a wide range of abilities and talents from archery to  camouflage to fishing SHE SAID “ each character has a specific area of expertise that they use to stay alive’”. (Michelle”) 

My interpretation of the  reactions of diversity in the movie that it was significant that all the people that I interviewed have different opinions, ideas about the diversity  and they each have unique ways of expressing the idea of different diversity in the movie Than I thought before doing the interview ‰. When I asked this questions to my interviewers  I expected to find similarities in answers about diversity that would create another pattern with the interviewers. On the contrast to my surprise I did not find any similaries of diversity  In my interviewers reaction to my question. Instead each woman that I interviewed had a different reaction or opinions for the reason of diversity in the movie which I thought was very unique . 

FOR example Stephanie believes that the movie’s diversity was unusual  the fact that there are twelve different districts in which each group of people were  divided into. Stephanie believes that district 11 Were the only African-Americans people distinct  while all the other distrcts have Caucasian people Stephanie “said this was unfair in a way because  we live in a country where everyone has a different ethnicity. “ She said “but when I saw What was the In the movie,  everyone was somewhat separated from each other I find it unique that the reason that fariha thought the race, gender were well balanced,  especially since rue who was the leader of district 11 Was an African-American woman She said that” there were many leadership role from both genders Was the opposite of what Stephanie believes And she thinks the diversity is unusual because  there is only one African-American district and all the other districts are Caucasian. In addition, I thought that it was very interesting that Farhia used Stephanie Reaction to diversity about districts 11 people being the only African-American  district to justify the fact that race and gender roles were balanced because Rue was an African-American woman playing a leadership role in her perspective even though Stephanie And Fariha had different positions on the same question that were opposite to one another I feel  their views are connected to each other. In addition I thought that it was very unique perspective of Michelle to think of diversity as multidimensional concept all of my other interviewers and myself only of diversity in terms of race and gender but Michelle did not only think of diversity  in terms of race and gender She also thought of diversity as individuals with  a wide range of abilities and talents from archery to  camouflage to fishing She said “ each character has a specific area of expertise that they use to stay alive’”.  (Michelle”)

My last piece of micro Analysis deals with how my interviewees reaction  to my question of how they thought the movie depicts gender roles. Each woman has a different  opinion on gender role in the movie For example fariha thought 1that because the main character In the movie   Was a woman, this portrays women as strong and equal to men perhaps even smarter . She said society often suggest that women cannot lead better than men but the movie suggests the opposite “.  (farita Heather thought that the gender roles of men and women are reversed in the movie which was nice to see in her opinion

Catheritine  said that she never really thought about  it but now that she is she think that Katniss  is more masculine and Petta is more feminine because Katniss is more willing and able to fight  than Petta he admits several times that he Thinks Katniss is stronger than him 

Stephanie Reaction  to gender role in the movie   the gender role were interesting to  her because to her Petta was more sensitive  and open-minded about showing his affection towards Katniss While Katniss  was more to herself and would not let her feelings get in the way of what she thought  was the right thing to do. Another important point she makes is when it came to Katniss  Physical beauty  she was not interested in makeup hair do her  appearance Stephanie said “ this is somewhat of a symbolic  symbol of telling women that outside beauty is not always important.”   “it what’s inside you and what you who you love unconditionally is what’s more  important” (Stephanie).  

My interpretation of the reactions of gender role in the movie, is I thought that it was significant that all the people that I interviewed have different opinions, ideas about the of gender role of men and women.    I thought it was interesting that my question makes Catherine think about  gender roles, which she never thought about or questioned until I asked her and made her aware  of gender roles in the movie. The impact of my question made her think and then she realized that from her  perspective she thought the gender role were reversed. this is because she is she think that Katniss is more masculine and Petta is more feminine  because Katniss is more willing and able to fight than Petta he admits several times that he Thinks Katniss is stronger than him. The point that Stephanie made  about beauty being only skin deep is a very important message for women in our society not to focus on their appearance and to care more about what is on the inside your personality intelligence,  and the people you love that is more important in society. two women thought that the gender roles were reversed in the movie out of all the woman I interviewed that was unique.

Macro anayisis 

 The traditional gender roles of men and women in society have changed from the nineteenth and twentieth century’s in many different ways.  As soon as they have learn to walk children are socialized differently based on their gender, boys learn to play with action figures like G i Joe army toys and play with Lego.  Society teaches boys to be strong, join the military, be good at math, build buildings be engineers, providers for women in society. On the other hand , young girls are trained by society  and their parents to play with dolls, make up, easy bake ovens and later on in school girls learn that parents only want their sons to do better in math so as a result, girls attention in math  decreases because they have internalized the message from their parents that girls are normally not supposed to do better in math than boys in society. In addition society teaches young girls to be nurturing, to cook clean, do laundry so they can learn to be good mothers and take care of children, while the men are only the providers in society.  These expectations of women are realistic/and unrealistic for many reasons. First of all, it is very realistic for society to want and need caregivers, nannies, mothers to watch over, nurture, care for and raise children in society that reason is realistic. There are no rules, laws in society that segregates the care giving, and raising children is specifically the responsibility of only   to the women of society. Aside from the obvious biological factor of a woman’s birth to children men are perfectly capable of raising and nurturing their children. In fact, in recent years more and more men are staying home to care for their children either because more men are unemployed or they have responsibility for the kids, while the wife or Mothers are working all day. In addition men are allowed to have a two week paternity leave to spend time with their new baby and they still can go back to work without any consequences.  While in contrast to men young women who take a materially leave for twelve weeks might not have a job when they come back from materiality leave even though by law an employer is not allowed to fire a woman just for having a baby. Women who have a baby and return to work have a stigma attached to them for having a baby because employers and coworker think that women cannot perform their job the way that they did before having the baby and sometimes women are fired from their job for taking extra time on materiality leave. Society has so many different double standards for men and women.  For example if a father stays home to take care of his children while the mother is out working , society will look down on men who stay home with the children because he is too nurturing and he is not considered manly enough. Also if society expects women not to get an education not a degree, not work and stay home taking care of the children and the house how Are they going to pay bills . Society needs to understand that in order for women to raise their children and be good mothers all women need to have equal access to good education to get a degree and find a job with a  good income to pay for a big house, school so women can afford to buy food, clothes, and afford to pay for day-care for their children, while they are out working all day. Society expects boys to play with trucks if parents see their son playing with dolls they might think he is gay and hit him and take the doll away from him. If a girl plays any sport she is labeled as a tomboy. If men work Victoria Secret, bath and body works, they are automatically labeled as a gay person IN Society. . If men work as designers hair dressers, or they do nails they are seen as gay people in society just for doing what they love.  This is unfair people should not be judge differently because of what They like people should be free to do what they want and be the person that they want to be in life just like baby x was free to be his own person.  

 During 1912   there were many  American people and government  were involved in many social political and economic movements  such as the start of European Colonization , the progressive era.  In addition in 1912 the economy was doing well two years before World War I.   People ( men) had all the jobs they worked while the women stayed home to take care of children  at the time our society was very patriarchal women did not have the right to vote they were just supposed to  listen and obey their husbands. Women had few rights no individual freedom in 1912. At the time All a rich upper class  women could do was get married while ; a poor woman was seen as cheap labor in factories There were strong distinctions between the upper and lower classes in 1912 The ruling classes saw people in power saw  no need to change the status quo. (Weirder, pg 1). In 1912 women were not seen as equals to men they were viewed as inferior to men because of their sex. Men saw women as toys to play with not as human beings they felt could do anything they want with women because women were powerless.

In the l9 the and 20th century gender roles of men and women in society were very different compared to the roles in society today For example, In 1912, women were only considered as the homemakers they cooked cleaned and took care of the children while the workforce was dominated by men. In addition young women were forced to marry older men as early as sixteen years old for money.  Poor women did not marry, but they were seen as cheap labor and they were forced to work in factories. Women were not allowed to get an education and they did not have the right to vote until 1920 with the 19th amendment more than a century after African American men got the right to vote in 1865. In 1912, and even today women are denied many rights along with job opportunities not for being unqualified for their jobs, but   they are being denied jobs on a base of race, gender discrimination and prejudice. Over the last few decades especially now gender roles have reversed in society. For example now men and women both have jobs in order to pay bills and maintain a house and survive with children because the economy is so bad. Now more men are staying home to take care of the children because they cannot find work, while women work. Women in society today have many roles,   they are professional women and care givers. Women have gained many rights they are educated and now women have become more involved in politics.  

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