The Hunger Games: Junk-food Entertainment or Satisfying Social Commentary?

WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS

In 2008, The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, rose to staggering popularity almost overnight. Well over 200,000 copies were sold in the first year, and over 800,000 in the first two years. Today, more than 64 million copies of the trilogy have been sold globally, and four movies were filmed based on the trilogy, grossing 2.9 billion dollars. 

I remember everyone reading the first book in the trilogy in my fifth-grade class. I thought the idea of children killing children was vile and didn’t want to read it. However, I watched the first movie with my family after my little sister read the book, and I loved it. It was one of those movies where you forget that you’re just watching a screen; that you are just sitting on your couch at home. 

A couple years later, I read the first book for a summer reading assignment. After having read the book and watched the movie, I began to critically think about the plot, the themes and the characters. For the purposes of this article, we will focus on the first book and movie. 

The thing that struck me the most was the characters. Every character has their own complexity that charm the audience in different ways. Even characters like Haymitch and Effie that were clearly portrayed as ridiculously frivolous or gross vermin win favor with the audience. Collins wrote all her characters as complex people, which makes them feel more real and accessible to the reader, even when the main character, who represents the lens of the reader, can’t understand the other characters herself. 

Katniss herself is one of the most relatable main characters that I have personally ever read. Katniss, in many ways, follows the cookie-cutter main character—she grew up poor in a broken home, took responsibility for her family and her younger sister, absolutely slays with a bow and arrow (see what I did there?), and is completely oblivious to how people respect and even revere her. 

However, what makes her most relatable is when she is preparing for and in the games. Katniss does not rapidly succeed in almost any part of the games, especially compared to the other tributes. Katniss’ lack of social skills makes group dynamics in her team difficult, and she is wildly outmatched by most of the tributes she is pitted against. 

Almost every conversation Katniss has ends in an argument, and she spends the majority of the games hiding up in the trees rather than hunting down the Careers. Katniss struggles to build a version of herself that is marketable to the people in The Capitol, and nearly dies by dehydration, fire, murder, falling out of a tree, and tracker jackers all before she makes her first kill. 

It is these failures that make Katniss more relatable. I probably would have died every couple of pages if I was a tribute, and seeing Katniss struggle rather than immediately become a natural born killer makes Katniss feel more like a person, rather than someone like The Black Widow or Superman. 

On top of that, seeing the struggle makes watching Katniss score any win even more satisfying. If Katniss had been killing it (I did it again) the entire games, then watching her blow up the supply pile would not have been nearly the significant win that it was for the readers.  

Another character that I thought was worth mentioning was Cinna. Anyone who read the books and is familiar with Shakespeare may have noticed how all of the stylists were named after characters from the play “Julius Caesar.” I could write a whole paper on the significance of these characters and how they connect to Shakespeare, but that would probably be boring, so I’ll just focus on Cinna.

There are actually two characters named “Cinna” in “Julius Caesar,” one of whom is a politician who works with the Roman Senate to kill Caesar. The other is a poet that has nothing to do with the conspiracy. However, after the Romans became enraged by Caesar’s murder, they confuse the two Cinnas and murder the innocent poet. 

The Cinna from The Hunger Games embodies both the artist persona and the rebel persona. He creates beautiful gowns and outfits that give Katniss and Peeta the edge they need in the games, and he sticks it to the Capitol with his added touch of Katniss and Peeta holding hands at the opening ceremony, a subtle f-you to the disharmony created by the games. 

So is Cinna the artist, or the conspirator seeking to kill Caesar? Perhaps we will have to review the rest of the trilogy to find out.

Finally, the social commentary of calling out of how society covers up harsh, raw evil with pomp, circumstance and celebration strikes at the heart of America’s culture of celebrity worship and willful ignorance to some of societies greatest issues, especially corruption of politicians. The way the games are televised and treated as entertainment rather than a tragedy exemplifies this. 

Society has many times tried to put on a smoke and mirrors show to hide the sinister evils that would threaten the fame, wealth, and power of the social elite. Collins uses the plot to reflect how society pacifies its citizens, takes advantage of the weak, and pursues only wealth and power for itself. 

Ultimately, I think all these elements elevate the book and movie beyond the “junk-food entertainment” status, as it touches on relevant social issues in a relatable and realistic way. The characters elevate the conflict and the setting, providing the perfect vehicle by which to observe this engaging story. The Hunger Games is satisfying social commentary that can be enjoyed by all ages, majors, and districts (wink).