The Battle of District 8 is an unofficial term referring to the fight to seize control of District 8 from the Capitol in and around the Second Rebellion.
History[]
Pre-Second Rebellion civil unrest[]
When Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark visited the district on their Victory Tour, she mentioned that the people there, as well as in Districts 3 and 4, expressed "genuine elation... at the sight of [them], and under the elation, fury." She also characterized their cheers as cries for vengeance.[1] She would later learn from Bonnie and Twill that their visit was used as a dress rehearsal for a planned uprising.[2]
Uprising of District 8[]
During Katniss and Peeta's televised engagement in the Capitol, District 8 rebels donned masks and targeted centers of power and resources in the district. Peacekeepers were caught off guard and overwhelmed, their weapons appropriated by rebels, but reinforcements arrived by the thousands. The heightened Peacekeeper response and suppressive bombing brought an end to the uprising within forty-eight hours.[2]
A week-long period of martial law followed, during which time rebel leaders received televised executions. When martial law was lifted and citizens returned to work, the Capitol bombed the factory where the uprising was planned, killing everyone inside.[2]
Second Rebellion[]
Paylor in District 8 in Mockingjay - Part 1.
In the immediate aftermath of the unexpected end of the 75th Hunger Games, uprisings broke out in various districts, including District 8. Strategic and tactical details are largely unavailable, although it is known that within weeks, rebel forces were able to seize control of District 8, liberating it from Capitol rule.
About a month after the end of the 75th Hunger Games, the Capitol heavily bombed District 8 one morning, and Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne were sent to film propos there in the afternoon. Commander Paylor had the wounded all gathered in a field hospital, and the dead were kept in an adjacent room; rebels had started a mass grave several blocks west of the hospital, but they couldn't spare the manpower to move the bodies at that time. Katniss briefly visited with the wounded.[3]
Shortly after Katniss left the hospital, the Capitol sent another fleet of hovercraft for a second wave of bombing, specifically targeting the hospital. The patients and medics inside were all killed. Katniss and Gale took down the hovercraft with explosive arrows, using the same technique they used to hunt geese. Then Katniss filmed a stirring propo in front of the burning wreckage.[3]
Propos[]
When Katniss's first propaganda spot was broadcast, it was rerun at least seventeen times and played in every district. However, Beetee Latier wasn't yet able to get through to the Capitol.[4] This and subsequent propos boosted morale in the districts, allowing rebels to take Districts 3 and 11, as well as "[make] inroads in several other districts".[5]
Film adaptation[]
Hooded citizens of District 8 facing execution.
In The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, President Snow gave a televised speech announcing that possessing images of the mockingjay would be considered treason, punishable by death. While this happened, two people from District 8 were hauled out in front of their Justice Building and a crowd of their peers. With sacks over their faces, each victim was shot once in the back of the head.[6] They are often presumed to be victors due to the purge.
Notable persons involved[]
During the uprising of District 8, schoolteacher Twill and her husband planned to disguise themselves in Peacekeeper uniforms stolen by Twill's student Bonnie, then travel to other districts and spread news of the uprising. Her husband was killed in the factory bombing along with Bonnie's entire family, so the women left together instead. They set out for District 13, eventually making it to the woods outside District 12, where they encountered Katniss.[2] However, District 13 had no record of them when she asked, so the pair likely perished in the wilderness before reaching their destination.[7]
Commander Paylor in Mockingjay - Part 2.
Commander Paylor led rebels in District 8 throughout the Capitol's suppressive bombings,[3] and in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2, she also served in the Battle of District 2.[8] After the end of the war, an emergency election was held after the assassination of District 13's President Alma Coin, and Paylor was voted into office as the new President of Panem.[9]
Other combatants[]
- Boggs - District 13
- Katniss Everdeen - District 12
- Gale Hawthorne - District 12
Trivia[]
- For Mockingjay - Part 1, hospital scenes were filmed at Martha Mills factory in Thomaston, Georgia; the execution scene was filmed at Caldwell Tanks in Newnan, Georgia; and battle scenes were filmed at Chemiewerk Rüdersdorf in Germany.[10]
References[]
- ↑ Catching Fire, Chapter 5
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Catching Fire, Chapter 10
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Mockingjay, Chapter 7
- ↑ Mockingjay, Chapter 8
- ↑ Mockingjay, Chapter 9
- ↑ The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
- ↑ Mockingjay, Chapter 2
- ↑ The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
- ↑ Mockingjay, Chapter 27
- ↑ https://www.motionpictures.org/2015/11/real-locations-used-bring-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-2-life/