Snow Lands on Top: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The new Hunger Games movie The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes recently came out on November 17, 2023, and has attracted many fans of the previous Hunger Games series. The movie dives into the life of President Snow before he turns into a villain. This new movie displays how he came to be the president and the connection he made with someone named Lucy Gray Baird who was a tribute in the 10th Hunger Games. 

By Piper Figallo

This movie first started as a book created by the author Suzanne Collins. In 2008 Collins originally made a book called The Hunger Games that started this franchise. It was then followed by two more books called Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

This trilogy was about the characters Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. Coriolanus Snow comes into play with the original series because he was President Snow, the person who kept up the Hunger Games and manipulated the tributes and victors of the games. 

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes allows people to understand how he came into power and what his life was like before he was the President of Panem.

His upbringing is surprising because, in the original movies, it can be seen that Snow is very wealthy and has a great amount of power over Panem. This contrasts with the new movie because he started poor and had little power or influence over anyone.

The story starts with Coriolanus Snow, who also goes by the nickname Coryo, attending the academy in the Capitol where the students are assigned a tribute in the 10th Hunger Games to mentor. If their tribute wins, then the student will win a cash prize. Coriolanus wants to win because he and his family do not have much money.

 He gets assigned a District 12 tribute named Lucy Gray Baird. At first, he feels disappointed because District 12 is the smallest and poorest district out of all of the districts, but then he forms a connection with her and has hope that she can win. 

Coriolanus gets very involved in the games and the game maker because he is trying to make sure his tribute wins. He even goes as far as cheating to ensure the victory of Lucy Gray.

Another key part of this movie is Coriolanus’s friend Sejanus Plinth. Sejanus originally came from District 2 but then moved to the Capitol because of the wealth and power his father had. 

Sejanus was sympathetic to the tributes because he also used to be from the districts. He is very conflicted with the ways of the Capitol which creates an interesting dynamic between him and Coriolanus since Coriolanus sides with the Capitol and is more interested in obtaining wealth and power.

The District 12 tribute Lucy Gray, is a singer who is a part of the Covey. She lives with a group of singers who are considered outcasts in District 12. Her ability to sing and write meaningful songs adds to her character and her experience navigating the Hunger Games.

She captivates Coriolanus with her charming nature and her uniqueness. She introduces him to what life looks like outside of the Capitol and challenges his views on power and the Capitol’s reign. Her free spirit and independence make Snow uneasy because it symbolizes rebellion and unpredictability. She defies his power and the regime of the Capial which makes her a threat to him.

This movie exhibits the desire for power that Snow yearns for and how his mindset developed into him becoming one of the most evil and powerful villains of all time. Snow’s upbringing instilled his craving for power because it taught him the influence power can have.

He went from having nothing to having everything he wanted, and he did this by his cunning and calculated approach to the Hunger Games. 

In his future, he maintained the legacy of the Hunger Games to express that he has the ultimate power and to show that Snow indeed lands on top.

So, are you coming to the tree?

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