Democracy Diva: A new Hunger Games movie is upon us (well, a few months away, anyway), and the geniuses behind The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 have released seven Panem propaganda posters entitled “District Heroes.” Each poster salutes a different district, as the Capitol implores its citizens to “love your labor” and, you know, generally stop supporting Katniss-inspired rebellions, I guess.
But since Snark Ladies know more about Panem than your average Lionsgate marketing genius, we thought it would be fun to tear these posters apart! Some are brilliant, others are bit off the mark, and the rest don’t make any fucking sense at all. I will dole out Propaganda Points for how effective the poster would be at convincing the district citizens to support the Capitol, and Bullshit Ratings for how accurately it depicts life in that district (at least from the Capitol’s point of view). Let the propaganda party begin!
District 3 – Technology
Propaganda Points: 9/10. This woman looks like a super-cool genius, and the citizens of the technology district will probably want to be on the side of whoever has the super-cool geniuses. They tend to win wars. She also looks like she hasn’t seen the light of day in a decade, though, which is maybe not a fact the Capitol would want its district slaves to remember.
Bullshit Rating: Minimal. I love that this 32-year-old woman looks middle-aged, because no one lives much longer than that in the districts anyway. But if she really had shorted out District 3’s mainframe, the Peacekeepers probably would have executed her before she had the chance to repair it. But perhaps that’s the brilliance of the part about proving her fearlessness – Panem actually means that she knew they’d execute her if she didn’t fix it, so she fixed it right away! That subliminal “do what we say or we’ll kill you” message also makes this incredibly effective propaganda.
Lor: My only call of bullshit is the clipboard, paper and pencil. It may be a nice touch if they are trying to add some “down to earth” vibes for Fibre, but otherwise, why is the person wearing helmet technology carrying around a clipboard?
Sweeney: WHERE’S THE FUTURE TECH? MORE FUTURE TECH.
District 4 – Fishing
Propaganda Points: 9.5/10. The posters that look like fashion ads starring people who could really be from the districts are hugely effective. (S: SO FASHION AD-y. This one looks a bit like designer Pocahontas.) (D: I thought the same thing!) They would elevate the pride of District 4, where they grow really beautiful people who love fish, like this lady and Finnick. But the Capitol showed their hand by using the word “proud” twice in the same sentence. C’mon, President Snow. You know that propaganda needs to be just a little bit more subtle than that.
Lor: Maybe if you actually managed to catch fish in that (fierce) dress, you’d be doubly proud.
Bullshit Rating: Nonexistent. She looks stunning, but also like she could have found and created her entire outfit wherever she found those fish.
District 6: Transportation
Propaganda Points: 7/10. From the waist up, this is awesome, but I do not understand why he is wearing pants made of tires. He looks like he’s part G.I. Joe doll. In a creepy plastic fake-crotch way, not in a sexy way.
Lor: I was torn. At first I thought it was awesome, but after I noticed how far apart his legs are, like he’s actually thinking, “ow, my balls. Tires on my balls!” I had to take some propaganda points away as well.
Sweeney: There is nothing to be proud of here. I think the Diva’s being generous with that 7, President Snow. (Probably because you’re terrifying.) Those tire pants are just too ridiculous to take seriously.
Bullshit Rating: Medium. There is no reason to believe anyone in District 6 would actually wear these pants. Or anyone, anywhere, ever.
Sweeney: EVER EVER.
District 7: Lumber
Propaganda Points: 3/10. “Hi, I’m President Snow, and I just wanted to remind you that we murder and dismember your children on a regular basis, both in the Hunger Games and in the districts. Here is a man with half a leg, just in case you forgot.” This would have gotten no points at all if that guy weren’t a total babe.
Sweeney: He is an incredibly attractive man. This comment adds nothing, I just really wanted to drive that point home.
Bullshit Rating: High. There are no tattoo artists in the districts; even if District 7 has one, no one could afford to go. And one of the main things that visually distinguishes Capitol citizens from District citizens is body decoration. Capitol people get elaborate tattoos and plastic surgery; district citizens do not.
Lor: At least Tires On My Balls dude had a little grease on him. This guy looks model-esque. Plus, putting an axe near this guy’s missing leg gives all sorts of bad insinuations.
District 9: Grain
Propaganda Points: 10/10. Again, it’s effective because it’s straight out of Panem’s version of Vogue, but every item the model is wearing could be found on a farm. Only the makeup looks Capitol-esque, and that’s actually working to make this even more effective.
Sweeney: “Look how clean and shiny my face is! It’s not like I’ve been overworked in my day of my manual labor or anything!”
Bullshit Rating: Minimal. She looks as underfed as most of the district citizens probably are.
Lor: Even her look! It’s like someone is saying, “say cheese!” and she’s staring back at the camera all, “no, fuck you.”
District 10: Livestock
Propaganda Points: 8/10. That coat is awesome and that goat is adorable, but what’s with his frozen red extremities? Maybe don’t urge the district citizens to remember that they’re all freezing to death.
Sweeney: Yeeaaah, the first time I saw this, all the redness gave me the creeps.
Bullshit Rating: Nonexistent. If anything, this dude is too realistic. Except he’d be dead for poaching an animal for his own coat instead of sending it off so someone could make fur undergarments out of it for the Capitol citizens.
Lor: Alternatively, this guy walked in naked and freezing and they gave him a coat for the shoot. No death for Cold Man.
District 12: Mining
Propaganda Points: 0/10. “LOOK AT THE CONSTANT MISERY WE BRING YOUR BEAUTIFUL, INNOCENT CHILDREN!” Nope. Not remotely effective.
Lor: “SEE THE FUTURE OF YOUR CHILDREN WHO HAVE NO OPPORTUNITY TO BETTER THEMSELVES!”
Sweeney: WHO’S IDEA WAS THIS ONE, SNOW? They’re probably real dead-like by now. Or they have a seriously macabre sense of humor, since 12 basically leveled after the Quell.
Bullshit Rating: Astronomical. First of all, District 12’s citizens don’t go into the mines until they’re 18. That’s part of what puts them at a disadvantage in the Games – most of the other districts start their kids working in the industry at a young age, but not District 12. So this is just entirely factually inaccurate. Furthermore, President Snow is way too smart to use a model who looks like an even younger, more innocent version of Katniss’s little sister and make her look like she’s in a death camp. If anything, this would sway the District 12 citizens even more onto the rebels’ side. If District 12 still existed, that is.
I'm a J.D. by day/blogger by night who directs her snark and judgment primarily towards celebrities and their many red carpet mishaps. Blogging from the style capital of the world (just kidding - I live in DC), I rant and rave over the best and worst in fashion and pop culture.
I'm a 30-something south Floridan who loves the beach but cannot swim. Such is my life, full of small contradictions and little trivialities. My main life goals are never to take life too seriously, but to do everything I attempt seriously well. After that, my life goals devolve into things like not wearing pants and eating all of the Zebra Cakes in the world. THE WORLD.
Nicole is the co-captain of Snark Squad and these days she spends most of her time editing podcasts. She spends too much time on Twitter and very occasionally vlogs and blogs. In her day job she's a producer, editor, director, and sometimes host of educational YouTube channels. She loves travel, maps, panda gifs, and semicolons. Writing biographies stresses her out; she crowd sourced this one years ago and has been using a version of it ever since. She would like to thank Twitter for their help.
