Censorship of The Hunger Games in China and Thailand

The Hunger Games trilogy was world renowned and came to a grand end with the fourth and final film "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2" in 2015. However, while America and many countries were enjoying the film's epic conclusion, those living in China and Thailand were not. The film was banned from being viewed by citizens in the two countries. It is interesting to me because censorship was so common many years ago, but it is not as common today. So to see a movie that I enjoyed so much being banned because it has themes of rebellion and a nation starting an uprising against their government is interesting. Although the characters are fictional and the setting and technology is futuristic and unrealistic, the idea the movie is portraying is real and is seen as a threat but some governments due to the influence it can have on viewers. People were inspired by the young rebel in the story, Katniss Everdeen, and acted out against their governments in similar ways the characters in the film did. Chinese citizens vandalized government buildings with quotes from the films such as "If we burn, you burn with us!" and the mockingjay symbol that represented the rebellion in the story. Thai citizens were arrested for using the three finger salute that symbolized solidarity among the oppressed citizens of the nation in the story.