- "From the simple, lovely fabrics of the districts to the brocades favoured in the Capitol, District 8 makes it all."
- —Description from The Hunger Games: Tribute Guide[src]
Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark in District 8.
District 8 is one of the thirteen districts of Panem. Its main industry is textile production, and they have at least one factory that is used for making Peacekeeper uniforms.[1] In Catching Fire during the Victory Tour, Katniss notices that this district, along with District 3 and District 4, shows the most happiness to see her, suggesting that they are one of the more rebellious districts. District 8 played one of the largest roles in the second rebellion, including starting the war itself.
Known Tributes
District 8 tributes, 74th Hunger Games
- District 8 female (74th HG) - Killed by Peeta (Book) on the first night of the games. She placed 13th out of 24 in the book and 12th out of 24 in the film.
- District 8 male (74th HG) - Died on the first day (bloodbath).
- Cecelia - Victor of an unknown Hunger Games, participant in the 75th Hunger Games. Died during the bloodbath.
- Woof - Victor of an unknown Hunger Games, participant in the 75th Hunger Games. Died during the bloodbath.
Location and geography
According to the map of Panem featured in The Hunger Games Adventures, District 8 is a long, narrow region in the southeast of the continent. It is bordered by five other districts (in clockwise order- 3, 12, 11, 2, and 9), and apparently does not have much greenery; Katniss describes District 8 as "an urban place stinking of industrial fumes, the people housed in run-down tenements. Barely a blade of grass in sight."[1]
Uprising
District 8 was one of the districts that President Snow was concerned would rebel against Capitol rule. On the night when Peeta proposed to Katniss, District 8 rose up and fought against its Peacekeeping force. The Peacekeepers were caught off guard and overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the mob. The Peacekeepers' Headquarters, the Justice Building, the armory, and the Communications Center were all secured by the rebels. However, the Capitol responded by sending in thousands of Peacekeepers and using hovercrafts to bomb the rebel strongholds. The rebels began to flee and the forward momentum slowed, then stopped. Everything went into a lockdown mode, and no one was allowed out of their houses for a while. The factories were shut down and the only time the TV played anything other than static was when it showed suspected rebel instigators being executed. Eventually things returned to normal, but the Capitol blew up one large factory when they found out the talk of rebellion started there. Eventually, when the rebellion was well under way, the rebels managed to eliminate all military targets in the district, leaving only the occasional bombing as the Capitol's presence in the area. After the rebellion, the leader of District 8, Paylor, became President of Panem after President Snow was disposed of and Katniss assassinated President Coin.
Bombings
Katniss during her visit to District 8.
In Mockingjay, Katniss went to District 8 to visit the victims from the Capitol bombings and to broadcast the first propaganda video to air in all the districts and the Capitol. When she was leaving, Boggs - Paylor in the film - tells her that they need to get to the airstrip because of incoming bombers from the north. In an effort to fight against the bombers, Katniss and Gale climb to the roof of a warehouse that has machine gun nests, running into Commander Paylor. Together, they all work to destroy the other waves of hover planes that fly overhead.
Bonnie and Twill
Bonnie and Twill were two people from District 8 who were trying to escape to District 13. Katniss had found them traveling through the woods surrounding District 12. They showed her a piece of bread with a Mockingjay stamped on it, which is the "symbol for the rebels." They were going to District 13 because they had heard stories of people living under the district. They were leaving because the factory that the Capitol had destroyed was the one that they worked at. It was a fluke that they didn't die. Twill had worked as a school teacher and Bonnie was her pupil. Twill and her husband had planned on dressing in Peacekeeper uniforms and escaping. When Bonnie and Twill had finished their school day, they headed to the factory. However, there were large craters in the roads from the Peacekeeper bombings they had to avoid. Because of this, they were late for work, and were still a few blocks away when the whole factory blew up. Bonnie's whole family died and so did Twill's husband, so the two headed off on their own. They also told Katniss that they thought the Capitol had been using the same tape of District 13 every time they air the surface, and that during the tape, a wing of a Mockingjay passed by the corner of the screen. In Mockingjay, it was revealed that the two of them never made it to District 13. They are presumed to be deceased and may have been killed by the Capitol or died of exposure in the winter forest.
Trivia
- When explaining her background to Katniss, Twill mentions that she put in a four hour shift at a Peacekeeper uniform factory after her full-time job as a teacher.[1] This could indicate either that all citizens of District 8 are required to participate in the industry- Bonnie, a child, also worked a four hour shift after she finished school- or that the average income from a single job is not enough to live on.
Victory Tour train ride To District 8.
- District 8, like District 12 and District 13, was targeted by the Capitol the most during the rebellion.
- District 8 was the first district to rise up against its Peacekeeping force. Thus, beginning the 2nd rebellion.
- At the end of Mockingjay, after President Coin is assassinated, Paylor, the District 8 Commander, becomes president of Panem.
- According to the Catching Fire film, as well as a pre-production sketch from the Movie Companion Book, District 8 is featured to have at least 6 functional textile based factories. Other displayed works of architecture include a bridge that connects two landmasses separated by a river, and a Clock Tower which extends into the sky.
- The citizens are seen to be clothed in a palette of vibrant and brighter colors than other districts, considering that District 8's primary focus is that of textile production. Their physical attire resembles that of an urban American 1960s get-up.
- The tributes' jackets on the holograms are maroon red, however in the film they had golden jackets.
- The very first official Propo was shot in District 8.
- Although the first uprising resulted in a failure, the battle of District 8 resulted in the capture of the district near the beginning of the war. This meant that District 8 was the first district to be released from Capitol rule.
- District 8, as the film suggests, appeared to be snowing during Katniss and Peeta's Victory Tour, and was located near a shore.
- According to the Mockingjay Film, bombers from the north were being deployed from the southern border Of District 11, during the time Katniss was visiting District 8 to film the first prop. This suggests that District 8 may actually be located around the deep south, specifically south of present-day Atlanta, Georgia, where District 11 is believed to be situated.
- The map from The Hunger Games Adventures shows that District 8 is located in the southeast of Panem, between District 12 (to the north) and District 11 (to the south).
- According to the Capitol.PN, District 8 has 43 factories in operation with a population of 122,134, making it the sixth largest district, in terms of population.
- According to the Capitol.PN, District 8 claims 69,892 in tesserae, making it the fifth most impoverished district.
- If the population is 122,134 and they claim 69,892 tesserae, that would equal to 0.572 tesserae per person, making it the 7th richest District.
- It is considered a lower middle class district.
