The Hunger Games and Capitol Propaganda: What We Know About The New Movie

The PR film for Lionsgate’s Sunrise on the Reaping has kicked off to prepare for the film’s November 20th release date. The film, the next part of The Hunger Games series, focuses on Haymitch Abernathy’s story and its connection to the main trilogy. 

Lionsgate kicked off the PR campaign with a series of propaganda ads and real-world posters hitting at the terrifying nature of living inside the fascist dystopian world of the Capitol. Let’s break down just what we’ve got to look forward to.

The capitol has launched it’s propaganda machine

Capitol.tv is a website that lets users step inside the world of Panem. It features the posters (including President Snow, our number one peacekeeper!) as well as some of the fashion-oriented Capitol citizens, so beautiful they border on grotesque. There’s also a propaganda piece from President Snow about how they gather every year on the fourth of July (an interesting date choice) to remember the “selfish struggle” of the districts and how the Hunger Games are a form of “reparations.”

It’s a twisted look at how fascism and a dystopian government can corrupt ideals and create images and propaganda that can manipulate the public. It’s absolutely delightful, if haunting, and a subtle warning to the audience.

Lionsgate Takes The Capitol To The Real World

Propaganda is a hallmark of the Capitol and The Hunger Games series. Lionsgate has been putting up posters to advertise the film in places that are unusually prescient. The posters feature a 1950s-1960s art style. The poster, “Peace is Preserved: Not promised,” offers a chilling look at the world that President Snow helped build in the wake of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The film focuses on the developing world that Katniss Everdeen will come into.

The best part about the posters is where they are putting them. They’ve put them on the sides of buildings, on bus stops, and on the New York Stock Exchange, sending a bold statement to the world about the capitol is building. The message is timely and very much in the spirit of Collins’s work. They’ve driven it past the US Capitol, past NATO headquarters, and more.

The Trailer And Movies Re-Released

So far, there’s only been one trailer, and it’s a doozy. You see everything from Haymitch’s arena to the characters of the Capitol and the districts facing each other. We get a look at a young Effie Trinket, played by Elle Fanning (Effie was played by Elizabeth Banks in the original film) 

So far, it’s the only trailer, but the marketing campaign seems to be ramping up. Fans have already started making edits, drawing pictures, and getting excited. 

Fans had an opportunity to get excited, and new fans were introduced thanks to Fathom events releasing all five films nationwide. Now people caught up on everything from Songbirds and Snakes to Mockingjay. From September 3rd to September 7th, fans were able to return to Panem and battle the Capitol alongside Katniss, the girl on fire.

There’s clearly a lot more to come from Panem and the Quarter Quell, my fellow district denizens. Are you excited for The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping? Tell us in the comments and check out the trailer below!

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping releases November 20th.