I am now extremely interested in a story about Mags. What was it like for her to be the first real puppet of this system? After all, she probably financially benefited her whole life from that win if we assume her victory also secured 4ˋs status as a career district. And yet she chose to die for the rebellion. It must be horrible to essentially be the first „successful“ attempt at promoting the games in that way and being the reason kids from your district volunteer.
I imagine she volunteered because she got sick of literal decades of being forced to mentor children who were ultimately sent to slaughter in the Games. Plus the fact that she was 80 and knew her end was near, whereas Annie was a young woman and possibly someone Mags mentored herself, so she felt a sense of responsibility towards her.
@@aden5297 Yes. But she also killed herself to make sure Finnik wouldn't get weak and safe her instead of Katniss and Peeta. So she did volunteer to support the rebellion specifically.
@@iloveyourunclebob Actually it’s unlikely she would’ve watched them at all. It’s said that pretty much no one watched the games back then, which is a major part of why they started having mentors in the first place. So MAYBE she watched it but I’d say it’s like a one in a thousand chance.
@@cat-sd5cryeah, if people in the capital weren’t all actively watching the games at that time, you know the districts even if they had access to a TV weren’t
It always bothered me that people assumed Annie couldn't be a career because of her trauma. We never see her before her games, just the aftermath of how they broke her, and that could've easily happened to someone that started as a volunteer.
Yesssss she reminds me of Cato - he started as a career, but based on the way he was acting towards then end, I think he would have ended up similarly if he had won.
I don't think Annie volunteered. I think she was sent into the games by Snow to force Finnick to tow the line and know his place. And with Finnick or Mags mentoring Annie they were able to secure her enough sponsors for her survival. Finnick could have sexual influenced a game maker to blow up the damn in Annie's arena to wipe out the competition while giving her the edge.
1:53 I’m willing to argue that fish aren’t the only items from the ocean District 4 harvests. I also picture them harvesting pearls, sea sponges, and even coral and other ocean items for the capitol
I think the most important ocean item District 4 provides the country is salt. People cannot live without salt, and historically salt production is one of the things most tightly controlled by the government.
@@wendyliu1073 would also make sense because historically, salt made cities and nations very very rich. you see that in the hanseatic league in medieval europe. salt was called the white gold
Me too, and this might just be my warrior cat interest consuming me rn, but I feel they’d also just collect shells and pearls and whatnot and just decorate their rooms and homes with them, similarly to how in warrior cats, RiverClan uses shells, pearls, and shiny river stones to decorate their nests and dens as its part of their culture. So it just think it’d be a nice detail idk 😭
Finnick fate of being sold around the capital after winning becomes all the more tragic if he was a career. Think about a 14 year old volunteering after being told he would get all this glory and honour, then winning the game only to have Snow take away all of his choices
It’s even worse on Snow’s behalf when it’s strongly hinted that Tigris had to sell her body to support their family. So Snow knows about forced or necessitated prostitution all too well. He then goes on to force victors like Finnick into prostitution. Snow would kill the family of anyone who refused (Johanna). I believe he would have forced Katniss into prostitution if she had killed Peeta when the two victors rule was reversed.
I have always had the headcanon that maybe someone Finnick cared dearly about was sick, and they didn't have the money to treat them, so he, as a 14 year old boy, volunteered before his "prime" to achieve the money to cure them, and he won, and came back, but still couldn't save them because when he refused to cooperate with snow he had them killed, that's why the only person finick has that cares about is Annie, and it kinda pararels Katniss and Prim's arc
Yeah I’ve always wondered if the career Districts have more wealth inequality within them than the outlying districts which might make them concerned more about upward mobility. In District 12 you have the Seam (the coal miners) and the merchants (shopkeepers) but even Peeta mentioned that his family only ever ate stale baked goods. If the career districts are wealthier overall, but still have extreme haves and have nots, it’s reasonable that Finnick could have volunteered for the wealth to promote his family. It would make sense that growing up in a district with a culture of volunteering you’d see families reaping the rewards from their wins (more success stories) instead of being reaped. Maybe things were so bad for Finnick’s family that at age 14 he felt that volunteering was the best option to help them.
There is also the not insignificant detail that Haymitch identifies Mags having raised Finnick. This would imply that his own parents were either unable or unwilling to do so. Come to think of it, if training not an academy, but an after school program, then a lot of kids with bad home lives would sign up just to have somewhere to go.
11:49 explanations like this make me realize that a lot of hunger games readers who view the careers as horrible people through and through, missing the point of clove and cato's deaths in the first book, would ideologically side with gale if he wasn't such a hated character in the fandom. gale struggles to see the humanity in the capitol people, let alone katniss's competitors in the games who are technically her equals
@@thefourthsaluki omg i'm looking forward to it!! tysm for making these hunger games analysis videos, they're all amazing and got me to read the books for the first time since i wasn't allowed to read them when they were coming out!
I really want a District 4 book. I do think Mags winning is key. She never seems to have lost sight of who "the real enemy is." It sounds like a lot of the stuff we associate with the Hunger Games started during her year. Given that the Capitol at some point begins sending food to the winning district, it makes sense for everyone there to want their tributes to win--not just to not see them die. So training "careers" isn't a bad idea but there has to be point between being trained and volunteering, which seems to indicate buying into the Capitol's propaganda more. I'd like to know when this line was crossed. District 4 might also be different from the other food producing districts because Western culture has notions of "owning" land but not really owning the ocean. There's a freedom there that could be quite similar to Katniss's sense of escape into the woods. My personal headcanons are that Finnick and Annie volunteered. Finnick because he seems to be an orphan (not mention of parents besides Mags "raising him") which may have made him more desperate for the victor's money than others. And Annie and her district partner also did, but his beheading is a representation of how little control the Careers actually have in the arena. You can train as much as you want for better odds, but the Capitol still rigs every game. Any sense of agency is an illusion.
I always found it strange that careers are considered “bad guys” like they’re not also children being forced to fight or die, just because someone cared enough to give them a higher chance of surviving the games.
I feel people forget Katniss does not have a totally infallible view of the world! Of course it's natural for her to initially view the careers as "the bad guys," but she learns - the audience should too!
@@roslyn-rose124I thought the same but I’m starting to think that the ‘savagery’ and the bullying behaviour they exhibited was a coping mechanism to desensitise themselves from, what they were doing. Almost like their districts trained them to be so. I don’t think they truly got pleasure from it, it was just an act to intimidated others to aid in their own survival. If the capitol believe you’re animals, why not take that and ‘own it’ for your own advantage.
Even if the careers “always” win (and we know they don’t), that’s still a 1/6 chance at best. There is only one winner 🤷🏻♀️ So with all their training and sponsors, they have… ~17% chance at winning (again, at best). If anything, they’re more brainwashed than the poor districts and given a false sense of hope. They may know deep down that their odds are still sh*t but like Inca human sacrifices they are pushed to volunteer to die so that their families can gain power. This could explain them acting out, but also that it’s not a bad strategy to seem strong, violent and unhinged in a game where people are killing each other. The more people who are scared of you and won’t even try fighting you, the less combat you have to win and the longer you survive.
i honestly love district 4 and more specifically-love the idea of annie being a career. its such an interesting idea and adds depth to her character imo!!
I saw someone suggesting online recently most career districts could be doing so not because theyre keen for the fight, but because it's ultimately the lesser evil, having a team of 18 year olds at each reaping trained and ready to volunteer saves the district's younger and weaker children risking being reaped, and allows the district's youth to live more comfortably (both from the extra food, capitol support and lesser feat of the games)
@@Myhusbandrenamedmyhandle You're talking about the movie here where district 4 is NOT a career district. In the books, it clearly is and their tributes are older. Annie was 18 when she won for example and presumably volunteered then
District four is also one of the few districts that allows their citizens to "hunt". The skills of fishing have a lot of advantages in the arena such as making nets and using a spear. Not only that but these tributes also have the ability to create hooks to catch food and most likely know how to ration fresh water from being on a boats all day. I’m also going to assume these tributes have minor skills with building and repairs when it comes to the boats in the district. Also they are brought up to pay attention to weather patterns in case a storm were to hit while at see. I think the biggest difference between district seven and four is that district seven only teaches the skills of strength and the proper use of an axe. An axe is also a close distance weapon and although it can be thrown, I’m assuming that the peacekeepers do not allow the youth to practice those skills. A spear however is meant to be thrown and the youth must learn how to aim at a young age to collect fish.
The only thing I have to argue here is that district 7’s tributes being trained with axes somehow disproves that the skills people learn in 4 can be used in the games and is what makes them a career district. I personally think the difference between 4 and 7 is that while tributes in district 7 only really learn axe wielding as a useful skill (which isn’t even that good if you consider the only way to get an axe would be to grab one during the cornucopia bloodbath) kids in district 4 learn other skills besides wielding a trident. They can fish, which might give them a steady source of food since all the arenas need some water source, they can tie knots, baskets and nets, which we see Finnick and Mags doing to collect water. And we’re told by Katniss that Finnick used knots to set up traps in his games giving them another skill going in. Also in ballad they’re one of the only districts that know how to climb as we see Coral and Mizzen doing so to reach Lamina. Although they can’t do so as well as a district 7 tribute, they climb masts on ships as Snow points out which means they gain quite a few survival skills that the other tributes aren’t afforded. That’s not even mentioning how they’re also one of the only tributes to come in already proficient with a weapon that can be found in the cornucopia. I feels as though they didn’t really need the training at first and won a lot simply because most of the kids in 4 learnt all the skills commonly taught to the careers simply by working in their trade and then because of that it became an official thing. I do love the idea of Annie being a career though. It gives her character so much more depth and humanises the career tributes, also the idea that they all at some point come to the realisation during their games that they’ve been groomed for a dream that they either can’t obtain/don’t want is honestly heartbreaking. Also I definitely think Mags formed a career pack similar to the one we see Coral making during her games and I think that’s what inspired Snow to implement them as an official thing (plus it would kinda explain the military uniform in her victory tour). And for Finnick. I think he was either sent to volunteer because his trainers knew he was attractive/interesting enough to garner sponsors for his assumedly more capable district partner. Or he was training to be a career and was reaped earlier than expected and took it in stride.
I assume volunteers for career districts are chosen from the best student in their batch within that year. Although this might only work with the movie continuity given that Clove is much younger than Cato. So given that Finnick has the beauty of a District 1 tribute and had a mastery in other skills such as combat and survival skills, he was considered.
there's also the fact that if a consistent enough stream of victors won every few years, district 4 would never really be as hungry as the other districts, and could thus put healthier kids in, like careers. but i think the biggest reason for snow putting 4 under that banner is that they have the entire pacific coast. what would the capitol do without salt, seafood, pearls, coral for limestone, sand for cement, and an ocean as their frontier/barrier? just like with 2 and weapons, it would not be advantageous at all if a large coastal district turned against you.
Spearing a large fish is the same if not more dangerous than spearing a human, whereas axing down a tree is much easier and completely different to axing down a moving person.
When it comes to the games we meet finnik in, district 1 was also trying to take down the games. Cato, after he competed, was fairly angry about the games, too. They are ALL complex. That's the point of these books - humanity is complicated. Just because we like the district 4 victors, that doesn't suddenly mean they can't be carrers.
Yah, and keep in mind just because a district supply's coal, fish or any other goods or service doesn't mean that is the sole job in the district. We see through Peta that there is still a complex economy that requires bread makers, fishers, carpenters and farmers in every district. So you cant reduce any single person down to the attributes of their district. For all we know a lot of the tributes from these districts might not even touch a fish by the time they enter the Hunger Games. Much like Katniss never mined coal.
I have my pwn theory about 4being a career district. It is stated in the prequel novel that the capitol navy docks in district 4. That puts district 4 on a position where they can cause serious damage to the capitols naval power in case they rise in rebellion. This could be another reason to make them a career district to keep on their good side and make sure they do not endanger one of the capitols most important assests
this! i feel like people miss out on how critical keeping control of an ocean border is. also the resources of pearls and seafood (to sedate the capitol), sea salt, sand for glass and cement, and coral for limestone.
I'm very interesred to see how you tackle the other districts like 5, 6, 9, and 10 who have much less information on them. I recommend analyzing the outfits the tributes wear in Ballad as it could help a lot on seeing the culture especially like District 10.
I think 4 is also always debated as a career district because we never get close to the tributes of 1 and 2. They are never part of the inner circle. I never understood why Finnick's and Annie's possible career status is debated that much. To me, they make total sense. As you said Finnick was a prodigy and might have been blinded by the typical arrogance of puberty to volunteer at 14. Meanwhile Annie is a symbol for the trauma even the victors experienced. The victors may survive but was it worth it? Also just because you win doesn't mean you are loyal to the Capitol. It might actually turn you actively against them with how you get basically sold like cattle afterwards. I honestly think even most careers are disillusioned very quickly about their victor status. The games never end once you entered them.
There are also pearls, nacre, and coral, which District One doesn't have the location or resources to provide. They can only create cheap imitations, while the Capitol can get the real deal from Four since they're near the ocean.
I always pictured District 4 as being Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida. I grew up in Louisiana. Our family had boats. We spent all our time fishing. I was pulling crab traps out of the water when I was 6. And Finnick gives off major Florida spring break vibes.
Isn't district 4 in what used to be California another coast known for fishing, crabbing and what not especially with the warm weather year round. Florida no longer exists in panem because climate change as water levels raised and Florida is so flat it all ended up under. Which will eventually happen just not in our lifetime
Going off what you said about District Four not being an official career district, I see them as being opportunistic. They'll go with the flow until they see that the tide is turning, if you'll pardon the intended water puns. They are like their home, flexible and unstoppable like water.
I love the idea of Annie as a very enthusiastic career. And then the games happen and she truly realizes what the games are all about. And I agree, I think Finnick was an over confident boy that maybe was even challenged to volunteer earlier.
Love this and agree with all your points. The moment it hit me, the tragedy of the careers, is when Katniss is describing Cato finding Clove after Thresh bashed her skull in, "I can hear from the pain in his voice ..." And that shifted everything about how I read the books going forward.
i doubt it will happen but a book about mags experience after the games from snows perspective as he gets more evil and adds more to the games would be super interesting
I heard that Suzanne Collins said that if she ever does write another Hunger Games novel that it would be from the perspective of a capital citizen (not Snow).
I know you said you are only doing the 13 districts, but please, can we put a video out for the Capitol as well? I’d love one explaining that too ☺️ Love this series, thank you!
the area the capitol is in (eastern rocky mountains) is predicted to have some water shortages in the future, so I had this idea that district 4 would have some desalination projects going on as well as fisheries.
i always saw it as being a case of district 4 being a career district but that their infrastructure for that was less developed. like say 1 & 2 each had like 15 different kids who were potentially ready every year but district 4 only had 1 or 2 every couple of years, meaning that they do have career tributes but not in every single year of the games
My head cannon is that Finnick may have been involved in some criminal activity to survive in District 4 even as a 14 year old. which could explain his ability to fight and his cleverness in high-intensity situations. He may not have been killing people but I can see him jumping people with a group of other small children on behalf of older criminals.
0:07 OH GOODNESS YOU DID NOT JUST- Yeah… his death kinda hurt but honestly that was a genius transition That was a cool video! I loved your analysation and stuff.
I love your takes on the career districts. I think it goes to show how effective propaganda can be that so many people genuinely argue that Finnick can't be a career because he's a good person. The career districts are doing what they can to protect their children, while also placating the capitol to try and keep what little benefits they can. They arent especially evil, theyre desperate. Like, Katniss also volunteered to murder other children, she has spent her life training in skills that are useful in the games, by her logic she could also be considered a career. There are many examples in the books where Katniss displays a sense of superiority to other tributes because she has trained up survival skills they havent. Isnt that the same? We just don't feel that way because we see her inner world and not just the show she puts on, Finnick is the first career that shows the reader his inner world and some of his motivations. Do people think other career tributes don't also have secret lives and loved ones they are protecting? Also I liked the idea that the waters in panem are not habitable for schooling fish. That's a cool bit of world building and invites speculation about what creatures are in these polluted waters now.
If I may put forth an incredibly late argument as to why the 4th district produces careers, I would argue that we have to also start looking at nutritional breakdown of what each of the districts eat. District 4 likely has the most well balanced diet with their diet supplemented by seaweed, fish, and easily available shellfish of low quality like limpets, eels, etc. This would give them access to a diet much higher in calcium, iodine, and omega-3's. Similar to how Kentucky produced better horses due to the water causing them to have better bone density, I think this would give the District 4 children much better health than in other districts with less balanced diets.
god I always love your analysis, especially of the career districts! I’m glad to see that someone agrees with me on how just bc a character is sympathetic to the cause now doesn’t necessarily mean that they didn’t once buy into the indoctrination that they grew up with. And it’s more tragic that way! I’ve been writing a Percy Jackson hunger games au that has a character from district 1 that loves the games and volunteers and it’s been fun figuring out how one goes from being a super fan to joining a rebellion to stop it. My other main character is from district ten, of which there’s very little info on, so I’ve been highly anticipating your analysis
I think because of the seafood industry, 4 experiences more freedom than other districts, more trust. Think about it-lots of fisheries are off the coast a ways, and you'd probably want to sail out for days or weeks at a time to maximize your catch. Is the Capitol going to install PeaceKeepers on every boat? That would be a waste of resources when the fishers have to come back to resupply and touch land.
I know you mentioned the disparity between 11 and 4 and how despite both being one of the Captiols 4 main food supplies their is a clear wealth disparity I was wondering if you think 4 also faces harsh police conditions similar to 11. Since they are the only district with a theoretical method of escaping the Capitol via the ocean, I think there’s a lot of propaganda focused on keeping the citizens as tied to their home and community as possible to discourage them from trying to leave. I also think that’s one reason why they’re treated better by the Captiol and this is also balanced out by a strong Peacekeeper presence similar to 11 (though probably not as brutal). I think the whole tight knit community thing is one of the reasons 4 is so rebellious in Catching Fire. Like 11 they’ve probably faced harsh conditions not only because they provided the Capitol with one of its major sources of food, but also because again the ocean is one of the only pieces of Panem that is and cannot be under the Capitols direct control.
I think district four also has an advantage over other food producing districts just in the fact that it’s harder to fence in and survey open ocean. Thus offering a good price for their products is a better way to ensure that the majority of the catch makes it to the Capitol than searching and punishing ‘theft’ like they do in eleven. It’s also possible for for those in the district to manufacture a shortage (by simply catching less fish and then saying that’s all there is) as a negotiation tactic. Peacekeepers come from 2, and to a lesser extent the capitol, well away from the ocean. Even if they did go out on boats to verify the story, they’d still need to know enough about the work itself to be able to ascertain the truth.
I love what you say about how career districts suffering being different, but still no less than that of the other districts imagine a 14-year-old boy, so excited and encouraged to participate in the games, being promised, glory and notoriety only to have it ripped away once he truly succeeds to only become a capital puppet.
last night i had a dream i was a mentor for another tribute during the 11th hunger games & i saw mags during training. when i realized it was her i also realized i was dreaming. crazy dream but crazier this video came out today lol
Absolutely amazing video! Very well-written and insightful. Every time a new point came up, I was delightfully surprised by how much I agreed with what was said.
I think even before mags, you can see the precursors to the formal careers within Ballad. Coral and Mizzen, the district four tributes for the tenth hunger games, were among the strongest contenders in that arena and even formed a small ‘pack’ before the concept of career districts really existed. It’s also interesting to see the threat posed by the district 7 tributes in that game that we see more in Ballad than elsewhere with the exception of Johanna (and you can argue Lamina parallels Johanna in terms of strategy before the games wanting to not bring attention, and then being a real contender within them on surprise). Back then- before training centers and before the existence of the actual career academies- the skills with weapons related to the districts really did seem to give those tributes a leg up. Of course, this being before all of that, these things were born purely out of the want to strategize how best to survive as opposed to some of the careers mentality about what volunteering and winning the hunger games meant… Coral and Cato individually coming to the same conclusions about the games at the end definitely hits like a semi truck, with all that in consideration. You can dress the games up with all the fixings - all the training and propagandized honor when it comes to the careers- but it’s still all the same cruel, unfair fight in the end. Snow just made sure he made it seem ‘nicer’. Mags won the year directly after that and while people still probably remembered the tenth games despite their erasure… Two years in a row of having strong tributes might have partially paved their way for being partially considered a ‘career’ district from the jump despite not having the same qualities as 1 and 2.
Thank you. I feel like it's an important topic to discuss, because many people in the community treat the District 1 and 2 tributes as the "bad guys" and District 4 tributes, if they are careers, are often perceived as the only "good" ones who see through the brainwashing but choose to stay because of the advantages or something. People always seem to find excuses for District 4, but the other two are demonised. I personally believe that the careers aren't just bloodthirsty killers. They probably saw that their attitude made them popular and brought them sponsors, which is why they decided to weaponise it. Any other district would do the same if they knew it would give them an advantage in the arena.
Idk how canon this is to the books, but CF’s behind the scenes shows that D4 has three male victors besides Finnick and one woman besides Mags and Annie, so 7 victors alive by the time of the quell.
I would say 4 is not a Career district, but it has strategically aligned themselves with them. From what we can see from their winners/tributes, they don't seem like they were volunteers or were specifically training for the games, but was a way to help their chances they align with the Careers once in the arena. In the books especially they are basically full Careers, as Katniss says so and as people often forget the District 4 girl in the first book was with the Careers and died from the tracker jackers with Glimmer.
We only know a tiny handful of 4 victors. And 4 is repeatedly referred to as a Career District no different from 1 and 2. It is important for 4 to be a Career as it reminds us that Careers are just as human as the other tributes and are also victims of the oppressive system. Othering them just because we like some of the characters from there and don't want to see them as "evil", defeats the entire message of the series.
Yes that it D4 trains young people because they have more means and have had a certain number of winners who have thought about that in case for augmenting the chances of the district children but they do not have this culture of volunteering wanting to be a star at the capitol etc.
I think another thing to consider with Finnick is that even though he's young the boy that was reaped could have been even younger, and his first instinct was to volunteer and was the first to do it. I've always liked the idea that the career districts have slightly different views and reasons why they'd volunteer. I have no doubt that all of the career districts would feel the need to protect their youngest and weakest kids in danger of being reaped.
I swear I remember a passage saying just that in catching fire. I’m honestly losing it a little with how people think there is so much uncertainty about his reaping.
Actually, I feel like they are most definitely a career district. Mags was one of the first winners. It's very plausible she was forced into training future tributes by the Capitol. If she did very well in her games it makes sense. Plus it makes her connection to Finnick make even more sense if she trained him since early childhood. We only got to see Mags as an old woman I'd love to see her games honestly because it would fill in a lot about District 4.
Hi Lucky! Thank you so much for these videos they’re so excellent and I love hearing your insight and analysis. My theory is that district four is like halfway a career district. I believe they have some special favour and are allowed to train without being punished bypeacekeepers. However, they do seem to lack the guaranteed status of the careers from 1 and 2. If I remember correctly it is said in the first novel that four is not always a part of the career pack. Perhaps they are only invited into the pack if the tribute is seen as being an asset. Additionally, I think that four yields much fewer volunteers and being in the games is not as much of a goal as in 1 and 2. This is to say most tributes are prepared and trained in case they are selected but there aren’t people volunteering every year. I think when Finnick was reaped there was no one willing to replace him hence him entering the games at 14. What do you think?
It's weird that anyone would assume Annie was a fragile, unstable girl before the Games. Even if she wasn't an enthusiastic volunteer (although I agree with your argument that she most likely was), I think it's pretty obvious that it's her trauma from the Games that lead her to be the "mad" person everybody sees her as.
I had a thought while watching about District 4's status as a Career District. If we perceive districts given career status as a way to keep them close in the event of a rebellion ("keep your friends close but your enemies closer" kind of way), rebellion doesn't always mean outright attacking the Capitol, its also trying to flee the system. Of the instances in the books we see people fleeing the Capitol or the Districts is Lavinia, the girl who gets turned into an Avox. Fleeing, if caught, is met with extreme punishment, just like riots or other forms of rebellion. I reckon District 4 is a Career District because they have the most accessible means of escape, since the people would be very familiar with boats and sailing, and know how to swim and how to fish for food. So, in theory, it would be very easily to take a boat and sail out into the ocean, never to be seen again. Yes, they can be found with hovercraft, but it is theoretically possible. So keep the district close, make sure they don't have a reason for wanting to escape and stop providing to the Capitol.
The wealth disparity between districts may be even higher than tesserae numbers would suggest. If you’re in a career district, you know someone is volunteering every year, so tesserae becomes way more appealing as the risk is so much lower. Families that might try to scrape by without it in outer districts would have no reason to avoid tesserae in 1, 2, and 4. The families that don’t take out tesserae probably have access to higher quality foods with enough reliability that the grain and oil Katniss mentioned in Hunger Games just aren’t worth the hassle of signing up for
I actually love the career system when you dive into it, because it’s genuinely a slap in the face to the Capitol. Think about it, do any of the children in the career districts live in fear that they will get their name called? NO. They know someone will volunteer for them, This eliminates the fear, the one thing the Capitol strives to install.
This isn’t a fully formed concept in my head, but I also feel like this is one of the few districts where the means of production don’t have to be processed to be consumed. And the consumption of the seafood, paired with swimming, allows for better chances in the arena. I don’t remember the books talking about the people from this district as being particularly under nourished. But I could be wrong of course.
I'm very interested on what you are doing with the other districts because we don't really know that much about them (instead of maybe District 8 and 11 a little and of course 12 and 13)
I am now extremely interested in a story about Mags. What was it like for her to be the first real puppet of this system? After all, she probably financially benefited her whole life from that win if we assume her victory also secured 4ˋs status as a career district. And yet she chose to die for the rebellion. It must be horrible to essentially be the first „successful“ attempt at promoting the games in that way and being the reason kids from your district volunteer.
I imagine she volunteered because she got sick of literal decades of being forced to mentor children who were ultimately sent to slaughter in the Games. Plus the fact that she was 80 and knew her end was near, whereas Annie was a young woman and possibly someone Mags mentored herself, so she felt a sense of responsibility towards her.
@@aden5297 Yes. But she also killed herself to make sure Finnik wouldn't get weak and safe her instead of Katniss and Peeta. So she did volunteer to support the rebellion specifically.
It's interesting to think about how Mags would have watched Lucy's games live.
@@iloveyourunclebob Actually it’s unlikely she would’ve watched them at all. It’s said that pretty much no one watched the games back then, which is a major part of why they started having mentors in the first place. So MAYBE she watched it but I’d say it’s like a one in a thousand chance.
@@cat-sd5cryeah, if people in the capital weren’t all actively watching the games at that time, you know the districts even if they had access to a TV weren’t
It always bothered me that people assumed Annie couldn't be a career because of her trauma. We never see her before her games, just the aftermath of how they broke her, and that could've easily happened to someone that started as a volunteer.
She was also just a kid when she volunteert back then, even if the trained all her life. It was indeed probably awfel being in there
Yesssss she reminds me of Cato - he started as a career, but based on the way he was acting towards then end, I think he would have ended up similarly if he had won.
Truee
I don't think Annie volunteered. I think she was sent into the games by Snow to force Finnick to tow the line and know his place. And with Finnick or Mags mentoring Annie they were able to secure her enough sponsors for her survival. Finnick could have sexual influenced a game maker to blow up the damn in Annie's arena to wipe out the competition while giving her the edge.
1:53 I’m willing to argue that fish aren’t the only items from the ocean District 4 harvests. I also picture them harvesting pearls, sea sponges, and even coral and other ocean items for the capitol
I think the most important ocean item District 4 provides the country is salt. People cannot live without salt, and historically salt production is one of the things most tightly controlled by the government.
Maybe also the production of glass
@@wendyliu1073 would also make sense because historically, salt made cities and nations very very rich. you see that in the hanseatic league in medieval europe. salt was called the white gold
Me too, and this might just be my warrior cat interest consuming me rn, but I feel they’d also just collect shells and pearls and whatnot and just decorate their rooms and homes with them, similarly to how in warrior cats, RiverClan uses shells, pearls, and shiny river stones to decorate their nests and dens as its part of their culture. So it just think it’d be a nice detail idk 😭
True
Finnick fate of being sold around the capital after winning becomes all the more tragic if he was a career. Think about a 14 year old volunteering after being told he would get all this glory and honour, then winning the game only to have Snow take away all of his choices
It’s even worse on Snow’s behalf when it’s strongly hinted that Tigris had to sell her body to support their family. So Snow knows about forced or necessitated prostitution all too well. He then goes on to force victors like Finnick into prostitution. Snow would kill the family of anyone who refused (Johanna). I believe he would have forced Katniss into prostitution if she had killed Peeta when the two victors rule was reversed.
It also proves that the capital doesn't care about the career districts at all and that it is likely that other victors were probably sold as well.
I have always had the headcanon that maybe someone Finnick cared dearly about was sick, and they didn't have the money to treat them, so he, as a 14 year old boy, volunteered before his "prime" to achieve the money to cure them, and he won, and came back, but still couldn't save them because when he refused to cooperate with snow he had them killed, that's why the only person finick has that cares about is Annie, and it kinda pararels Katniss and Prim's arc
I have a similar headcanon; I feel like Finnick volunteered for someone, like Katniss
I have read plenty of fics where the tribute academy was a place where you had food security and poor children will go there for that reason.
Yeah I’ve always wondered if the career Districts have more wealth inequality within them than the outlying districts which might make them concerned more about upward mobility. In District 12 you have the Seam (the coal miners) and the merchants (shopkeepers) but even Peeta mentioned that his family only ever ate stale baked goods. If the career districts are wealthier overall, but still have extreme haves and have nots, it’s reasonable that Finnick could have volunteered for the wealth to promote his family. It would make sense that growing up in a district with a culture of volunteering you’d see families reaping the rewards from their wins (more success stories) instead of being reaped. Maybe things were so bad for Finnick’s family that at age 14 he felt that volunteering was the best option to help them.
There is also the not insignificant detail that Haymitch identifies Mags having raised Finnick. This would imply that his own parents were either unable or unwilling to do so. Come to think of it, if training not an academy, but an after school program, then a lot of kids with bad home lives would sign up just to have somewhere to go.
Yes
11:49 explanations like this make me realize that a lot of hunger games readers who view the careers as horrible people through and through, missing the point of clove and cato's deaths in the first book, would ideologically side with gale if he wasn't such a hated character in the fandom. gale struggles to see the humanity in the capitol people, let alone katniss's competitors in the games who are technically her equals
There's actually a video coming on this shortly - that despite everyone hating Gale, a huge chunk of the fanbase have his exact same ideology!
@@thefourthsaluki omg i'm looking forward to it!! tysm for making these hunger games analysis videos, they're all amazing and got me to read the books for the first time since i wasn't allowed to read them when they were coming out!
I've always felt bad for the careers, because they're just trained to basically be sacrifices for their District
Truth
I really want a District 4 book. I do think Mags winning is key. She never seems to have lost sight of who "the real enemy is." It sounds like a lot of the stuff we associate with the Hunger Games started during her year. Given that the Capitol at some point begins sending food to the winning district, it makes sense for everyone there to want their tributes to win--not just to not see them die. So training "careers" isn't a bad idea but there has to be point between being trained and volunteering, which seems to indicate buying into the Capitol's propaganda more. I'd like to know when this line was crossed.
District 4 might also be different from the other food producing districts because Western culture has notions of "owning" land but not really owning the ocean. There's a freedom there that could be quite similar to Katniss's sense of escape into the woods.
My personal headcanons are that Finnick and Annie volunteered. Finnick because he seems to be an orphan (not mention of parents besides Mags "raising him") which may have made him more desperate for the victor's money than others. And Annie and her district partner also did, but his beheading is a representation of how little control the Careers actually have in the arena. You can train as much as you want for better odds, but the Capitol still rigs every game. Any sense of agency is an illusion.
Besides the victor before her, I think Mags set the tone and standard for District 4 careers: being not just resourceful, but strong as well.
We need a trilogy of the three district 4 winners that we know of; Mags, Finnick, and Annie!!
I always found it strange that careers are considered “bad guys” like they’re not also children being forced to fight or die, just because someone cared enough to give them a higher chance of surviving the games.
I feel people forget Katniss does not have a totally infallible view of the world! Of course it's natural for her to initially view the careers as "the bad guys," but she learns - the audience should too!
I always assume that the careers were seen as villains because it seems like they almost took enjoyment out of the death they caused
@@roslyn-rose124I thought the same but I’m starting to think that the ‘savagery’ and the bullying behaviour they exhibited was a coping mechanism to desensitise themselves from, what they were doing. Almost like their districts trained them to be so. I don’t think they truly got pleasure from it, it was just an act to intimidated others to aid in their own survival. If the capitol believe you’re animals, why not take that and ‘own it’ for your own advantage.
Because they take pride in them many of them enjoy it. Yes, they were raised thst way, but still.
Even if the careers “always” win (and we know they don’t), that’s still a 1/6 chance at best. There is only one winner 🤷🏻♀️ So with all their training and sponsors, they have… ~17% chance at winning (again, at best).
If anything, they’re more brainwashed than the poor districts and given a false sense of hope. They may know deep down that their odds are still sh*t but like Inca human sacrifices they are pushed to volunteer to die so that their families can gain power. This could explain them acting out, but also that it’s not a bad strategy to seem strong, violent and unhinged in a game where people are killing each other. The more people who are scared of you and won’t even try fighting you, the less combat you have to win and the longer you survive.
i honestly love district 4 and more specifically-love the idea of annie being a career. its such an interesting idea and adds depth to her character imo!!
I saw someone suggesting online recently most career districts could be doing so not because theyre keen for the fight, but because it's ultimately the lesser evil, having a team of 18 year olds at each reaping trained and ready to volunteer saves the district's younger and weaker children risking being reaped, and allows the district's youth to live more comfortably (both from the extra food, capitol support and lesser feat of the games)
It wouldn't make sense because clove was 15 & the boy from district 4 looked like he was at least 12-14. Also Finnick was 14 when he won. Mags was 16.
@@Myhusbandrenamedmyhandle You're talking about the movie here where district 4 is NOT a career district. In the books, it clearly is and their tributes are older. Annie was 18 when she won for example and presumably volunteered then
@@AscendingGoogle123 wait annie volunteered? I thought she got reaped by how she got traumatized seeing her parter get decapitated.
District four is also one of the few districts that allows their citizens to "hunt". The skills of fishing have a lot of advantages in the arena such as making nets and using a spear. Not only that but these tributes also have the ability to create hooks to catch food and most likely know how to ration fresh water from being on a boats all day. I’m also going to assume these tributes have minor skills with building and repairs when it comes to the boats in the district. Also they are brought up to pay attention to weather patterns in case a storm were to hit while at see.
I think the biggest difference between district seven and four is that district seven only teaches the skills of strength and the proper use of an axe. An axe is also a close distance weapon and although it can be thrown, I’m assuming that the peacekeepers do not allow the youth to practice those skills. A spear however is meant to be thrown and the youth must learn how to aim at a young age to collect fish.
The only thing I have to argue here is that district 7’s tributes being trained with axes somehow disproves that the skills people learn in 4 can be used in the games and is what makes them a career district.
I personally think the difference between 4 and 7 is that while tributes in district 7 only really learn axe wielding as a useful skill (which isn’t even that good if you consider the only way to get an axe would be to grab one during the cornucopia bloodbath) kids in district 4 learn other skills besides wielding a trident.
They can fish, which might give them a steady source of food since all the arenas need some water source, they can tie knots, baskets and nets, which we see Finnick and Mags doing to collect water.
And we’re told by Katniss that Finnick used knots to set up traps in his games giving them another skill going in.
Also in ballad they’re one of the only districts that know how to climb as we see Coral and Mizzen doing so to reach Lamina. Although they can’t do so as well as a district 7 tribute, they climb masts on ships as Snow points out which means they gain quite a few survival skills that the other tributes aren’t afforded.
That’s not even mentioning how they’re also one of the only tributes to come in already proficient with a weapon that can be found in the cornucopia.
I feels as though they didn’t really need the training at first and won a lot simply because most of the kids in 4 learnt all the skills commonly taught to the careers simply by working in their trade and then because of that it became an official thing.
I do love the idea of Annie being a career though. It gives her character so much more depth and humanises the career tributes, also the idea that they all at some point come to the realisation during their games that they’ve been groomed for a dream that they either can’t obtain/don’t want is honestly heartbreaking.
Also I definitely think Mags formed a career pack similar to the one we see Coral making during her games and I think that’s what inspired Snow to implement them as an official thing (plus it would kinda explain the military uniform in her victory tour).
And for Finnick. I think he was either sent to volunteer because his trainers knew he was attractive/interesting enough to garner sponsors for his assumedly more capable district partner.
Or he was training to be a career and was reaped earlier than expected and took it in stride.
I assume volunteers for career districts are chosen from the best student in their batch within that year. Although this might only work with the movie continuity given that Clove is much younger than Cato.
So given that Finnick has the beauty of a District 1 tribute and had a mastery in other skills such as combat and survival skills, he was considered.
there's also the fact that if a consistent enough stream of victors won every few years, district 4 would never really be as hungry as the other districts, and could thus put healthier kids in, like careers. but i think the biggest reason for snow putting 4 under that banner is that they have the entire pacific coast. what would the capitol do without salt, seafood, pearls, coral for limestone, sand for cement, and an ocean as their frontier/barrier? just like with 2 and weapons, it would not be advantageous at all if a large coastal district turned against you.
Spearing a large fish is the same if not more dangerous than spearing a human, whereas axing down a tree is much easier and completely different to axing down a moving person.
Agree with all despite finnick volunteered ^^
The way I clicked on this notification faster than anything ever
Bro same. Lucky is my lifeline.
Same haha good job on having this effect on me lucky
I was watching vikings on my phone when it popped up and immediately closed that down 😅
When it comes to the games we meet finnik in, district 1 was also trying to take down the games. Cato, after he competed, was fairly angry about the games, too. They are ALL complex. That's the point of these books - humanity is complicated. Just because we like the district 4 victors, that doesn't suddenly mean they can't be carrers.
Yah, and keep in mind just because a district supply's coal, fish or any other goods or service doesn't mean that is the sole job in the district. We see through Peta that there is still a complex economy that requires bread makers, fishers, carpenters and farmers in every district. So you cant reduce any single person down to the attributes of their district. For all we know a lot of the tributes from these districts might not even touch a fish by the time they enter the Hunger Games. Much like Katniss never mined coal.
I have my pwn theory about 4being a career district. It is stated in the prequel novel that the capitol navy docks in district 4. That puts district 4 on a position where they can cause serious damage to the capitols naval power in case they rise in rebellion. This could be another reason to make them a career district to keep on their good side and make sure they do not endanger one of the capitols most important assests
this! i feel like people miss out on how critical keeping control of an ocean border is. also the resources of pearls and seafood (to sedate the capitol), sea salt, sand for glass and cement, and coral for limestone.
I'm very interesred to see how you tackle the other districts like 5, 6, 9, and 10 who have much less information on them. I recommend analyzing the outfits the tributes wear in Ballad as it could help a lot on seeing the culture especially like District 10.
i am so so excited for 10!! i feel like there's not nearly enough information given on such an interesting and unique district
so exicited for the new post, but the intro seen hit me so out of left field i'm actively crying
I will admit it is my favorite part of the entire video
I think 4 is also always debated as a career district because we never get close to the tributes of 1 and 2. They are never part of the inner circle. I never understood why Finnick's and Annie's possible career status is debated that much. To me, they make total sense. As you said Finnick was a prodigy and might have been blinded by the typical arrogance of puberty to volunteer at 14. Meanwhile Annie is a symbol for the trauma even the victors experienced. The victors may survive but was it worth it? Also just because you win doesn't mean you are loyal to the Capitol. It might actually turn you actively against them with how you get basically sold like cattle afterwards. I honestly think even most careers are disillusioned very quickly about their victor status. The games never end once you entered them.
The games only end once you die
There are also pearls, nacre, and coral, which District One doesn't have the location or resources to provide. They can only create cheap imitations, while the Capitol can get the real deal from Four since they're near the ocean.
THE InTRO IS VILE 💀
HAHAHAHA
I always pictured District 4 as being Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida. I grew up in Louisiana. Our family had boats. We spent all our time fishing. I was pulling crab traps out of the water when I was 6. And Finnick gives off major Florida spring break vibes.
Isn't district 4 in what used to be California another coast known for fishing, crabbing and what not especially with the warm weather year round. Florida no longer exists in panem because climate change as water levels raised and Florida is so flat it all ended up under. Which will eventually happen just not in our lifetime
Going off what you said about District Four not being an official career district, I see them as being opportunistic. They'll go with the flow until they see that the tide is turning, if you'll pardon the intended water puns. They are like their home, flexible and unstoppable like water.
I like the puns you use. Also I have noticed a lot of people who leave near the ocean tend to be who go with the flow.
(Pun also intended).
I love the idea of Annie as a very enthusiastic career. And then the games happen and she truly realizes what the games are all about.
And I agree, I think Finnick was an over confident boy that maybe was even challenged to volunteer earlier.
This is why i desperately want a hunger games show. Each episode focusing on important games such as Mags and Haymitch.
Love this and agree with all your points. The moment it hit me, the tragedy of the careers, is when Katniss is describing Cato finding Clove after Thresh bashed her skull in, "I can hear from the pain in his voice ..." And that shifted everything about how I read the books going forward.
i doubt it will happen but a book about mags experience after the games from snows perspective as he gets more evil and adds more to the games would be super interesting
I heard that Suzanne Collins said that if she ever does write another Hunger Games novel that it would be from the perspective of a capital citizen (not Snow).
I know you said you are only doing the 13 districts, but please, can we put a video out for the Capitol as well? I’d love one explaining that too ☺️
Love this series, thank you!
Of course! The Capital was always intended to be the finale video!
the area the capitol is in (eastern rocky mountains) is predicted to have some water shortages in the future, so I had this idea that district 4 would have some desalination projects going on as well as fisheries.
Oh we’re getting to the NICHE districts after this one 🙏🏼🗣️
i always saw it as being a case of district 4 being a career district but that their infrastructure for that was less developed. like say 1 & 2 each had like 15 different kids who were potentially ready every year but district 4 only had 1 or 2 every couple of years, meaning that they do have career tributes but not in every single year of the games
this is the earliest ive ever been to a video ever and I'm so glad its to this one
Incredibly happy to have you here! I hope you enjoy :)
Yess, I completly agree, annie being a career, makes her so much more complex as a character,
My head cannon is that Finnick may have been involved in some criminal activity to survive in District 4 even as a 14 year old. which could explain his ability to fight and his cleverness in high-intensity situations. He may not have been killing people but I can see him jumping people with a group of other small children on behalf of older criminals.
Great now I’m imagining teenage Finnick as Dodger from Oliver Twist 😂😂😂😂
The idea that anybody has ever argued that careers arent also victims of systemic state violence baffles me
0:07 OH GOODNESS YOU DID NOT JUST-
Yeah… his death kinda hurt but honestly that was a genius transition
That was a cool video! I loved your analysation and stuff.
I love your takes on the career districts. I think it goes to show how effective propaganda can be that so many people genuinely argue that Finnick can't be a career because he's a good person.
The career districts are doing what they can to protect their children, while also placating the capitol to try and keep what little benefits they can. They arent especially evil, theyre desperate. Like, Katniss also volunteered to murder other children, she has spent her life training in skills that are useful in the games, by her logic she could also be considered a career. There are many examples in the books where Katniss displays a sense of superiority to other tributes because she has trained up survival skills they havent. Isnt that the same? We just don't feel that way because we see her inner world and not just the show she puts on, Finnick is the first career that shows the reader his inner world and some of his motivations. Do people think other career tributes don't also have secret lives and loved ones they are protecting?
Also I liked the idea that the waters in panem are not habitable for schooling fish. That's a cool bit of world building and invites speculation about what creatures are in these polluted waters now.
If I may put forth an incredibly late argument as to why the 4th district produces careers, I would argue that we have to also start looking at nutritional breakdown of what each of the districts eat. District 4 likely has the most well balanced diet with their diet supplemented by seaweed, fish, and easily available shellfish of low quality like limpets, eels, etc. This would give them access to a diet much higher in calcium, iodine, and omega-3's. Similar to how Kentucky produced better horses due to the water causing them to have better bone density, I think this would give the District 4 children much better health than in other districts with less balanced diets.
the theory of finnick volunteering before anyone could stop him is UGH so good 😭😭
god I always love your analysis, especially of the career districts! I’m glad to see that someone agrees with me on how just bc a character is sympathetic to the cause now doesn’t necessarily mean that they didn’t once buy into the indoctrination that they grew up with. And it’s more tragic that way! I’ve been writing a Percy Jackson hunger games au that has a character from district 1 that loves the games and volunteers and it’s been fun figuring out how one goes from being a super fan to joining a rebellion to stop it. My other main character is from district ten, of which there’s very little info on, so I’ve been highly anticipating your analysis
I think because of the seafood industry, 4 experiences more freedom than other districts, more trust. Think about it-lots of fisheries are off the coast a ways, and you'd probably want to sail out for days or weeks at a time to maximize your catch. Is the Capitol going to install PeaceKeepers on every boat? That would be a waste of resources when the fishers have to come back to resupply and touch land.
I wonder if coral knew mags
Strong possibility! You could potentially even pose the argument Mags could have derived inspiration from Coral's games!
@@thefourthsalukiyeah especially since Coral was extremely successful killing like 6 or 7 tributes
I love this district deep dive series!
Same
I know you mentioned the disparity between 11 and 4 and how despite both being one of the Captiols 4 main food supplies their is a clear wealth disparity I was wondering if you think 4 also faces harsh police conditions similar to 11.
Since they are the only district with a theoretical method of escaping the Capitol via the ocean, I think there’s a lot of propaganda focused on keeping the citizens as tied to their home and community as possible to discourage them from trying to leave.
I also think that’s one reason why they’re treated better by the Captiol and this is also balanced out by a strong Peacekeeper presence similar to 11 (though probably not as brutal). I think the whole tight knit community thing is one of the reasons 4 is so rebellious in Catching Fire.
Like 11 they’ve probably faced harsh conditions not only because they provided the Capitol with one of its major sources of food, but also because again the ocean is one of the only pieces of Panem that is and cannot be under the Capitols direct control.
I think district four also has an advantage over other food producing districts just in the fact that it’s harder to fence in and survey open ocean. Thus offering a good price for their products is a better way to ensure that the majority of the catch makes it to the Capitol than searching and punishing ‘theft’ like they do in eleven.
It’s also possible for for those in the district to manufacture a shortage (by simply catching less fish and then saying that’s all there is) as a negotiation tactic. Peacekeepers come from 2, and to a lesser extent the capitol, well away from the ocean. Even if they did go out on boats to verify the story, they’d still need to know enough about the work itself to be able to ascertain the truth.
babe wake up another excellent lucky analysis video dropped
I can’t express how happy I am to have longer-form of your content. What a treat!
Very good video! I really enjoy the explanation of District 4's career status, and your focus on how careers are just as human as everyone else.
Babe wake up new Lucky 'District Analysis' video just dropped
THE INTRO 💀
I love what you say about how career districts suffering being different, but still no less than that of the other districts imagine a 14-year-old boy, so excited and encouraged to participate in the games, being promised, glory and notoriety only to have it ripped away once he truly succeeds to only become a capital puppet.
this video means more to me than my own family.
Analysis for District 4 and best grandma Mags, let's goooo 🎉
the intro i can't 😭
last night i had a dream i was a mentor for another tribute during the 11th hunger games & i saw mags during training. when i realized it was her i also realized i was dreaming. crazy dream but crazier this video came out today lol
Absolutely amazing video! Very well-written and insightful. Every time a new point came up, I was delightfully surprised by how much I agreed with what was said.
Annie cresta won dramatically, she was the only one who could swim well
I think even before mags, you can see the precursors to the formal careers within Ballad. Coral and Mizzen, the district four tributes for the tenth hunger games, were among the strongest contenders in that arena and even formed a small ‘pack’ before the concept of career districts really existed. It’s also interesting to see the threat posed by the district 7 tributes in that game that we see more in Ballad than elsewhere with the exception of Johanna (and you can argue Lamina parallels Johanna in terms of strategy before the games wanting to not bring attention, and then being a real contender within them on surprise). Back then- before training centers and before the existence of the actual career academies- the skills with weapons related to the districts really did seem to give those tributes a leg up. Of course, this being before all of that, these things were born purely out of the want to strategize how best to survive as opposed to some of the careers mentality about what volunteering and winning the hunger games meant… Coral and Cato individually coming to the same conclusions about the games at the end definitely hits like a semi truck, with all that in consideration. You can dress the games up with all the fixings - all the training and propagandized honor when it comes to the careers- but it’s still all the same cruel, unfair fight in the end. Snow just made sure he made it seem ‘nicer’.
Mags won the year directly after that and while people still probably remembered the tenth games despite their erasure… Two years in a row of having strong tributes might have partially paved their way for being partially considered a ‘career’ district from the jump despite not having the same qualities as 1 and 2.
Thank you. I feel like it's an important topic to discuss, because many people in the community treat the District 1 and 2 tributes as the "bad guys" and District 4 tributes, if they are careers, are often perceived as the only "good" ones who see through the brainwashing but choose to stay because of the advantages or something. People always seem to find excuses for District 4, but the other two are demonised. I personally believe that the careers aren't just bloodthirsty killers. They probably saw that their attitude made them popular and brought them sponsors, which is why they decided to weaponise it. Any other district would do the same if they knew it would give them an advantage in the arena.
Headcanon: academy's do fake hunger games to decide who gets to volunteer
Lucky that intro was uncalled for
Leftie that opening was WRONG and you KNOW IT.
I’m happy I found you here. Can’t wait to watch all of your videos
Love this. Love you’re voice. Love it all.
“Literally” in bed with the captol is such a funny/messed up way to describe finnick 🤣🤣🤣
Idk how canon this is to the books, but CF’s behind the scenes shows that D4 has three male victors besides Finnick and one woman besides Mags and Annie, so 7 victors alive by the time of the quell.
I would say 4 is not a Career district, but it has strategically aligned themselves with them. From what we can see from their winners/tributes, they don't seem like they were volunteers or were specifically training for the games, but was a way to help their chances they align with the Careers once in the arena. In the books especially they are basically full Careers, as Katniss says so and as people often forget the District 4 girl in the first book was with the Careers and died from the tracker jackers with Glimmer.
We only know a tiny handful of 4 victors. And 4 is repeatedly referred to as a Career District no different from 1 and 2. It is important for 4 to be a Career as it reminds us that Careers are just as human as the other tributes and are also victims of the oppressive system. Othering them just because we like some of the characters from there and don't want to see them as "evil", defeats the entire message of the series.
Yes that it D4 trains young people because they have more means and have had a certain number of winners who have thought about that in case for augmenting the chances of the district children but they do not have this culture of volunteering wanting to be a star at the capitol etc.
i always look forward to you videos!!
Picked a great day to binge these
I love these! Thank you!
These videos are amazing
I love your content, thank you! The hunger games truly is my Roman Empire xx
thank you for making these videos. you are goated fr
The Hunger Games is such a good series. My school district has the first book as required reading for 9th graders.
i enjoy your analysis on the hunger games so much! i think this is my favorite video yet
I think another thing to consider with Finnick is that even though he's young the boy that was reaped could have been even younger, and his first instinct was to volunteer and was the first to do it. I've always liked the idea that the career districts have slightly different views and reasons why they'd volunteer. I have no doubt that all of the career districts would feel the need to protect their youngest and weakest kids in danger of being reaped.
I swear I remember a passage saying just that in catching fire. I’m honestly losing it a little with how people think there is so much uncertainty about his reaping.
@sos2530 that's how i recall it too but i also haven't done a proper reread since 2013 so I'm not sure
I love your analysis videos. So in depth.
stellar vid as always! can't wait to see your take on district 5
Actually, I feel like they are most definitely a career district. Mags was one of the first winners. It's very plausible she was forced into training future tributes by the Capitol. If she did very well in her games it makes sense. Plus it makes her connection to Finnick make even more sense if she trained him since early childhood. We only got to see Mags as an old woman I'd love to see her games honestly because it would fill in a lot about District 4.
Ahhh Ive been waiting for this one to drop!
Hi Lucky! Thank you so much for these videos they’re so excellent and I love hearing your insight and analysis. My theory is that district four is like halfway a career district. I believe they have some special favour and are allowed to train without being punished bypeacekeepers. However, they do seem to lack the guaranteed status of the careers from 1 and 2. If I remember correctly it is said in the first novel that four is not always a part of the career pack. Perhaps they are only invited into the pack if the tribute is seen as being an asset. Additionally, I think that four yields much fewer volunteers and being in the games is not as much of a goal as in 1 and 2. This is to say most tributes are prepared and trained in case they are selected but there aren’t people volunteering every year. I think when Finnick was reaped there was no one willing to replace him hence him entering the games at 14. What do you think?
THE INTRO, MAM YOU ARE HORRIBLE FOR THAT 😭 i thought Annie was pulling him in 😭
I’m obsessed with these
It's weird that anyone would assume Annie was a fragile, unstable girl before the Games. Even if she wasn't an enthusiastic volunteer (although I agree with your argument that she most likely was), I think it's pretty obvious that it's her trauma from the Games that lead her to be the "mad" person everybody sees her as.
I love this series! I’m looking forward to district 5 and what you think about Foxface!
I had a thought while watching about District 4's status as a Career District. If we perceive districts given career status as a way to keep them close in the event of a rebellion ("keep your friends close but your enemies closer" kind of way), rebellion doesn't always mean outright attacking the Capitol, its also trying to flee the system. Of the instances in the books we see people fleeing the Capitol or the Districts is Lavinia, the girl who gets turned into an Avox. Fleeing, if caught, is met with extreme punishment, just like riots or other forms of rebellion.
I reckon District 4 is a Career District because they have the most accessible means of escape, since the people would be very familiar with boats and sailing, and know how to swim and how to fish for food. So, in theory, it would be very easily to take a boat and sail out into the ocean, never to be seen again. Yes, they can be found with hovercraft, but it is theoretically possible. So keep the district close, make sure they don't have a reason for wanting to escape and stop providing to the Capitol.
I saw that Demolition Man clip you snuck in there
Love the outro its a cool improvement!
The wealth disparity between districts may be even higher than tesserae numbers would suggest. If you’re in a career district, you know someone is volunteering every year, so tesserae becomes way more appealing as the risk is so much lower. Families that might try to scrape by without it in outer districts would have no reason to avoid tesserae in 1, 2, and 4. The families that don’t take out tesserae probably have access to higher quality foods with enough reliability that the grain and oil Katniss mentioned in Hunger Games just aren’t worth the hassle of signing up for
OH MY GOD THE INTRO 😭
That intro tho lol how could you 😂
I actually love the career system when you dive into it, because it’s genuinely a slap in the face to the Capitol. Think about it, do any of the children in the career districts live in fear that they will get their name called?
NO. They know someone will volunteer for them,
This eliminates the fear, the one thing the Capitol strives to install.
You're amazing!
This isn’t a fully formed concept in my head, but I also feel like this is one of the few districts where the means of production don’t have to be processed to be consumed. And the consumption of the seafood, paired with swimming, allows for better chances in the arena. I don’t remember the books talking about the people from this district as being particularly under nourished. But I could be wrong of course.
the intro 💀
i wonder what mags' accent sounded like, because in catching fire katniss describes her as having a district accent that she can't decipher very well
I'm very interested on what you are doing with the other districts because we don't really know that much about them (instead of maybe District 8 and 11 a little and of course 12 and 13)
Fantastic as always.
I though Finnick was reaped before he could volunteer.
okay gurl... im gonna watch some of my fav hg movies again this week