A few hours before Mockingjay, the anticipated movie adaptation of the novel,  came out in American theaters it was banned in Thailand. Many teenagers, whether or not they have read the book or saw the movies, were excited about the third and second to last installment of the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay the movie, written by Suzanne Collins. Thailand banned Mockingjay  and any symbol related to it because they feared that a revolution would start because the movie is about citizens overthrowing a corrupt government. Being a fan of both the book and the movie, math teacher  Christina Casares thinks there are several ideas in the film that could possibly cause an uprising.

“I think that the people having a voice and rebelling against the government that is abusing its power is kind of frightening to a country that is communist,” said Casares.

Thailand, a communist country, is able to take away natural rights to keep the government intact. The government is able to censor  the media that their citizens can see.The government controls citizens’ freedom of speech by arresting people when they express diverging opinions. The people of Thailand are also denied the right to protest.

According to the LA Times, three Thailand students have been arrested for making the three finger salute from the movie. The three finger salute represents hope and is a symbol for defiance of the government. In past movies people using the three finger salute in the districts are shown being arrested or killed.

In the United States, a liberal democracy, rights like these would never be taken away like those under a communist government. Senior Dhara Viradia thinks horrible things would happen if  the movies were banned here in the states.

“[There would be] Riots [and] revolution, especially because we’re a democracy, and we’d be like ‘Hey that is my right, it is in the Constitution, and I will take you to court,’” said Viradia.

Those who have been arrested have been detained and there is a possibility for  charges against them for illegal protests.

Most agree that it should not have been banned. Sophomore Corwin Fontaine believes the banning is unfair.

“You should have the freedom to read whatever you want, and the government taking that away is basically taking away the living of creativity,” said Fontaine.

With people already arrested for using symbols from Mockingjay, a revolution could possibly start, but Thailand is not the only country using symbols and quotes from the movie.  Other uprisings that were ongoing before the movie came out have started using symbols and quotes from Mockingjay. The Washington Post has said Hong Kong and America has taken to protesting.  

According to National Public Radio, protesters in Ferguson, Missouri have used quotes from Mockingjay  to voice their disapproval of the racism in light of the Michael Brown situation . One of the most talked about is the graffitied phrase, “If we burn, you burn with us!” which is a quote from protagonist Katniss Everdeen to challenge the government after a bombing of innocent people.

With all of the people starting to rebel against their government the question is if  a war  will start. Freshman Champ Reynolds believes that a world war starting would have something to do more than just a book, but a civil war is possible.

“A civil war maybe, but a war between any two countries, just shows that there is more [issues] there than just a symbol of  a Mockingjay,” said Reynolds.