The Theme “My World Turned Upside Down” In Aliens, Hunger Games, State Insurance And The Sniper
The idea “My world turned upside down” can be applied to many different written and visual text.4 texts will be used to show the idea: “My world turned upside down”; Hunger Games, The Sniper, State Insurance Ad and the Aliens Film. This essay will argue that these texts portray the idea, using specific evidence such as scenes, language features and quotes.
The Hunger Games, portrays the idea of “My world turned upside down” in one main part of the film, this is when Primrose (sister of main character) is unwillingly selected to take part in a fight to the death with 23 other “tributes”. Katniss (Primrose’s sister) voluntarily takes her place in the “hunger games”, from this point Katniss’s “World has been turned upside down” this is because, previously Katniss had a family, and went hunting every day, she had a small but happy life, now facing almost certain death her world has changed as she knows it. Furthermore, there is clear evidence in quotations “Prim, let go” this quote comes from the reaping where Katniss had just volunteered to take Primrose’s place, Primrose does not want Katniss to go, because she faces likely death, which is evident of the fact that Katniss’s "world has been turned upside down”. This visual text teaches people always to value the position they are in, because it may end at any time, also that it is normal to face difficult times in life, and it will always be resolved.
Similar to the Hunger Games, the written text The Sniper also portrays the theme “My world turned upside down” since it features the main character in a war zone, seemingly unfazed by the people he kills, until he notices that he has killed his brother, and so his life as he knows it will change forever, his “world has been turned upside down”. The texts Hunger Games and The Sniper have a similar structure, where the life of Prim’s sister is at risk facing almost certain death, the Sniper loses a sibling, at a point in both of these texts a sibling’s life is at risk, which conveys the theme of “my world turned upside down” in that a certain value of family is at risk in a character, which promotes this theme. “He became bitten by remorse” a quote which is evidence towards the regret that the sniper is facing. “The lust of the battle died” lust refers to the adrenaline and happiness the Sniper was feeling when in the battle, yet when the Sniper killed his first target “The lust of the battle died” which means the reality of having taken another person’s life dawns on him, this furthermore relates to the theme of “My world turned upside down”. This has a real life meaning which shows that, to learn from the Sniper’s mistake, you must always think before you act, and judge every important decision from the perspective of other people involved, in order to spare conflict.
The visual text/advertisement from State Insurance explored the idea of “My world turned upside down” very clearly, since it shows how people lose everything, but then having it magically restored by state insurance. “I’m never gonna break my stride” is a quote which accentuates the feeling of safety or security when you are a client of state insurance. It is relevant because it shows that things happen at unexpected times, yet “I’m never gonna break my stride” which means that you will just keep moving, if you are a state insurance client. It relates to “My world turned upside down” because terrible things happen when you least expect it, which means it can potentially ruin your life, and their world is then “turned upside down”. This theme is relevant to the real world today because many things happen that we do not expect, the ad shows us that this is normal, but also implies that state insurance can fix worries, and assure that things will be fixed very quickly.
Similar to the State insurance advertisement, the visual text Aliens shares a lot of ideas along with the main theme “My world turned upside down”. In Aliens, a common theme is intrusion, this is shown where the so called “Aliens”, in the movie destroy structures and kill colonists on a certain planet, which shows this idea. This relates to the state insurance ad because in both several structures and livelihoods are destroyed, proving a connection these texts have in common. Aliens links to the theme “My world turned upside down” in several contexts, the first is when Ripley wakes up from “hyper sleep” and finds that she has been sleeping for decades, her daughter is now already dead, “I was preparing for her 11th birthday” says Ripley, after being informed about her daughter, it shows here desperation and is evident of her loss. She then later loses her flight licenses and her life has been brought to an all-time low, her “world has now been turned upside down”. This has a real life meaning in that things can happen, yet in the end it will always be alright, and that you will recover.
To conclude, this essay has argued that “My world turned upside down” is a significant theme in each of the texts; Aliens, Hunger Games, State Insurance and The Sniper. It has also argued that this theme and these texts have a significant meaning to apply to real life, based on experiences characters have had to tackle throughout these texts. This essay also argues that connections are present between the texts The Sniper-Hunger Games and Aliens-State Insurance.
