SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN

THE DESIGN SCHOOL

FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT

NAME: TEO VI VIEN

STUDENT ID NO: 0321645

FILMS SELECTED: CATCHING FIRE AND INSURGENT

WORD COUNT:

ENGLISH 2 (ELG 30605)

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: COMPARE – CONTRAST ESSAY

LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA

SUBMISSION DATE: APRIL 3RD, 2015

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“Movies, also known as films, are a type of visual communication which use moving pictures and

sound to tell stories to help people to learn”, according to Wikipedia, an online saviour we all learnt

to love at a point of our lives, especially during college days. People from all over the world watch

movies for leisure purposes where each individual has their own preferred genre of films. Some

people find satisfaction in a movie that cracks their heads and some prefer a movie that tickles their

funny bones but to me films are masterpieces visualised by a writer, converted into real life by

producers, coordinated by directors and portrayed by actors. Catching Fire from The Hunger

Games Trilogy and Insurgent from the Divergent trilogy are both recent movies adapted from best-

selling young adult science fiction novels. Many were comparing both movies because of the

similarities they share in terms of the main characters as both movies feature a complex female

heroine and the timeline where both movies took place in a dystopian future. However, I see both

movies as individuals because of the differences between the plot, personality of the main

characters, the performance from the main actresses and the director’s take on the film.

Even though both of the movies are sequels to their first respective movies, the continuation from

where they left was different. Catching Fire started off six months after the Katniss Everdeen, the

main actress and Peeta Meelark, the main actor won the first game. They were chosen to compete

in the 75th Annual Hunger Games to commemorate the essence of game itself. However, this time

Katniss had allies on her side who were trying to keep Peeta and her alive, in the end they escaped

the arena by breaking the force field and she was saved by a helicopter to district 13, only to find

out Peeta was captured by the Capitol and Gale, her oldest friend announced that district 12, her

home was in ruins. Insurgent on the other hand, picked up right from where they left off in the first

movie, Tris Prior, the main actress, Four, the main actor, Caleb, Tris’s brother and Peter, their

friend were trying to escape the traitors of Dauntless, who were trying to hunt them down. They

searched for help from the factionless whose leader was Four’s mother. Erudite, the main enemy

forced Tris to surrender herself to unlock a box only she can open. Four and the factionless invaded

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Erudite’s headquarters to save Tris and an announcement was made to the whole city to move

outside the walls where the real world is. Ultimately, both the heroines escaped from the main

enemy to an unknown place to seek for hope but Katniss only managed to escape through breaking

the rules of the game where she had to kill her fellow competitors who were innocent for a chance

of survival. Tris on the other hand, escaped by creating a revolution to overthrow the enemy but

unexpectedly found savage over the boundaries of the city they live in. The depth of the plot in

Insurgent is much superior compared to Catching Fire due to the maturity of content expressed by

the main characters.

As I mentioned before, both the main characters are complex female heroine figures with one

objective which is to bring justice on how unfairly the people were treated. According to Shailene

Woodley “ Tris is no Katniss. She is not perfect. She is not a superhero, well, she's just not Katniss.

She doesn't know how to shoot a bow and arrow naturally like Katniss does.” Tris does not have

the self-sacrificing mentality implanted in her as Katniss does because Tris is selfish and ruthless at

times which makes her a more relatable and realistic character compared to the sky high

unachievable selfless personality Katniss acquires. Other than that, Tris is more emotionally stable

and strong compared to Katniss. Katniss was like a ticking bomb ready for a mental breakdown

from every stimulus that reminded her of killing people, Tris also struggled with the same harsh

memories but she handled it in a more collected way than Katniss. The most cliché and mundane

part of Catching Fire was the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta and Gale. Katniss clearly had

feelings for Gale since they were kids but she still wanted Peeta by her side at all times and that for

me was a killer. Tris was a much more loyal companion who developed feelings slowly but surely

with Four and only Four. Thus, making her a more likable and pleasant character.

The main actresses were the key factor on the hype of the movies. Some of the true fans of the

book will anticipate on how closely related the script is to the actually novel but most fans of the

movie try to relate to the main character by putting themselves in her shoes. Jennifer Lawrence

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who played Katniss in Catching Fire portrayed her character exactly as described in the book. She

was tough in the action scenes, gentle during the love scenes and fearful when she was in danger.

The intensity of every emotion speaks volumes where a small gesture such as a glare sends chills

down my spine. In one of the scenes when Katniss and Peeta toured around the districts as the

winners of the 74th Hunger Games, she gave a tribute to Rue in District 11 and an old man saluted

at the end of the speech, that moment of silence in the cinema truly captivated the hearts of the

audience where she made the audience felt her pain and grief. All in all, she had a far better range

as an actress compared to Shailene Woodley in Insurgent where she mostly showed only the tough

side of Tris and not the compassionate girl in the first movie.

The directors of both movies had a different approach on how they imagined the film to be.

Francis Lawrence, the director of Catching Fire played around with the colour scheme of the

seasons to suit the timeline of book. They filmed most of their movies during winter where they had

to put massive water heaters in the pool to achieve a 4 degree Celsius temperature. Robbie

Schwentke, the director of Insurgent used different tones of colours to show difference between the

location of factions they travelled to in the movie. The director of Catching Fire focused more on

the emotional side of the story as compared to Insurgent because Katniss was emotionally unstable

at that point because she didn’t want the responsibilities and pressure created by the Capital on

her, she did not want to be a rebellious symbol for the nation and Francis Lawrence made sure that

characteristic was shown. Robbie Schwentke focused more on the action scenes of the movie

because Tris and Four are no longer teenagers who are trying to find themselves, they are lovers

who are trying to run away from a common enemy.

In conclusion, Catching Fire and Insurgent were both brilliantly thought out by both the writers

and producers. Both of the movies captivated the heart of the audiences with the audacity from the

main characters, heartfelt relationships and unique storyline yet differ in the plot, personality of

the main character, performance from the main actress and the director’s take on the film. If I had

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to choose the movie I prefer more from the other, it would be Insurgent because I can relate better

to Tris compared to Katniss in terms of her personality and her attitude when she faces a problem.

1266 words

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References

Hero Complex - movies, comics, pop culture - Los Angeles Times,. (2013). 'Hunger Games: Catching Fire'

director: Katniss wants her life back. from http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/hunger-games-

catching-fire-director-katniss-wants-her-life-back/#/4

Sparknotes.com,. (2015). SparkNotes: Catching Fire: Analysis of Major Characters. from

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/catching-fire/canalysis.html

IMDb,. (2015). Insurgent (2015) - Synopsis. from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2908446/synopsis?

ref_=ttpl_pl_syn

Roth, V., Roth, V., & Roth, V. Insurgent.

Collins, S., & Parisi, E. (2009). Catching fire. New York: Scholastic Press.

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