The debris in the arena that fell in the same form as the movies' Cornucopia. Now we know how the Cornucopia was inspired.
Arachne taunting her tribute with a glass bottle of soda. Presumably she had an easier time getting around security forces guarding the zoo with that than with a factual knife like in the book. And, in her bigotry that all district citizens are stupid, forgot that Brandy could get the idea to make a deadly weapon by just breaking it.
Casca Highbottom's beard. It could just be his style, but a Beard of Sorrow is quite fitting for this character.
Panem's technology during the era of the 10th Hunger Games seems like a mix of technology of different ages from our world, e. g. the video call between Coriolanus and Tigris. The reason? That all was Lost Technology, and the documents found from earlier times were a mishmash of different stadiums of the respective technology's development.
The clothing style has a similar reason: The world is basically going through the 20th century for a second time.
This is also reflected in how the Peacekeepers are shown. In contrast to the futuristic white-armored troopers seen by the 74th and 75th Hunger Games, their predecessors are portrayed as resembling both fascist soldiers from World War II and UN peacekeepers from The '50s: war veterans rife with corruption yet tasked with keeping the peace in a still-volatile era.
Given Snow's time in District 12, it makes further sense why the Peacekeepers eventually become the faceless futuristic thugs seen in the chronologically later films. The last thing he'd want for his troops is for them to repeat the same "mistakes" he made, and what better way to mitigate those chances than to make them as detached and inhuman-looking as possible?
This is also shown via their weapons in the film: Instead of the sleek and futuristic Belgian and Israeli rifles used by the Peacekeepers in the mainline movies, the Peacekeepers use the old-fashioned and practically-minded G3 rifle.
When we see Lucky Flickerman giving the weather report while hosting the Hunger Games, the Panem map shown is very crudely drawn. For an easy reason: After the Districts came together for rebellion, the Capitol separated them by force. Now, like we also know from some clues in the books, the government deliberately suppresses knowledge about geography to keep the citizens in line.
Speaking of the Districts, the quotas demanded of them aren't just simply a punitive response to their insubordination, but also framed as part of a "reconstruction fund" ostensibly for the common good. This not only gives the Capitol more leverage over them, but combined with how travel between each District is increasingly restricted, it forces further isolation and division as they try to meet said quotas. Foreshadowing President Snow's rhetoric of each District as separate yet inexorably tied to the Capitol by the events of Mockingjay.
Also from Lucky Flickerman: We see him call someone once, seemingly booking a restaurant table. He books for two adults and a toddler. It is very possible that the toddler is Caesar Flickerman, who is his son. The uncanny resemblance of his and Caesar's actors just supports that.
The fact that Panem's security forces are so corrupt that with enough money a guard can be bribed into letting someone into the arena while the Hunger Games are in progress helps explain how the rebels were able to plant the colossal amount of explosives necessary for the arena bombing earlier in the film.
Dr. Gaul has a pale blue eye and a white streak in her hair, both on her left-hand side. Her design was inspired by Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka (a Mad Scientist creator of extraordinary things who acts childishly), and the Bride of Frankenstein (a creature made by a Mad Scientist from dead body parts). Her hands and forearms look claw-like as she speaks with Highbottom and the Mentors about driving up the ratings. Fitting for a monstrous woman who pioneered muttations and may have experimented on herself.
Her clothing also speaks for itself. As an esteemed member of the Capitol and a certified Mad Scientist with an opulent lifestyle, of course she would be as fabulous looking as she is villainous. Her most prominent outfit in the movie is her white robe (stained red to look like blood) and red gloves. She's blatantly projecting that she has blood figuratively and literally on her hands and she's reveling in it.
As decadent and wealthy as the Capitol is, the overall atmosphere is nonetheless more austere and muted compared to the vibrant if not gaudy aesthetics seen a few generations later. Given how the war that marked the Dark Days was just 10 years ago, and that the Capitol's reconstruction is still ongoing due to how devastating it was, it'd make sense for Panem's elite to cut back on overt extravagance without angering the citizens too much.
The results of the inhumane treatment of the tributes explains why over half a century later tributes who are dfrated for the games are given luxury treatment in the days leading up to the games. Not only does it serve as good PR but also gives the tributes less incentives to run or in Archanne case attack their mentor and or handlers.
Consideing he was nearly killed on the spot if not for Lucy Gray saving him by the tributes Snow was probably the one who came up with the plan to make sure the tributes are treated well as he would know as well as anyone the danger of antagonizing them.
Wovey from District 8 has Down syndrome. People with Down syndrome also often have heart complications, and those can prohibit you from exercising a lot - or you get a damn heart attack. That she survived in District 8 up until then is maybe only because they are making textiles, what has the advantage of much sedentary work. And imagine being twelve and in the Hunger Games with that condition.
The Reaping for the 10th Hunger Games is stated to occur on July 4th. The same day as Independence Day in America (where Panem is located in). A date that would normally be for celebration has been twisted. Well, it technically is still about celebration, but it's also been turned into a date of horror and sorrow for those who are reaped and their related.
As it's the 10th Hunger Games, that means by the end of it, there's 10 Victors and 230 dead Tributes since the Games first began. This process will continue uninterrupted for the next 63 years—with 24 extra Tributes dying in the Second Quarter Quell (the 50th Games) because the numbers were doubled, so that's another 1,473 that also die too. The 22 in the 74th Games plus that and the first ten years makes that overall death toll 1,725—and with the 18 during the 75th, that's 1,743.
as resembling both fascist soldiers from World War II and UN peacekeepers from The '50s: war veterans rife with corruption yet tasked with keeping the peace in a still-volatile era.
