Government Video Study Guide: Catching Fire (from The Hunger Games series)

This video study guide is designed to accompany the 2013 film Catching Fire, the second film installment of the Hunger Games series. It contains 24 multiple-choice questions that require students to make connections between the film Catching Fire and their knowledge of U.S. Government and political science. An answer key follows the student handout in the attached Microsoft Word file. I also took care not to repeat questions or content from the Government Study Guide that I created for The Hunger Games.

Many of my high school students have told me that they saw Catching Fire one or more times since its November 2013 release. I offered those students the opportunity to earn extra credit in our Government course by completing this study guide, and will likely assign the same study guide if I show the film in my Government classes once it is released on DVD. The film (rated PG-13, 146 minutes) touches on a significant number of concepts that my students had already encountered in our studies. They include:

Organizations (unitary, federal, confederated) and types (dictatorship, monarchy, oligarchy, representative democracy, etc) of governments
Economic systems (capitalism, socialism, communism)
Principles of the U.S. Constitution (checks and balances, federalism, judicial review, limited government, popular sovereignty, etc)
The Bill of Rights (amendments 1-10)
Electoral Processes and Political Ideologies
Purposes of government (to maintain social order, provide national security, make economic decisions, and provide public services)

Because each question offers a description of the relevant scene(s) from the movie, students do not need to complete the study guide as they watch the film; they can answer each question after viewing the film, possibly with the aid of textbooks, notes and other sources.

Chances are you might not have covered all of these concepts in class, so feel free to modify as you see fit. If you have any suggestions for or questions about the study guide, please let me know, as well.

Thank you, and enjoy!

The Hunger Games and all characters in the film are the property of Lions Gate Entertainment, Inc., which holds the trademarks and copyrights to their use. All questions and descriptions of the film contained within this study guide are the original creations of the document's author, Chris Kurth.