By Brooke Denlinger ‘25
The film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes perfects The Hunger Games trilogy and is the best dystopian movie of 2023. This film is the action-packed prequel to The Hunger Games trilogy and perfects Suzanne Collins’ storyline. The film is based in the country of Panem, which is divided into 13 districts. The film goes from one tragic act to the next, while also following a small love story. This makes for the perfect dystopian film and even references the trilogy and their “star-crossed lovers.”
The Hunger Games trilogy, filmed in the early 2010s, are based on the novels written by Suzanne Collins. The trilogy starts with the first movie The Hunger Games, which is the 74th annual games, where a 16-year-old girl named Katniss Everdeen volunteers for her younger sister, Primrose Everdeen. 24 female and male tributes, two from each district, fight to the death, but Katniss and her “partner” Peeta survive. Following the first film is Catching Fire and Mockingjay Part 1 and Part 2. In these films, Peeta and Katniss are sent back into the arena with other previous winners. Unexpectedly, the games are disrupted and the rest of the surviving tributes are saved, except for some. Then comes a revolution against the President, Coriolanus Snow, led by Katniss who is now known as the “Mockingjay.”
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes starts with the aftermath of the Districts’ rebellion against the Capitol. Years later, Snow is with his classmates in the Capitol’s Elite Academy, who are all eager to find out who won this big money prize. Instead of being based on grades, it is going to be based on their mentoring skills of the tributes. Lucy Gray Baird is the District 12 tribute, who is assigned to Snow. The games go on and tributes fall, but Lucy Gray Baird comes out on top in a suspicious way. Snow ends up cheating for Lucy Gray and his punishment is that he is forced to be a peacekeeper at District 8, but switches to 12. He spends his time sneaking off with Lucy Gray, but an old “friend” is causing trouble. Things go down, and Lucy Gray and Snow end up running away. Although, it is not the happy ending people would hope for. Snow’s desire for power may outweigh love.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is based off of the beautifully written novel by Suzanne Collins, along with the other Hunger Games trilogy films. Suzanne Collins connects her creations in multiple ways. Coriolanus Snow, the focus of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, shows up in the trilogy as the president of Panem. In the trilogy, he gains this hatred towards the main character Katniss. It is as if he has flashbacks of 60 years ago with Lucy Gray. Lucy Gray used to call this plant “Katniss.” Snow ends up feeling betrayed by Lucy Gray, and this may have influenced his hatred towards Katniss in the trilogy. There are also fellow relatives in the trilogy that are in the prequel, creating this connection between them.
The character Coriolanus Snow is a confusing person. You don’t know whether you want to like him or hate him. He has something that just draws you in and makes you ignore his flaws. He has this desire for power, but he wants to love at the same time. This film does a very good job of making one of the main characters such a complex person that viewers can connect with. His interest, Lucy Gray Baird, is also a character to fall in love with. She is passionate, determined, independent, and she isn’t afraid to show where she came from. The viewers of the movie can see the connection between Lucy Gray and Snow. They are complete opposites, yet fit together. They strengthen the film with their connection because viewers love a movie with a side love story.
The Capitol is dazzling and flashy, filled with riches and wealth. Everyone smiles and laughs because what more would they need. It is filled with upscale, greedy people. There are these striking buildings and remarkable streets that fill it. The hard-filled, bitter Districts are where the rest of Panem works. The streets are filled with peacekeepers who watch everyone’s move.
Each District is represented by something, like they have their own unique role. The substandard arena is a place of rubble where the tributes battle to the death. Not the most desirable place. All of these places in the film stand out to the viewers because they are all so unique and nothing like humans see in real-life. Fictional places have that sort of connection to the viewer.
The movie uses its characters to show the theme; desire for power can destroy. Snow wants to lead his family and take after his father. Lucy Gray Baird is introduced and he does his best to mentor her because he wants the prize. Slowly, he seems to have more than just a mentor-tribute relationship. It’s as if he starts to fall in love with her, but he also has a love for something else, power. His desire for both causes conflict for him and others. He could have a beautiful and peaceful life away from everything with Lucy Gray, or he could follow in his father’s footsteps. As he grows, his desire for power becomes stronger than his desire for love. It is Snow versus his desires, which makes this movie so remarkable.
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is a striking movie that will have you falling in love, sitting at the edge of your seat, and wanting more. I would recommend this movie a million times, whether you have watched the trilogy or not. Dystopian movies are films that capture the viewers and give them a perspective of a whole other world. Just like other dystopian movies, there is action, love, desire, adventure, yet has that uniqueness to it that makes it spectacular. That is why, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes has to be the best dystopian film of 2023. As Snow says, “It’s the things we love most that destroy us.”