Fear, Luxury, and Resistance in Panem: A Semiotic Analysis of Special Effects Makeup in The Hunger Games

Session

Performing Arts

Description

This study analyzes the makeup designs used in the 2012 film The Hunger Games in line with Roland Barthes' semiotic theory. Based on Barthes' denotative and connotative levels of meaning and the concept of “myth,” the special effects makeup of the characters in the film is examined as cultural and ideological signs. In particular, the exaggerated and avant-garde makeup of the people living in the Capitol and Effie Trinket, a representative of the Capitol, as well as the special effects makeup of the contestant characters, which includes wounded, burned, and camouflaged appearances, are the focus of the study's analysis. Effie's ostentatious and artificial aesthetic understanding is evaluated as a visual discourse that serves to legitimize luxury and oppressive structures. On the other hand, the bloody, wounded, and other special effects makeup of the characters on the battlefield directly conveys pain and brutality to the audience. In this context, the beautifying, fantastical, avant-garde, and special effects makeup designs in the film are interpreted not only as aesthetic elements but also as signs carrying political and social meanings. The article aims to discuss the function of visual culture in meaning-production processes by focusing on the relationship between cinematic aesthetics and ideological discourse.

Keywords:

Visual Semiotics, Makeup Aesthetics, Special Effects Makeup, Class Representation, Ideology

Proceedings Editor

Edmond Hajrizi

ISBN

978-9951-982-41-2

Location

UBT Lipjan, Kosovo

Start Date

25-10-2025 9:00 AM

End Date

26-10-2025 10:00 AM

DOI

10.33107/ubt-ic.2025.291

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Fear, Luxury, and Resistance in Panem: A Semiotic Analysis of Special Effects Makeup in The Hunger Games

UBT Lipjan, Kosovo

This study analyzes the makeup designs used in the 2012 film The Hunger Games in line with Roland Barthes' semiotic theory. Based on Barthes' denotative and connotative levels of meaning and the concept of “myth,” the special effects makeup of the characters in the film is examined as cultural and ideological signs. In particular, the exaggerated and avant-garde makeup of the people living in the Capitol and Effie Trinket, a representative of the Capitol, as well as the special effects makeup of the contestant characters, which includes wounded, burned, and camouflaged appearances, are the focus of the study's analysis. Effie's ostentatious and artificial aesthetic understanding is evaluated as a visual discourse that serves to legitimize luxury and oppressive structures. On the other hand, the bloody, wounded, and other special effects makeup of the characters on the battlefield directly conveys pain and brutality to the audience. In this context, the beautifying, fantastical, avant-garde, and special effects makeup designs in the film are interpreted not only as aesthetic elements but also as signs carrying political and social meanings. The article aims to discuss the function of visual culture in meaning-production processes by focusing on the relationship between cinematic aesthetics and ideological discourse.