In the movie, The Hunger Games, atomization is very clear in some ways and deviously disguised in others. Atomization is defined as the deliberate isolation of people from each other in a society to keep them from forming a group that could threaten a leader’s hold on power. The most obvious atomization is the separation of districts and the separation of those districts from the Capitol. Atomization in societies is usually most noticeable in peer policing and preference falsification. The tribute tradition began as a price to pay for the old rebellion and is now said to bring the people together but due to the physical separation of districts, this is merely symbolic. Katniss comes from District 12 which is the coal mining district and the poorest. Katniss Everdeen shows preference falsification by hunting outside of her district bounds before the games, selling that game to Peace Keepers, and by not wanting to have children to send to the reaping.

The Hunger Games is a good example of the ramifications of atomization which in this case is an uprising in the making. Another District 12 citizen’s name is in the drawing 42 times which, based on the book, is done for additional food rations. This would put the families that have the most need in the most danger of being called for the games. This “service” disproportionately affects the poorest citizens who would be the most likely to revolt first and is a way for the government to control those citizens. Another aspect of government control over the districts is during the large production made of the reaping ceremonies the event is heavily policed and no disobedience is allowed.

During the start of the reaping, a film from the Capitol is shown and this video serves as a reminder to the districts of the uprising, the war that came from it and the orphans that came as a result. The video makes sure to emphasize that thirteen districts rebelled on a country that fed and cared for them. Once peace was won by the Capitol they had to show the districts that being a traitor and having freedom both come at a cost. The tribute is the cost and shows honor, courage, and sacrifice. The winner also represents a reminder of the Capitol’s generosity and forgiveness. President Snow ends the film by saying, “This is how we remember our past, this is how we safeguard our future” and the games are meant to keep treason from ever happening again. This is yet another way for the government to atomize the districts by holding the fear of losing their children over the citizens' heads, year after year.
The entire proceedings of the games links to the legitimacy of the government by allowing the government to fully exert force, with generally little interference from the districts.  Katniss begins to be a symbol of a challenge to the legitimacy of government by atomization by uniting her own district and later District 11 through her encounters with Rue. Crowds await the tributes as they arrive at the Capitol and sponsors await to judge their behavior and skills which is an example of peer policing. Much of the movie is about Katniss becoming a symbol for the districts and that disrupts the peer policing and preference falsification that is going on in the country. In a talk show it is mentioned that a volunteer from an outlying district is an outlier that can’t be ignored. Katniss was dangerous from the beginning. Cinna, the stylist for Katniss and later a dissident, helps Katniss to make a statement in the opening ceremony which calls more attention to her as a symbol of the lower districts.
