#anyhow yeah anon lol i am sure you didn't expect an essay detailing his life

[caesarflickermans]

Why did you like Caesar Flickerman so much? I'm really curious. Thank you.

(art credit goes to @rars on her old blog that methinks has been deleted)

I liked Effie first. And I liked to go on forums and rp her. But I always want non-romantic connections for characters I write, so eventually I settled on Caesar, because no one cared for him so no one would care if I wrote him oddly, to be connected with Effie through some friendship he's had with her parents. One thing led to the next and I ended up writing Caesar more than Effie. I'm saying all of this because my initial liking of Caesar didn't come through watching him on screen and being obsessed with him from the start (yucky, he looks so horrid in the first movie--he's a smurf).

Instead, me thinking about Caesar more was a bit on the artificial end, but once I did, there's so many layers to this man that are so incredibly interesting. So many that are within Collins' writing and so many that are a block away from what's in the books. This guy got potential: He can be a mere state propaganda machine or a secret rebel. His ambiguity is incredibly well maintained throughout the three books. Even if we only take the pages we got, he's a character of hope and death. Both of them at the same time.

So, my liking for him and all I will describe is from the books and from my own thoughts on him. Often it's a mixture of both. He's hopeful because he promotes all tributes equally (something I've long thought might be unique to him; i.e. previous hosts had their clear favourite Districts). And I like to think of him as hopeful beyond that; even in moments where nothing seems fine, he's still maintaining a positive outlook. At the same time, he's a character of death. I've metaphorically connected him with such harbingers of death. He's one of the last people every single tribute faces. It's as if he dooms them (and I'm sure Caesar would in a dramatic fashion think of himself in that way).

In my own interpretation, Caesar's one of the good guys associated with Plutarch. But even if he weren't with the rebels, I think his dilemma, of sorts, is highly interesting. I always thought about the Capitol as a highly difficult place to navigate: surveillance everywhere, indoctrination from a young age onward, and no real place to think. And I've always perceived Caesar's moment of a first breath from the metaphorical drowning ocean of manipulation to be when he actually meets the tributes. Sees them in person, sees them differently than ever before.

And then the question arises; does he keep going, despite his bursted bubble that, no, the Capitol's games aren't about punishment and the District's never developed pride on it and, no, it's really not all there seems to be, and despite the entire belief system he's been raised in that suddenly exists no more--does he keep going? I've always pictured his fears being that someone less kind or less interested in aiding the tributes would replace him. He could leave, and be questioned as to why he left, risk his life for nothing--no effect, no change--or stay and at least try to make a few minutes more bearable. He's working a horrible job promoting a horrible system, but if he leaves he will be replaced and the next person will be replaced and the next will be replaced and-- You get the gist. His dilemma, to me, is very much about the question of individual change and the individual in a cruel authoritarian society.

I've decided to solve that dilemma for Caesar by throwing in Plutarch. A lifeline he can attach himself to, a hopeful cause he can hope for (and again, I always like giving my characters friends and then end up enjoying the friends, too). He seems so fitting for the cause: Plutarch, the mind of the whole operation, the one who plans it all and who looks about it with such an analytical mindset and Caesar, the heart of the operation, who does it for the tributes of today and tomorrow; who eventually--in my headcanon--gets recruited because he, in turn, knows the victors, has connected with them, and can recruit them much better than some distant Plutarch could (might I remind that the few seconds we see him away from the stage he hugs Katniss and asks her how she is doing? He cares even when the cameras aren't on).

Despite all, despite the pressure he might have from the Snow regime and despite the sadness he might feel from playing his part (the Shakespeare quote feels rather fitting), I see him as being fun. I see him as joking, as being dramatic, and having a wonderful aura that draws people in. That mix of "character with quite some depth and sadness they carry" and "actually pretty fun to be around" seems so great. I know neither Virgilia nor Plutarch from my current fanfiction are like that, but writing wise I always have a soft spot for fun idiots, and Caesar feels like that, from time to time. That's not to say he's only a fun idiot and it's so odd seeing him reduced to that after over 8 years of writing this character.

Caesar, in a way, also is my Winston Smith with the best connections. By that I mean that he's a character to explore the Capitol with. He can go everywhere and be invited everywhere. It's never unrealistic for him to be at the Snow's mansion while also being out in the streets and chatting with the less-well-off people in the Capitol. My initial idea on where he comes from also used to vary, but I never saw him as a rich nepotist child (Thanks Collins, yucks), so I've always been able to think about what it might mean to grow up in a middle class family in the Capitol.

This might be the moment to say I study postgrad politics (and studied politics in combination with literature in my undergrad) and I've studied propaganda movements, learned about authoritarian systems and watch documentaries/read books on them in my free time. It's not to say I know what I'm writing on because there's always more to learn and aspects I don't know, but when you are asking about the why's, then the ability to explore totalitarian system both originated through my THG interest as well as fuels it today. And Caesar fits into that much better than any D12 character does because he's right at the heart of the totalitarian regime. I've also quite often tended to avoid the under-20s characters because usually there's too much drama around them (not fandom wise, but there’s so much happening to them in the media that they are in).

Even in the character's darkest moments--when he interviews Peeta in Mockingjay--you can make logical arguments for him embracing the propaganda at war aspect fully, or remaining a double agent with a soft spot for Peeta. His care for the victors can even have fatherly emotions around it, as I do not see Caesar having had children, due to the danger associated with his job and with the rebellion. Instead, I see him having projected much of that onto the tributes, and especially with Finnick, Peeta, and Katniss. Finnick due to young age and charisma, Peeta due to charisma and seeing him as a mini-self, and Katniss due to the hope she represents for him. In that sense, he is taking up a role akin to the other many adults within the franchise that have had intentions of their own around Katniss--now akin to Plutarch and Cinna. However, Caesar's association offers an unique role of a surviving adult--in contrast to Cinna--who actually feels guilt for having used her--in contrast to Plutarch.

I've also had the absolute fortune of rping with some wonderful writers who wrote those three characters specifically (and others, such as Annie or Johanna, of course, but to me those three make the most sense in terms of frequency Caesar might meet them in canon) and with whom I was able to build on ideas that were just a joy to write! It's a lot due to their kindness that I was able to extend my thoughts on Caesar's relationship to the successful tributes and how he feels protective of them.

But his actions in Mockingjay, through that lens then, are pretty interesting. A rebel!Caesar would have had the chance to go to District 13 and I don't think he missed his flight by accident. He stayed behind because he cared for the victors, because he felt a personal responsibility and a fatherly love for them. Again, the question arises what one's personal actions in such a totalitarian system can be, and my version of Caesar had good intentions when he stayed behind, because he was able to somewhat help the victors. Check in on them and report back to Plutarch on their conditions (with many failures of establishing any sort of connection or keeping one). Just like Winston Smith, I think he eventually was found and arrested, but he wasn't like the remaining stylist : He knew things, which kept him alive beyond that. [I've also later found out that there's a fanfiction called House of Cards from FernWithy that's a bit similar in my MJ thoughts on Caesar and greatly portrays the very very interesting friendship Peeta and Caesar might have. Really, I see Caesar as thinking about Peeta as a mini him; he knows how to work an audience and he has a similar charisma. There's a liking and admiration he's got for that kid that he doesn't quite have with other victors. FR, if Peeta wants to be adopted away from his abusive mum,, he knows who to call ;D]

In his final post MJ moments, Caesar is broken but gets up again, because I see him as so hopeful. He finds purpose through media as media reinvents itself. I envisioned him having had a close relationship with Cressida and her team, hence why he would go to film a show with them. I enjoy the lens that he, representing media, cannot get beaten down.

Overall, it's a mixture of what I have read and written myself. He represents my own interests in politics and my political research. But overall, there's so much potential this character has and so many different paths in one's interpretation that can be pursued. Mine is just one of many, and I thoroughly enjoy that Collins gave space for speculation. Sorry for the incredibly long post, but I hope it aided in gaining some insight :>