Hobbes and Hunger Games

Philosopher Hobbes

     According to Hobbes chaos or a "state of nature" is present when "there is a lack of authority and there exists a perpetual state of war". In the Hunger Games movie, it could be argued both ways that a state of nature exists.Hobbes even says "To this war of every man against every man this also is consequent, that nothing can be unjust". There are many factors that can support each claim so in my opinion, I don't think there is a right or wrong viewpoint.

Cornucopia Bloodbath

     To start, the Hunger Games show this idea when all the tributes enter the arena. In it there are no laws, and no justice system. Each person is free to do whatever it takes to stay alive and win the Games, including killing others. Hobbes stated, "Where there is no common power, there is no law; where no law, no injustice".  This applies directly to the Games because there is no central power, rather everyone is on their own trying to stay alive. Therefore, nobody is breaking any laws if there are none to begin with. Also, Hobbes talks about a state of war, which is pretty self explanatory, that is evident in the movie. The best example is at the beginning when half of the tributes are killed near the Cornucopia. The scene is similar to a war battle because people are being brutally murdered and bodies lying all over the ground. 

Gamesmaker lounge

     On the opposite side of the argument, the Games are controlled by the Capitol and are designed to kill the tributes. In fact, there is a person in charge of monitoring the entire Games called the Gamesmaker, and Seneca Crane had this job. They had this huge screen that showed where every tribute was and what they were doing at that time. They could also create scenarios to influence the decisions of the tributes. For instance, they created a large fire to move Katniss towards the other group. This aspect isn't a state of nature because the Capitol is controlling what happens inside the arena. Additionally, before the Games actually begin, each of the tributes get treated like they are celebrities and are given luxurious things. Katniss and Peeta are brought to the Capitol on a train with what looks like a buffet of food, and once they get there they stay in a penthouse suite. Quite the opposite treatment of what one would originally think before fighting it out to the death. The Capitol just wants to put on a good show as well as send a message to each of the districts.

Machiavelli and President Snow

President Snow

     If Machiavelli was around to see The Hunger Games, I think he would agree with some of the actions President Snow took in the movie. Machiavelli argued that if the choice came down to being feared or loved, it is better to be feared. His reasoning was "fear preserves you by a dread of punishment, which never fails". He basically is saying that the fear of punishment keeps people from doing anything to upset the person they fear.

      President Snow shows it's better to be feared by creating the Hunger Games. These games take a man and women (Tributes) from each of the twelve districts and have them fight it out to the death. These games are highly publicized as famous people serve as sponsors to help each of the tributes survive. They are also recorded for the public to see as the action is happening, like a T.V show! He explains at the Reaping video that there was a rebellion a long time ago and that was the reason for the creation of the Games. Now people are afraid of rebelling because they might get chosen for the Games.

"Too much hope is dangerous"

     Another aspect of The Hunger Games is the fact that the victors of each games get treated so well. According to The Hunger Games Wiki, victors get paid for life from the Capitol, receive special status in their own District, and living arraignments in the Victors Village. These prizes  give each tribute a sense of hope, and President Snow says hope is very important in the purpose of the Games. "Why don't we just line up 24 people and execute them all at once, it'd be easier...hope is the only thing stronger than fear, but too much hope is dangerous". The conversation pictured is about how each tribute gives their District hope and that is another reason they don't rebel. In this case though, Katniss might be giving them too much hope.
     Finally, Machiavelli stated hatred should be avoided because "he can endure very well being feared whilst not hated". In other words, people can still put up with you if you're feared. However, in this case being hated will only fuel a rebellion. An example is the riot in District 11 after Rue died. Those people hated the Capitol for forcing a little girl with practically no chance of winning to compete in the Games. So as a result, they started a riot that the Capitol ended shortly after.

District 11 riot

Bergson's Blog

Cameron defending Meryl Streep

Henri Bergson's theory on comedy states that people laugh at certain things because of the anti-social behavior being displayed. In other words, when we see others doing things that we normally wouldn't see, we laugh because of the different behavior. Also, another aspect is the fact that we would never do some of these things and are surprised when another person does it. This applies to some things people say as well because most people wouldn't think of saying these things, so therefore we find it funny. An example of this is Cameron Tucker from Modern Family. This instance applies to the theory because we normally would not expect a middle aged man to defend Meryl Streep, so when he does we find it odd and laugh at the unusual comment. The way he says in the episode also adds to the comedy of the moment.

Thanksgiving Friendship

A friendship that I can connect to Aristotles concepts is with my friend Larry Carney. I've known Larry since freshman year and I've gotten to know a lot about him. We first met at cross country practice while we were still considering staying on the team as freshman. One day he came up to me and just started talking about running and since then we've been great friends. So we decided to stick with running and it turned out to be a great decision for both of us. We became captains this year and lead our team to a state championship. Also, he became one of the best runners ever at Lowell High by finishing 4th at the All-State meet, the second best finish ever by a Lowell High runner. I would put this friendship in the pleasantness category because we both enjoy hanging out together and have common interests that we can debate about. I'm thankful I met Larry because we made memories that I'll never forget.

Holding the championship trophy

Aristotles Friendship

The dynamic duo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Utility- The first example is when two people benefit from having one another around. One example is Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. They both need each other in order to do their jobs successfully. Brady needs Gronk to catch his passes and score, while Gronk needs Brady to pass it to him and move the team down field. When they are both on their game, it's a scary combination.







 Pleasantness- The next example is when two people are attracted to each others good looks or other pleasant qualities. An example of this is Penny and Leonard from The Big Bang Theory. Penny is attracted to him because of his intelligence and his chivalrous personality towards her. Leonard is attracted to her because of her amazing looks and her outgoing personality. At first look, you wouldn't think these two would make a good couple but they actually do, and are engaged for marriage.

Leonard and Penny

 Perfect friendship- The last example is when two people admire each others goodness and strive to help one another to reach that goodness. A great example of that is Woody and Buzz from Toy Story. At first Woody gets jealous of Buzz for stealing Andy's attention away from him. However, after a scuffle underneath a pizza delivery truck they come to terms and end up being best of friends. In fact, later in the movie they are strapped to the back of a lit firework in order to save the other members of their gang. Slowly these two create a bond that lasts to infinity and beyond!

A classic combination

Harry Potter House Assignment

Hufflepuff Crest

Beginning my first year at Hogwarts would without a doubt be pretty cool. However, I would be worried, like Harry, about what house I would be assigned into. After doing some research and identifying my character traits I believe I would be a great fit in the Hufflepuff house.

The post on Wikispaces described a Hufflepuff as "Where they are just and loyal, Those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid of toil." I think this a dead-on description of who I am, and what I try to be. To be specific, I believe the traits of loyalty and courage (unafraid of toil) are the two that match my personality the best.

I am a part of the Cross Country team at the high school (ALL-STATE CHAMPS by the way) and we have a little saying that everyone on the team knows. The coaches say that to be apart of the team you have to be "consistent, reliable, and loyal". This saying has many interpretations, but I always thought loyal was the most important word in it. A loyal person keeps his promises to others, doesn't leave people hanging when they are in need, and they certainly do not forget where they came from. I try to be loyal to my teammates and friends at all times because I know that how important it is to be a good friend or teammate. Another aspect I just thought of was doing things that you might not want to do, but you know is the right thing. An example I have is going along with Deprofio to the school visits around Lowell. Its not the most fun thing but I know how much the kids look up to us high-schoolers so I go along anyway. It's one thing to say you'll do something, it's quite another to actually do it.

The second trait of courage is one that I value very highly. Being a senior and one of the older kids on my teams, I'm looked upon by younger kids trying to find their way in high school. A responsibility that goes along with this is talking to my teammates and encouraging/motivating them to stay positive and try their best. The only problem with this is that I'm not the most outgoing person so my style has to be adjusted a little in order to be a good leader. This is the best example I have of being courageous because I had to break out of my shell and be a more vocal leader. This also relates to what I said earlier about doing things you don't want to do. At first, I was very nervous I wouldn't be a good leader, but as the year went by it got easier, and I got more comfortable with it. Finally, another less serious example of being courageous is when I got my mohawk. I never had a haircut like that before, and I was wary it would come out bad. As it turns out though, I liked it and other people said it looked cool too. Maybe I should try different things more often.

My XC mohawk

  
 To summarize, based on the character traits given and the examples I provided, I would be a great fit in the Hufflepuff house at Hogwarts.

Kierkegaards Blog

Josh is Done

One of the best shows of my generation, Drake and Josh, has numerous examples of two opposing characters in Kierkegaards stages. The ethical character in this show would be Josh, and the aesthetic character would be Drake. These two brothers would constantly go back and forth at each-other for various reasons. Most of the time Drake would do something and Josh would have to freak out and then fix whatever he did. One example would be when Drake and Josh were temporarily, no longer brothers. In this episode Drake forgets to wait for Josh going to school, and as a result Josh misses his final test. When Drake gets home Josh angrily announces that he's "Done" with Drake. They end up avoiding each-other until Drake makes it up to him. The point is however that Drake thought he could do whatever he wants. The reason he left Josh was to get to school early and have a make-out session. Josh pointed it out to him that he made a conscious choice and knew he forgot Josh. Josh was done with Drake doing this to him so he made a choice to no longer have a close relationship with Drake.