[Vince Ferrer]

It is difficult to teach the young about totalitarianism by talking about NAZIs or the Soviet Union, because even though they were real, they do not hold the interest of the young. But this fictional universe is just as deadly to its citizens as the Soviet Unions was, and it can teach the young.

There are some spoilers in this post, but here is a synopsys if you haven't seen them:

The story involves a country that consists of a rich capital district and subservient districts which are kept in poverty and exploited. There was a revolution 74 years previously, but the capital district won, and kept the others under totalitarian control. The capital knows it is totalitarian and unfair, but fears revolution more, and so it justifies its actions to itself. But the country is always on the brink of revolution.

As a sign of its complete domination, the capital holds annual "hunger games" which is a game where two kids from each district are drafted to an arena to fight to the death until one survives. While on the surface the rules are fair, in fact the kids from the capital district have tremendous advantages, and are usually the winners. This is done deliberately by the government to prove the futility of revolt.

The story concerns a young woman named Katniss Everdeen, who is thrust into the public eye when she volunteered for the games when her younger sister was drafted. She eventually wins the games, but in a way that is seen as a middle finger to the government. She did not want fame, and in fact runs from it, but more and more becomes a symbol of resistance and revolution.

Riot Scene

President Snow visits Katnis Everdeen

After she wins, she is dragged around the country to make speeches about how great the government is:

Victory Tour

[Kenny]

I think the beginning of the District's revolution was Rue. As Katniss walks away, grief-stricken over the senseless murder of a child, she stops, faces the cameras, and makes the District's sign:

"It is an old and rarely used gesture of our district, occasionally seen at funerals. It means thanks, it means admiration, it means goodbye to someone you love." ―Katniss Everdeen

What strikes me about that scene is that it really takes a tragedy that personal and that horrific to spur people to fight their oppressors.