Coming out as a prequel to the well-known Hunger Games movies, fans have been thrilled for the release of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Song Birds and Snakes. This movie represents the beginning of the Hunger Games and how Panem’s President, Coriolanus Snow, became the evil leader we all know and hate in The Hunger Games franchise.
Panem is split up between the Capitol and the Districts. The Capitol is known to thrive with wealthy people while the districts are used as pawns to fight till the death and live miserably, starving, and unsafe. The Capitol holds an annual reaping, selecting two tributes from 12 different districts to fight each other in a chosen arena, all while being thrown curve balls and challenges from the Game Maker. Throughout this process, each tribute is given to a mentor or someone familiar with the games.
Although a part of the Capitol, Snow continues to face challenges in a home with his grandmother and his cousin, Tigris. Several years after the war and his father’s death, it was Coriolanus’s ultimate goal to gain power in the Capitol to provide for what was left of his family. Each student is given a tribute during this competition to gain power within the Capitol. The goal is to get them out of the Hunger Games alive. Snow now needs to mentor Lucy-Gray Baird. The Ballad of Song Birds and Snakes focuses heavily on the relationship between the two. Taking major risks, Snow fulfills his promise to get Lucy-Gray out alive. Snow, however, doesn’t gain power and gets caught cheating. He is sent to the districts as a Peacekeeper and continues to face several more trials and tribulations with Lucy-Gray and his “closest friend,” Sejanus. Coriolanus returns to the Capitol and finally becomes president of Panem.
For many viewers, including Zaria Diallo, it’s hard to say whether or not Coriolanus Snow was always evil. The senior contemplates how “it’s crazy to see how this prequel can take an evil character and make you hope that their outcome will be different.” Considering author Suzanne Collins did a fascinating job by making several fans fall in love and sympathize with young Snow, many question his intentions and his morality. Some fans believe that the book The Ballad of Song Birds and Snakes has done a better job of revealing Coriolanus Snow’s true colors as the villain.
This movie is filled with many parallels, action, and romance. People continue to analyze and appreciate its strong connections with the books and the main star of the Hunger Games Franchise, Katniss Everdeen. “The new Hunger Games movie was very entertaining. I liked how we got to see how the Hunger Games used to be and the big difference over 60 years later,” voices junior Maya Jacob. The Ballad of Song Birds and Snakes has given many fans a different perspective of Snow, in addition to The Hunger Games franchise as a whole.
