Of Hope and Fear!

Hunger Games (Based on Novel Trilogy by Suzanne Collins) 
Film Series, 2012, 2013, 2014. 2015, 2023

There is a thin line between having hope and fear about things happening our way. To quote Baruch Spinoza, there is neither Hope without Fear nor Fear without Hope. This applies at an individual level when one wants to pull himself up with his bootstrap. He may tell himself not to fear the unknown but to hope for a better future.

Hope is not a bad thing when things look hopeless. To hope and not strive is foolhardy. That must be the reason why 'hope' was one of the reasons it was found to be one of the contents still lingering in the Pandora Box when it opened. Perhaps it was the lesser of the evils, as all others had escaped. 

To rule over a group of people, politicians create fear among their subjects. The goal is to create so much fear that the subjects will succumb to the pressures and submit to the demands of the oppressors. At the same time, to avert retaliation, the subject must be given a little hope—just a little, not much. Give a little rope at a time, just enough until it is long enough for them to hang themselves. The oppressors will then continue reigning over their subjects. Just a nice set-up. This must have been in Michiavelli's cookbook 'The Prince.'

'Hunger Games' is a trilogy of movies based on a novel about a dystopian future where a country named Panem is ruled by a cruel regime. Each district must send a representative to its annual non-holds-barred blood sports game. The winner kills all the other opponents for the sheer entertainment of the ruling class. While the rest of the country lives in abject poverty, there is lavishness and opulence in the Capitol.

As the film took to a cult-like following, the moviemakers decided to produce a prequel to the whole thing. The last offering is about how the evil President, Snow, came about to be the person he is. Starting as a poor citizen, he worked his way through rank and file as a soldier to seize the opportunity to survive and climb the ladder of opportunities. The question is, at which point does chasing the elusive dream filled with overtaking and suppressing others turn to evil?

(P.S. The interplay of hope and fear is the pathognomonic of Malaysian politics. On the one hand, the optimists have been seeing a glimmer of hope that things will improve and soon see his nation with its head held high. The politicians also see this. They frequently fan the fear of one group overpowering the other. They sell themselves as the saviours of the status quo. The leaders paint a dystopian future where the majority would be oppressed and homeless. The realists have no time for all these. They merely seek greener pastures.)

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