Is Suzanne Collins’ ‘The Hunger Games’ series still useful as a social commentary in 2023?
A little something I wrote last year in my first of uni which I wanted to post!!
With over 100 million copies sold worldwide and over 3 billion in box office sales, Suzanne Collins’ trilogy, ‘The Hunger Games’ (hereafter THG) are undoubtably, one of the greatest pieces of young adult dystopian literature of all time. So, why are THG still relevant today? Well, I think that there are a few explanations. The parallels between our world and the world in THG are analogous. Kanwal (2021) said that ‘The Hunger Games trilogy is littered with acts of rebellion with the protagonist, Katniss became the main proponent of resistance. The whole plot revolves around bringing the oppressive dystopian government down.’ On top of this Thomas and Vensila (2019) put forth the idea that ‘writers of dystopian fiction build their imaginary spaces based on real world landscapes’.
When you compare the fact that the residents of Panem are constantly under surveillance (Günenç, M) to our vastly digitalised world riddled with smartphones tracking our location, our interests, and faces- the similarities are uncanny. Another reason why THG are relevant is to remind us of the degree of power between ‘lay’ people and the governments. Furthermore, is the similarity between capitalistic greed and exploitation (Vida, 2015) and the harrowing competition which is celebrated in THG. Along with its ‘eat the rich’ messaging, THG illustrates the widening social gap between the Panem dictator and the impoverished citizens through engaging with social issues such as race, gender, and age. All these elements and topics that the films deal with are as prevalent today as they are in this seemingly not-so-fictional world.
The research which I found was bountiful and thorough. Despite the fact that THG have been around a mere 10 years, the amount of research I came across was immense. There were journals and essays on many different topics relating to THG such as the extent that Katniss Everdeen acts a feminist figure since she is the ‘rule-bending girl who manages to unsettle the foundations of a long-established patriarchal oligarchic status quo only with the help of a bow and a quiver full of arrows’ as claimed by Martín, M. (2021). There is lots of discourse on how characters such as Haymitch Abernathy, Effie Trinket, Peeta Mellark (Novell, 2023), Caeser Flickerman, President Coin, Rue (Toliver, 2018), Gale, other tributes and are portrayed and their role in the world of THG. Kanwal’s (2021) research on dystopia and reflections on the real world examined the fact that Panem is horrifyingly similarly shaped to the US. In this way, the similarities geographically are established. Moreover, she explains that the plot of the hunger games depicts a world where the oppressive governments must be abolished. When looking at events in our world, Kanwal (2021) uses movements such as ‘Me too’, ‘Black lives matter’, ‘Occupy Wall Street’ and ‘March for Our Lives’ to showcase this type of action and the parallels between the events which occur in THG with Katniss and the ones in our world.
Most of the research which I found was more interpretive and focused on different sociological and political concepts. The research question I have chosen is much more ‘literary’ in the fact that it is based on fictional books for one, but also, the arguments put forwards are much more ‘verbal’ rather than ‘numerical’. The research which I have found is based on interpretive approaches, uncovering meanings, and using textual evidence as a way of forming conclusions. The research I’ve found concludes that THG are a commentary on our 21st century world (Petersson, 2011). Through using concepts such as gender, race, age, totalitarianism, dehumanisation, food insecurity, rebellion and socio-political ideas such as feminism, the overarching idea is that- THG encourages the reader to question antiquated structures and consider whether the governments nowadays really have our best interests in mind. In a 2018 interview with The New York Times, Collins explains “It’s crucial that young readers are considering scenarios about humanity’s future, because the challenges are about to land in their laps,” she then goes on to say “I hope they question how elements of the books might be relevant to their own lives. About global warming, about our mistreatment of the environment and about world hunger.” One contributor who discusses the idea of hunger in THG is Burke (2015). In her article she explains how the reaping process in THG is used as a metaphor for consumption. However, this is not the only example in the novels. On the day that Katniss is ‘chosen’ for the reaping, she is out hunting. She is seen ducking under a fence; as subtle as this action is, it shows the very first act of rebellion Katniss chooses to take. In Panem, the districts each provide something, for example mining and agriculture. Their products are not their own though. Burke comments that ‘Katniss’s life is not unlike the billions of poor people around the globe who simply cannot afford food’. The theme of food is the crux of the book hence the title. Thomas and Vensila (2019) have also contributed towards this discussion and say that through ‘juxtaposing the richness of food in the Capital and its scarcity in the districts, the novel reinforces the contrast between abundance and absence of food as the primary political force in Panem.’
In addition, I found that since 9/11 there seems to have been influx in popularity around young adult dystopian literature. In Ames’ 2013 study, she found that since 9/11, young people have popularised dystopian literature for the sole reason of it being ‘relatable’. For example, after the 2020 COVID pandemic, new TV shows came out depicting hostile environments where people have to fight to survive. Ames quotes Rawls (2013) who claimed that ‘the young are often an important gauge of just how entrenched various themes may be’. She also explained the idea of ‘decade- specific’ phenomenon. It is similar to how roughly every 20 years a ‘freak’ event like 9/11, COVID or world wars happen (it is important to note that some people claim that these events are becoming more common such as Brand and Gavin (2020)). It seems that these dystopian/ horror pieces of literature reflect the post anxiety of such awful events. In this way, THG is and will always be relevant since it replicates a world which the reader lives in. Although the events in our world and in THG are deeply disturbing, for readers looking to be consoled, there is nothing better than relating to your favourite fictional character.
One piece of research which was particularly useful to me was Kanwal’s (2021) research ‘Dystopia: Reflection Of The Real World In The Hunger Games’. Some of the strengths of this study were that it directly related to my question meaning it was easy to link to topics I was discussing, and I was also able to use it as the foundation for much of the larger discussion. The study addresses the fact that the people of Panem become aware of their governments totalitarian regime and begin to rebel against it, linking it directly to Louis Althusser’s concept of the ‘Ideological (and Oppressive) State Apparatus’. In THG, the Capitol uses surveillance and ‘Peacekeepers’ as oppressive and ideological state apparatus. The reason I chose this piece of research was because it is recent and links very neatly into my research question. The source was also a relatively historical approach to looking at this issue. I enjoyed how it explained the key terms it would mention and gave their origins a breakdown too. I thought that this piece of research was particularly insightful and well thought out. Kanwal also references Cart’s 2010 claim that dystopian literature “motivate(s) a generation on the cusp of adulthood” particularly insightful since it links into Collins’ own ideas about generational responsibility.
The study also helps to advocate for a possibility of social and political change by introducing ideas of change into adolescent consciousness such as with Ames (2013) study.
The second source which I found most useful was Petersson’s Literary Seminar in 2011. In it she discusses the ways in which, despite THG being a piece of fiction, many elements of it are replicas of our world. She describes the political elements of THG, through saying that ‘The Capitol in the novels has not only money but power over the people in the surrounding districts, just as the capital in US society today has the control, and the power of money.’ By drawing these similarities, Petersson is able to provide a strong argument as to why THG can be used as a social commentary. Some of the strengths of this source are that it uses historical insight such as that of ‘Ancient Rome also known as the Capitoline’. Collin’s has also disclosed that she used the Roman empire as inspiration for the novels. Another aspect of this piece of research which I enjoyed was the way that Petersson detailed different terms such as when she explained that ‘Panem’ is Latin for ‘bread’, and bread is one of the key aspects of THG novels. Moreover, Petersson remarks that in THG, one thing which is never overshadowed is Katniss’ fight for freedom; if we apply this to American or British history through using the civil rights movement or the suffragette movement it is clear that these are examples of people being unhappy with the type of treatment they receive and revolting against the system- like what happens in THG.
The last source which I chose to focus on was ‘Engaging "Apolitical" Adolescents: Analyzing the Popularity and Educational Potential of Dystopian Literature Post-9/11’ by Ames (2013). Some of the reasons for this is because there was not many other sources like this and I found it fascinating. In it Ames discusses the civic literacy and responsibility amongst teens since 9/11. It seems that the more the world moves into the future, more and more of the responsibility surrounding things like climate change, war and current affairs are being handed to the younger generations. One thing which I especially liked about Ames’s study was how she posited the idea of dystopian literature as a ‘coping mechanism’. She explained that dystopian literature can be used as an ‘emotional security blanket for individuals living in an unstable post 9/11 world’. In addition to this, I found the way Ames argued that ‘Collins’ trilogy can read as critiquing many different aspects of contemporary society’. A few ways this was done well was through her saying that the ‘ongoing commentary on poverty’ in THG is reminiscent of the type of class commentary which happens in our world today. The irony of the rich and famous being ‘consciouses’ of the type of poverty and neglect which is prevalent in our world while travelling by private jet and attending events like the MET gala is baffling.
To conclude, there is an abundant amount of research on this topic already published, with many different topics covered and arguments put forth. Some of these include feminist reading of THG, how THG can be applied to our world, the effects of global-scale events on the influx of dystopian literature, food insecurity and the idea of surveillance and privacy (or lack thereof) in our lives. However, one of the largest ‘gaps’ in scholarly research which I came across whilst researching was in terms of character studies. Although there is lots of news articles and YouTube video essays, there isn’t much peer-reviewed, and non-opinion-based research. In THG, every character is incredibly important to the plot of the books, but are also useful for wider discussion about morals, the role of different people in society and responsibility. I think that more scholarly research about the role of the characters, particularly Caesar Flickerman, Haymitch Abernathy and the other tributes. The last thing which I think would be useful for understanding more about my topic is being able to access research on race and age because these factors play a huge role in the books/movies but there doesn’t seem to be much research on these topics. Nevertheless, there was a surprisingly large amount of research on whether or not THG can be used as social commentary today, which gives me hope that people will become more and more aware of the influence of literature on our socio-political climate.
Reaaaaally long one this time!!! I hope you loved reading this as much as I loved writing it!!
Yours Truly,
L.A.