Ideology and Hegemony Discussion

From the socio-economic base where everything centers on money, the superstructure appears in the form of social and political systems, values, and etc. These are the ideologies that influence how Panem is run through the system that has been put in place by the capitalist. The capitalists, the officials in the Capitol, exploit the working class in the established districts by determining how much money or food ration they receive and their working and living conditions. It has been sta ted by Eagleton that “the function of ideology is to legitimate the power of the ruling class in society. The dominant ideas of a society are the ideas of its ruling class” 555. Unfortunately, ideologies of Panem put the people in the poor districts in suffering. Separating the woods, in fact enclosing all of District 12, is a high chain-link fence topped with barbed wire loops. In theory, it’s supposed to be electrified twenty-four hours a day as a deterrent to the predators that live in the woods – packs of wild dogs, lone cougars, bears – that used to threaten our streets. But since we’re lucky to get two or three hours of electricity in the evenings, it’s usually safe to touch. Even so, I always take a moment to listen carefully for the hum that means the fence is live. Collins 4 The districts are made to believe that the officials have divided the lands where people live and in the woods danger of wild animals exists. This ideology of enclosing the citizens from danger discourages people from hunting in the woods. Yet, the woods is the source of food that they need to survive because hunting outside of the district will bring in more food. Essentially, without some of the citizens even realizing it, they are being bounded to an ideology where they b elieve they are being “kept safe”; however, because of this they may lack food. According to Bertens, ideology presents reality as being “natural and harmonious what is artificial and contradictory” 85. The fences surrounding the district contradicts its purpose of protecting its citizens. Katniss admits that “District 12 [is] where you can starve Rimun 11 yourself in safety” Collins 5. Though the protaganist admits their predicament, the citizens’ safety is not quite ensured if the fence only runs on two to three hours of electricity. What has been promised as safety is not fulfilled if they are free from “danger” for only a few hours in the day. In this case, hegemony occurs because the interest of the powerful bourgeoisie in the Capitol has been universalized within the society, and so the exploitation and mistreatment of the poor is seen as the natural way of life for the whole society. Storey describes hegemony as where “a society in which conflict is contained and channelled into ideologically safe harbour s.” 80 So it seems that Panem is currently a safe country, but a consequence to submitting to hegemony, two different societies exist within the same country. On the other side of the country, in the Capitol, it seemed like a different society despite still being a part of Panem. The stark contrast between the life in the Capitol and the districts exemplifies hegemony. The Capitol twinkles like a vast field of fireflies. Electricity in District 12 comes and goes, usually we only have it a few hours a day. Often the evenings are spent in candlelight. The only time you can count on it is when they’re airing the Games or some important government message on television that it’s mandatory to watch. But here there would be no shortage. Ever. Collins 76 As Katniss observes the pleasure in living in the rich city, she ponders on the difficulties people in the districts are going through at that moment. In the grand city, lights surround the city to show its grandeur. However, at the same time, people in the districts spend their nights with candle light. After spending their day at work, the workers in the districts come home to a dark home. They are given the fair amount of electricity only when they have to watch the live battle of the Hunger Games. That being the case, the basic Rimun 12 necessity of electricity is not distributed equally among the different social groups in Panem. Yet, this unfairness continues every day in Panem with no change, because it is just the way of life for both of these classes. Ideologies, though they are belief systems, are results of what culture that society has deemed natural Tyson 56. Yet, ideologies have their disadvantage when “undesirable ideologies promote repressive political agendas and, in order to ensure their acceptance among the citizenry, pass themselves off as natural ways of seeing the world instead of acknowledging themselves as ideologies” Tyson 56. Accepting ideologies set by the bourgeoisie as natural is the case for the citizens of Panem living in the districts. For the Capitalist bourgeoisie to reap maximum profit for themselves, they have imposed rules that discourage the proletariats, or the workers, to gain anything. However, these rules are seen as natural to the workers because it is the natural order in their society, and coincidentally, the rule makers in Panem are the bourgeoisies in the Capitol. One rule that has evolved to be “natural” in Panem is Treaty of Treason. “The Treaty of Treason gave us the new laws to guarantee ‘peace’, and as our yearly reminder that the Dark Days must never be repeated, it gave us the Hunger Games ” Collins 17. This imposed law was made to guarantee peace to hinder any rebellion which could lead to the Dark Days faced by Panem years ago. From this law, it can be seen that these citizens fall prey to hegemony where “there is a large measure of social stability; a society in which subordinate groups and classes appear to actively support and subscribe to values, ideals, objectives, which bind them to, and incorporate them into t he prevailing structures of power” Storey 80. Therefore, this law supposedly helped maintain “peace” for 74 years, even though it subjects the poor to the structure and ruling of the rich. Rimun 13 Consequently, the bourgeoisie’s Treaty of Treason led to the Hunger Games which isolates underage children in a grueling battle to be a “supposed” sacrifice for peace. Though there could have been other positive ways to promote peace in Panem, the officials use the Treaty of Treason as a reminder that Panem district workers and their families are indebted to the “peace” they have now. This treaty is advantageous for those who live in the Capitol because their children are exempt from entering in the Hunger Games Collins 42. A law that was supposedly made for the betterment of the people in the districts, the Treaty of Treason actually only benefits the people in the Capitol. Sadly, the isolation of only the district children in an extreme arena is a ruling that has been implanted in their minds for 74 years. This ideo logy becomes the normal life and it seems they’ve brought it on themselves because of past rebellious history. Egan explains that “ideology functions at the psychological level so that each individual internalizes the social orders governing principles and lives them as though they were her own which, being so deeply embedded, they are” 32. Citizens in the districts have internalized the Treaty of Treason as their annual obligation, making it clear that the bourgeoisie have succeeded in achieving their “peace,” only to work to their own advantage. In conclusion, people in the Capitol have no reason to rebel because they are provided with luxury and easy living, and the districts’ poor treatment is told to be what they deserve as their status as workers. “Taking the kids from our districts…is the Capitol’s way of reminding us how totally we are at their mercy” Collins 17. Forcing the subordinate citizens in the districts to fight against each other and die is acceptable in the minds of the Capitol. People living in the districts are not allowed to question how the Capitol enforces the rules that clearly discourage a better living situation for the District. It has been implanted in a capitalistic society’s minds that what socioeconomic class a person belongs to will determine the kind of lifestyle they will have, whether they could live or die. Rimun 14

4.2 Reification

Another ideology which people in Panem fall prey to is reification. When seeing the grandeur of the Capitol, readers may not automatically think of who produces these magnificent things. Moreover, while reading The Hunger Games , we might find ourselves glued to every page when reading how Katniss and the other tributes are surviving the brutal circumstance of the Games, making it the most-watched and anticipated show in the country. However, when we dig deeper, we may find something more behind these successes of the Games or the luxury that surrounds the Capitol. This is where reification comes into play to show class struggle. The Hunger Games poses numerous scenes of exploitation through the dehumanization of the lower class, in which Cohen describes as “classes as personifications of value categories” 169. Therefore, being the higher class, the bourgeoisie is left to manipulate the lower class because of the high value and sense of importance the bourgeoisie has in the society. First of all, reification, as Tyson calls commodification , is “the act of relating to objects or persons in terms of their exchange value” 62. A person only holds value if they are able to contribute or produce something that is beneficial to the advancement of the bourgeoisie. So, people in the districts are labeled as the workers, or the proletariats, and are valued for the benefits they bring to the bourgeoisie. To ensure the social order remains this way, “the outer provinces hold the Capitols semi-enslaved workforce, kept in line through forced poverty, a heavy police presence ” continuing the endless cycle of exploitation “Pick an Allegory”. On the other hand, people in the Capitol are the bourgeoisie, which entitles them to the luxurious lifestyle that their social status allows for. Because the social system has deemed this exploitation of the workers as acceptable, the workers continue to live in poor living conditions, and the rich will continue to rise in the social system. Their exploitation seems to be a defense to maintain their position in the society and ensuring Rimun 15 nobody lower than them has a better life. By making the district citizens the labor force – or machines – the bourgeoisie continue to take advantage of their higher status for their betterment. An example of reification within this novel is when all the tributes arrived in the Capitol. Being from the districts where their main activities are hard labor, they are welcomed to a training center for the Games where each district’s tributes will have his or her own floor with crystal elevators Collins 69. Because of their value to the livelihood and peace of Panem, they are given luxury suites before they enter the deadly arena and to ensure their best performance in the Games. By immersing the tributes into a wealthy lifestyle beforehand, it will encourage and increase motivation in this battle of their imminent death. The luxury suits provide comfort that will eliminate the negative connotations about the Games. The officials realize that tributes know that once they enter the arena, they are facing their death. However, indulging the tributes with luxury will hopefully help boost their performance in the Games to make it an interesting show to watch. Though luxury suits seems to be viewed only as accommodation, it is one of the ways the officials of the Games control how the sacrificial children to be of use to them. To that extent, tributes will also win sponsors if they put on an interesting show during the Games. In this game, tributes become a source of entertainment to satisfy the people in the Capitol who are overly enthuastic seeing the deaths and misery that the tributes go through. It is a negative game where children kill each other for their safety, but these tributes become the puppets in the game that is deadly, action packed entertainment that officials look for Collins 137. Though the officials of the Games disapprove of cannibalism, they will form a new species of hungry animals with their advanced technology and let them roam in the arena to give variation in the game. “Because those who control production have a power base, they have many ways to ensure that they will maintain their position. They can Rimun 16