The Hunger Games, a film based on a novel written by Susan Collins, was released in March 2012. The film and the book on which it is based chronicle the struggles of a girl named Katniss Everdeen, a girl who lives in a poverty-stricken province or "district", until untimely circumstances force her to compete in the Hunger Games, a gladiator-style competition where children aged from 12 to 18 years old are forced to fight. until death. A competition organized by an oppressive and authoritarian government, and which has thus far been supported by the forced obedience of the rebel districts, the brainwashing and conditioning of districts 1 and 2, and the conditioning of the inhabitants of its Capitol . The film contains a variety of messages, particularly regarding social control and social conditioning. With these ideas in mind, one could very well argue that The Hunger Games, throughout its two hours, shows a very realistic look at a socially conditioned society and what humanity can become with the right amount of conditioning and control by authoritarian force. The struggle within The Hunger Games is deeply rooted in the film's story, in which the nation of Panem was rocked by civil war. Twelve oppressed districts rose up against an oppressive Capitol, and the end result of this civil war was a victory for the Capitol (Hunger Games). In response to the rebellion of its outlying provinces, the government of Panem decreed the creation of the Hunger Games, in which each district would send a boy and a girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to fight in a battle to the death, until that only one Victor would emerge supreme, who would then be "filled with glory" by the Capitol, in order to show his mercy and ...... middle of paper ....... So, it is with those These are three key points that allowed the government of Panem to maintain the Games for so long, without the system collapsing in on itself. Additionally, The Hunger Games also shows us what we could become as a species with the right to social influence and conditioning by an authoritarian force. The people of the Capitol and Districts have been taught and conditioned for decades to accept the Hunger Games, particularly in the case of the Capitol, where its citizens cheer and enjoy the Hunger Games, just as many Romans enjoyed the Colosseum in the Antiquity. It's a rather frightening, yet realistic, look at what each of us could become with the right social influences and conditioning. Works Cited Ross, G. (director), Collins, S. (writer), Jacobson, N. (producer) (2012). The hunger games. United States: Color Force