UNIVERSITY OF MARIBOR

FACULTY OF ARTS

Department of English and American Studies

GRADUATION THESIS

Darko Vöröš

Maribor, 2015

UNIVERZA V MARIBORU

FILOZOFSKA FAKULTETA

Oddelek za anglistiko in amerikanistiko

Diplomsko delo

IGRE LAKOTE KOT DISTOPIJA

Graduation thesis

THE HUNGER GAMES AS A DYSTOPIA

Mentor: Kandidat: Red. prof., dr. Victor Kennedy Darko Vöröš

Maribor, 2015

Lektorica: Andreja Podvratnik, prof. slovenščine in zgodovine

Abstract

This diploma thesis will explore all three books of Suzanne Collins’s blockbuster young adult dystopian trilogy The Hunger Games. I have compared the novels and their film adaptations, elaborated on the history and creation of the trilogy, identified the dystopian elements within it, and analysed it from a Frommian, Veblenian and Žižekian perspective.

I have also sought to explain why both the novels and big-screen adaptations have become so massively popular. I have found that one reason for the popularity of this trilogy is that it resembles the old heroic myths that never go out of fashion. Furthermore, many of the themes in the trilogy have contemporary relevance and examine some of humanity’s most pressing issues.

Keywords: The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins, dystopia, young adult, heroic myth

Povzetek

Namen diplomske naloge je proučiti vse tri knjige priljubljene distopične trilogije Igre lakote avtorice mladinske književnosti Suzanne Collins. Primerjal sem romane in njihove filmske upodobitve, raziskal zgodovino in nastanek trilogije ter proučil distopične elemente v njej.

Delo sem analiziral z vidika Frommovih, Veblenovih in Žižkovih teorij.

Prav tako sem skušal pojasniti, zakaj te knjige in njihove filmske upodobitve doživljajo tako izjemen uspeh. Po mojih ugotovitvah je eden izmed razlogov ta, da trilogija vsebuje prvine starih junaških mitov, ki nikoli ne zastarajo. Nadaljnji razlog je, da trilogija tematizira aktualne družbene pojave in ustrezno obravnava sodobne izzive človeštva.

Ključne besede: Igre lakote, Suzanne Collins, distopija, mladinska književnost, junaški mit

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank everyone who supported me in completing this thesis. Specifically, I would like to thank my parents, whose encouragement has been invaluable and unwavering. I owe my deepest gratitude to my mentor, Dr Victor Kennedy, for his feedback and counsel, and for encouraging his students to always use critical thinking skills. I am also indebted to my many friends and co-workers, whose unflagging help has been crucial to the completion of this thesis. All of the help I received has been invaluable and greatly appreciated.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction ...... 1

2. Plot Summary ...... 2

3. Introduction to Dystopian Literature and The Hunger Games Trilogy ...... 5

4. Origins and History of The Hunger Games ...... 10

5. Changes from page to screen...... 18

6. Faces of Dystopia in The Hunger Games ...... 25

7. The Cultural Impact and Popularity of The Hunger Games Franchise ...... 33

8. Conclusion ...... 42

9. Works Cited ...... 44

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1. Introduction

Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games franchise has taken the world by storm. The novels, as well as their big-screen adaptations, have become almost as iconic as the phenomenally popular Harry Potter series. The trilogy is set in a dystopian future that is packed with contemporary references. The cultural impact of The Hunger Games has been widely acknowledged, with The Telegraph describing it as “an essential science fiction film for our times, perhaps the essential science fiction film of our times” (Collin). The franchise has even spawned a hit song, entitled “The Hanging Tree”, sung by the trilogy’s lead character, Katniss Everdeen. The question that emerges is: Why is The Hunger Games so popular?

I will examine, in detail, all three novels of The Hunger Games trilogy, which comprises The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. All of these centre on the main character, Katniss Everdeen, who is 16 years old when the trilogy begins. Katniss lives in

Panem, a fictional dystopian version of modern North America, which is ruled by the dictatorial Capitol. Katniss is ordered to take part in the Hunger Games, an annual death match established by the Capitol as punishment for a rebellion that took place several decades earlier. As the trilogy unfolds, Katniss becomes a political rebel and national symbol of revolution.

The Hunger Games trilogy touches upon many issues that are of contemporary importance. I will begin by placing the franchise in its context and, in particular, by comparing it to earlier but similar works such as The Running Man and Battle Royale. Next, I will compare The Hunger Games films and books, then analyse the dystopian elements in the trilogy. I will also establish what makes The Hunger Games so appealing to its audiences, and its young adult audience in particular. 2

2. Plot Summary

In the trilogy, President Snow rules the country of Panem – the fictional backdrop of

The Hunger Games – with an iron fist. The country is a post-apocalyptic version of North

America that has been divided into 12 Districts, which the wealthy Capitol ruthlessly suppresses and controls.

At the beginning of the story, Katniss Everdeen lives with her mother and younger sister, Prim, in District 12. District 12, also known as “the Seam,” is a coal mining area. Since the death of her father, Katniss has been the breadwinner of her family. With her friend, Gale, she hunts wild game to feed her family. She also sells some of it at the Hob, District 12’s black market. Every year, as punishment for a rebellion that took place decades earlier, each

District must take part in the Hunger Games, a death match for children. All citizens of

Panem are forced to watch.

At the reaping ceremony, in which the tributes for the next Hunger Games are chosen, it is Prim’s name that is drawn. However, Katniss decides to save her by volunteering to go in her place. The other tribute from District 12 is Peeta, whose family owns a bakery. Mentored by Haymitch and trained by a prep team, Katniss and Peeta progress towards the Hunger

Games. During a televised show before the Games, Peeta admits that he is in love with

Katniss. She dismisses this as a publicity stunt, but his feelings for her are real. His crush has the added benefit of casting Peeta and Katniss as “star crossed lovers,” a gimmick that proves useful for enticing sponsors. Before the Games begin, all of the contestants have a tracking device implanted in their bodies.

In the arena, Katniss teams up with another tribute, Rue, who is later killed. The

Games’ authorities – known as the Gamemakers – decide to change the Hunger Games rules, allowing two tributes from the same district to win, so Katniss turns her focus to Peeta. She finds him very ill and near death, but is able to get hold of the medicine that he needs. 3

Together, the pair set out to slay their enemies, who now also include mutations, a set of genetically-altered beasts. They manage to take out all of them.

The Gamemakers try to play Peeta and Katniss off against each other by revoking the previously announced change and declaring again that only one tribute can win. In the end, their willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice for each other sees them both declared victorious. Their joint victory does not go down well with President Snow, and Head

Gamemaker Seneca Crane must pay the ultimate price for this decision. When the Games are over, Katniss is stunned to discover that Peeta has truly been in love with her all along.

In Catching Fire, the next book in the trilogy, Katniss and Peeta move into their fancy new houses in District 12’s Victor’s Village. President Snow visits Katniss to tell her that she must prevent the impending revolution from happening.

After Katniss and Peeta return from a victory tour, Katniss decides to run away with

Gale, but they change their minds. Peacekeepers, or riot police, are sent to District 12 to quell possible sedition. Katniss learns of a revolt in District 8, and hears rumours that District 13 – thought to have been destroyed decades ago – is actually still in existence.

The Capitol decides that the 75th Hunger Games – also known as the Third Quarter

Quell – will feature previous Hunger Games victors as tributes. During the Quarter Quell,

Katniss and Peeta befriend several other tributes: Finnick and his mentor, Mags, Joanna,

Beetee, and Wiress, who realizes that the zones in the arena are set up like a clock. Together, they find a chink in the force shield that surrounds the arena. Katniss manages to dismantle the force shield but faints and has to be rescued by a hovercraft. Finnick, Haymitch and

Plutarch are in the hovercraft. They tell Katniss that they are bound for District 13 and that she is the Mockingjay, the symbol of the revolution. Meanwhile, the Capitol captures Peeta and destroys District 12. 4

The final book in the trilogy is Mockinjay, in which Katniss agrees to become the figurehead of the rebellion. The rebels now live in District 13, whose citizens are sterile. Life in District 13 is highly regimented. Their leader is President Alma Coin, who is just as authoritarian and forbidding as Snow. The rebels shoot propos (propaganda spots) that are aired throughout Panem after Beetee hijacks the Capitol’s broadcasting system.

The rebels rescue Peeta, but the Capitol has altered his memories, and he tries to kill

Katniss. The rebels launch an assault on the Capitol, and Katniss loses many of her comrades in the process. In front of Snow’s mansion, small parachutes are dropped on the Capitol children. Many of them are killed after it turns out that these are actually bombs. The explosions also kill Katniss’s sister.

The rebels defeat the Capitol, though Katniss does not witness this. Snow is sentenced to death, but Katniss learns that it was Coin and not Snow who ordered the bombings that killed her sister. In revenge, Katniss puts an arrow through Coin’s head at what should have been Snow’s execution. Snow himself is found dead later.

Katniss is drugged and taken away, but she is found not guilty of murder by virtue of insanity. After peace is restored, District 8’s Commander Paylor becomes the new President, and Katniss’s mother and Gale find jobs in District 4 and 2, respectively. Katniss and Peeta settle down in District 12 and have children together, but their traumatic memories haunt them forever.

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3. Introduction to Dystopian Literature and The Hunger Games Trilogy

The Hunger Games is a modern example of dystopian fiction. The linguistic application of the term “dystopia” is relatively new. John Stuart Mill was the first to use it in a

Parliamentary speech in 1868 (Mohr 28). The term is an antonym for the more established

“utopia.” However, both “utopia” and “dystopia” encapsulate concepts that existed before they took a linguistic form, operating on a thematic and conceptual level long before the words to express them were developed and defined. According to Barnita Bagchi, “Utopia has become one of the most resonant political, philosophical and literary concepts of our times. . .

. If More had not invented the word utopia, we would still have the notion with us” (2).

Bagchi, however, does not tell us how the idea became so ingrained in the human consciousness. George Orwell, on the other hand, may have done so in his 1946 review of

We, a dystopian novel by Yevgeny Zamyatin. Making no reference to More’s Utopia, Orwell uses the exile of mankind from the Garden of Eden to identify the nature of Zamyatin’s dystopia:

The guiding principle of the State is that happiness and freedom are

incompatible. In the Garden of Eden man was happy, but in his folly he

demanded freedom and was driven out into the wilderness. Now the Single

State has restored his happiness by removing his freedom. (Orwell, “We by E.I.

Zamyatin” 73)

Orwell traces the concept of dystopia – or at least a precursor to it – to the very birth of mankind. Indeed, the concept of a dystopia, also known as “anti-utopia” or “negative utopia,” seems long to have been fundamental to the human concept of being. Yet, commentators have argued over the extent to which dystopia can be clearly defined. Erika

Gottlieb claims that “[d]ystopian fiction is a post-Christian genre” (3). According to Gottlieb,

“the central drama of the age of faith was the conflict between salvation or damnation by 6

deity” (3). However, true utopian and dystopian fiction only began when salvation was transposed to our present lives, thus becoming a question of a just versus an unjust society:

While the medieval morality play implies that the fate of the human soul will

be decided at the Last Judgement, the modern dystopian narrative puts the

protagonist on an ultimate trial where his fate will be decided in confrontation

with the Bad Angel in his secular incarnation as the Grand Inquisitor, high

priest of the state religion and God-like ruler of totalitarian dictatorship. . . . It

is the one of the most conspicuous features of the warning in [the] classics of

dystopian fiction that once we allow the totalitarian state to come to power,

there will be no way back. (Gottlieb 4)

Gottlieb goes on to identify four key elements of modern dystopian fiction:

1. The blurring of distinctions between utopia and dystopia

2. Purposeful miscarriage of justice

3. A barbaric, state-imposed “religion”

4. Obliteration of the individual’s private life

There is little argument that these are recurrent elements in dystopian fiction, but

Amin Malak makes a case for the inclusion of another:

[D]ystopias contain elements of the fantastic with a touch of excess carrying

the narrative one step [or more] beyond our reality, the aim is neither to distort

reality beyond recognition, nor to provide an escapist world for the reader, but

to allow certain tendencies in modern society to spin forward without the brake

of sentiment and humaneness. (82)

It may be argued that Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We was the first dystopian novel to stay within the scope of that genre (Mohr 32). That said, authors such as Swift, Wells and Verne may be seen as Zamyatin’s predecessors, at least to some extent. However, Gregory Claeys 7

argues against this, holding that, although these authors used elements of dystopian fiction in their works, those works themselves cannot be defined as examples of dystopian fiction (109).

Claeys focuses his argument on Wells, but the argument can be extended to the writings of

Swift and Verne. In a similar way, Mohr defines Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels as a “utopian satire” (Mohr 29).

In Zamyatin’s We, the world is ruled by a totalitarian regime, and the protagonist is inevitably drawn into conflict with this when he seeks to assert himself as an individual

(Gottlieb 59). While the state’s regime claims to be utopian, Zamyatin shows how it is actually anything but. Zamyatin wrote We in 1920, only a few years after the Russian

Revolution. Zamyatin had initially supported the revolution, but, over time, he became increasingly critical of its aftermath.

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World echoes We in terms of its thematic structure

(Orwell, “We by E.I. Zamyatin” 72-73). In Huxley’s dystopia, individuals cannot initiate or sustain happiness themselves. Instead, happiness is achieved through genetic manipulation and mind-altering drugs. Brave New World acted as a shift away from the distant futuristic dystopia of Zamyatin to a far closer dystopian vision already underway. This can also be seen in Huxley’s decision to write a further work, Brave New World Revisited, in which he discusses how his original work was beginning to become a reality.

George Orwell’s 1984, which was published in 1949, is probably the best-known example of dystopian literature, even though Orwell did not think of his work as “anti- utopian” (Claeys 107). Nonetheless, 1984 shows many of the characteristics of dystopian fiction. It is comparable with Brave New World, but critics have claimed that 1984 pushes the dystopian genre forward with its representation of a phenomenon that had already started to affect society at that time, mass media. 8

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 was published a few years after 1984. Bradbury’s dystopian regime seeks to control the population through the eradication of books (Gottlieb

88). Thus, the very act of reading the novel can be seen as rejecting its central dystopian concept. In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury bleakly communicates his impressions of America as moving towards a police state, an idea that was particularly acute in the wake of the McCarthy witch hunts (Gottlieb 90).

Another milestone in dystopian literature was Margaret Atwood’s feminist novel The

Handmaid’s Tale, published in 1985 (Mohr 276). As in The Hunger Games, the fictional backdrop of The Handmaid’s Tale is a dystopian version of a future America. A group of conservative extremists overthrows the US government in order to create an oppressive theocratic state called Gilead. Since most women have become sterile due to environmental pollution, the Handmaids must bear children for elite families. Meanwhile, other women are assigned roles for which they are deemed suitable. The novel explores themes of sexism, race and freedom.

With the release of The Hunger Games in 2008, Suzanne Collins sparked something of a dystopian revolution in the young adult (YA) fiction genre, which was previously dominated by Harry Potter and Twilight. Other authors were quick to jump on the dystopian bandwagon, triggering a deluge of novels written in a similar vein to The Hunger Games, such as Divergent, Matched and Partials. From the 1930s to the 1960s, dystopian novels were popular because people had a genuine fear of war, totalitarian regimes and restrictions on freedom. However, the post-2000 wave of dystopian fiction focuses on environmental degradation, apocalyptic scenarios and “the vapidity of pop culture,” some of the most pressing contemporary issues (Brown).

The readership of modern YA dystopian novels is mostly female and there is a tendency for the books to have a female heroine (Brown). The protagonists usually start out as 9

confused and indoctrinated youngsters, who through a series of trials mature into independent adults. They find meaning in life in an unjust and confusing world – an idea that readers of

YA fiction may identify with on a personal level.

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4. Origins and History of The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins wrote the first book after flipping through TV channels one night. She saw a reality show with individuals competing, while another channel featured war coverage from Iraq with people engaging in real combat (Egan 7). Collins was tired, so in her mind the images blurred, and that is how the trilogy’s heroine Katniss Everdeen was born.

Another source of inspiration for The Hunger Games was the myth of Theseus and the

Minotaur (Egan 9). Once every nine years, Athenians had to send seven boys and seven girls as tributes to Crete, where they would be devoured by the Minotaur, a bull-headed monster who fed on human flesh (Hamilton 212). Eventually, Theseus, the son of the Athenian king

Aegeus, volunteers as a tribute to kill the Minotaur. With the help of Ariadne, the daughter of the Cretan king, Theseus manages to slay the Minotaur in the Cretan Labyrinth (Hamilton

215). Collins pictures Katniss Everdeen as a modern version of Theseus (Margolis). However,

Katniss Everdeen is a blend of several classical characters, including female Amazon warriors and Atalanta, a Greek huntress, as well as Diana, the Roman goddess who carries a bow and arrows (Strauss). The influence of ancient Rome upon the trilogy is also reflected in the names of the people from the Capitol: Caesar, Seneca, Octavia, Fulvia and Cinna. The name of the country, Panem, is itself of Latin origin. It is a reference to Juvenal’s Satire X, in which the poet laments that his fellow compatriots only care about “panem et circenses”, which translates into English as “bread and circuses” (Clemente 22).

Moreover, the trilogy draws from a long tradition of dystopian fiction. A novel that bears an uncanny resemblance to The Hunger Games is Battle Royale by the Japanese author

Koushun Takami, which was published in 1999. Battle Royale was adapted for the big screen in 2000, becoming an instant hit, and was followed by an eponymous manga series that ran from 2000 to 2005 (Hamm). 11

Set in a dystopian version of Japan called the Republic of Greater East Asia, the government of the country decides to organize death matches on a regular basis. In each of these, a class of junior high school students is pitted against each other on a deserted island until only one survivor remains. This “Program” is a military experiment, the real aim of which is to keep the population in check. Before being sent into battle, the contestants are each given a backpack that contains random items which they can use to increase their chances of survival. The contestants are also fitted with tracking collars that will explode if they refuse to play along, or if 24 hours pass without there being at least one casualty. As in

The Hunger Games, some parts of the island become “danger zones” at certain times. The two main protagonists, a couple in love, remain alive at the end of the story. They flee the island and become outlaws.

One of the things that sets Battle Royale apart from The Hunger Games is the incredible complexity of the former. While The Hunger Games trilogy is an easy read, Battle

Royale is anything but. The world of The Hunger Games is, by and large, reducible to a dualistic battle of good versus evil, and the characters are put into clear-cut roles. In the arena,

Katniss protects the “good” tributes and takes out the “evil” ones. In comparison, Battle

Royale is more of a psychological thriller. The story is deep and the characters exceptionally nuanced; they all have their hopes and fears, and their complex interactions make the plot so compelling. The characters are imperfect, but all the more humane for that; their fates are cruel and heart-rending, yet appear necessary given the system in which they live. The violence portrayed in Battle Royale is the kind of violence that manifests itself through the intricate maze of real-life situations: ensnaring each individual, it tests his or her moral fortitude. The cohabitation of all these diverse elements in Battle Royale makes for a richly complex plot that is often difficult to keep track of. 12

Collins galvanizes her reader by painting a black-and-white picture of violence and oppression in the first two books of the trilogy, the aim of which is to justify sedition against the ruling powers. Takami, in contrast, makes a case against violence per se by untangling the intricate brutality of political systems in general, and educational institutions in particular. In other words, Collins’s notion of power is vertical (hierarchical) and often quite Marxian, but

Takami subscribes to a more Nietzschean or Foucaultian concept of power, which holds that there is no such thing as power per se but rather relations of power that are in constant flux.

That said, the concept of power does become more complex in Mockingjay, the final book of

The Hunger Games trilogy, when Katniss notices that the rebel leaders from District 13 have, to her chagrin, become as power-hungry and callous as President Snow and his yes-men from the Capitol.

The Hunger Games trilogy follows a long line of popular dystopian novels. In addition to Battle Royale, there are a number of antecedents to Collins’s franchise, such as:

1. Logan’s Run (book and film): The 1976 blockbuster movie portrays a dystopian

future in the year 2274. In a bid to maintain a viable population size, everyone dies

once they reach the age of 30, although some of them may be “renewed” (reborn).

Those who try to escape the domed city, and thereby their fate, are called

“Runners,” but “Sandmen” are sent out to find and execute them. However,

Sandman Logan 5 finds out that no-one is ever renewed. While on a mission, he

falls in love with Jessica 6, and eventually becomes a Runner himself. At the end,

Logan destroys the domed city, enabling the inhabitants to step outside and see an

elderly person for the first time. Like the Capitol citizens in The Hunger Games,

the people of the domed city live life for pleasure. The film is based on the 1967

novel written by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. 13

2. THX 1138 (1971, film and novel): Set in the 25th century, a man named THX 1138

and a woman named LUH 3417 rise up against a totalitarian state in which every

resident is regularly drugged and required to comply with the state’s demands.

Sexual relations are prohibited, but LUH swaps THX’s drugs, and the two engage

in intercourse. Police androids, who bear a striking resemblance to the

Peacekeepers in The Hunger Games, arrest them. During a brief meeting, LUH

reveals to THX that she is pregnant. THX and two other inmates escape from

prison, and THX eventually manages to flee the city. The film was later novelized.

3. Rollerball (1975, film): In a future dystopian world run by corporations, all other

sports have been replaced by a full-contact sport called Rollerball. Jonathan E, a

Rollerball superstar who plays for the Houston team, is ordered by corporate

executives to retire, but he repeatedly refuses. He soon finds out that the executives

are afraid of him because he has become a larger-than-life figure. The executives

resent that because they want to micro-manage all important aspects of life, and

Jonathan’s charisma and popularity threaten their power to do this. The executives

try to pressure him into retirement by changing the rules of the game, gradually

turning Rollerball into a brutal last-man-standing contest. After a game in Tokyo,

Jonathan’s friend and teammate Moonpie ends up on life support. In a match

against New York, most players are eliminated in brutal fashion until only

Jonathan and two players from the New York team remain. Jonathan kills one of

the players but stops short of killing the other. He then proceeds to score the only

goal of the game. Much to the displeasure of the corporate executives, the crowd

starts chanting Jonathan’s name.

4. Death Race 2000 (film): In this 1975 film, an absolutist President of the United

States provides bread and circuses to keep the population entertained: He organizes 14

no-holds-barred transcontinental races in which the drivers score points by running

down innocent pedestrians. Thomasina Paine, a descendant of Thomas Paine, is

the leader of a group of rebels who try to sabotage the race and restore democracy.

The President decides to cover up their attempted sabotage and make further

political capital from it by blaming the incident on the French; indeed, he later uses

this lie as an excuse to declare war on the French. The winner and only remaining

driver of the race, a man named Frankenstein, kills the President. Frankenstein

becomes the next President, accepts the rebels into his government, and abolishes

the death race. Thomasina Paine, who is named the new Minister for Domestic

Security, declares that she will take a very firm hand with any future rebels.

5. The Long Walk (book): Written by Stephen King under the pseudonym Richard

Bachman, this dystopian novel came out in 1979. In this tale, the army randomly

selects one hundred boys who must take part in a walking contest. Those who fail

to maintain sufficient speed get a warning each time this occurs. After their third

warning, they are executed. The last remaining walker wins the competition and

receives a prize, that prize being whatever he desires for as long as he lives.

6. The Running Man (book and film): Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the key

protagonist Ben Richards, the 1987 film The Running Man is set in America in the

year 2017. A government-sponsored game show entitled The Running Man offers

criminals the chance to avoid prison by participating. Hosted by Damon Killian,

the show, along with other game shows, is a distraction, expressly designed to

keep the population in check because the global economy is in tatters. Ben

Richards, a policeman, has been framed for the mass murder of innocent civilians.

Richards breaks out of prison, but he is eventually caught and forced to take part in

the Running Man game show. During the show, professional killers (stalkers) try 15

to track down and kill the contestants (runners) inside a game zone that is divided

into four game quads. With the aid of his friends, Richards eventually manages to

hijack the TV network’s satellite to broadcast the truth about his false conviction

and expose the show’s ugly background. Having cleared his name, Richards

confronts Killian and sends him into the arena in a sled, an action that ends fatally

for Killian when the sled crashes and explodes. The film is loosely based on the

1982 novel The Running Man, which, like The Long Walk, was written by Stephen

King under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.

7. The Condemned (2007, film): Jack Conrad, played in the movie by former

professional wrestler Steve Austin, is a wrongfully-convicted prisoner. He and

nine other death-row convicts enter an illegal death match, in which the winner

gains his (or her) freedom and earns a cash prize. The event takes place on a

deserted island, and each participant is fitted with an ankle bracelet that can be

made to explode. The FBI sees a webcast of this reality show and realizes that

Conrad is a former US soldier on a mission to South America. Much like Katniss,

Conrad only attacks the villains but helps the “good guys.” Conrad and a British

man named McStarley are the last remaining contestants, and McStarley is

declared the winner after Conrad falls off a cliff. However, Conrad manages to

survive and eventually kills both McStarley and the producer of the reality show.

Now a free man, Conrad returns home.

There are many scenes in the Hunger Games trilogy that have antecedents in literature and film. For instance, the chariot procession in the first book could have been taken directly from the 1959 film Ben-Hur, and children fighting and killing each other in a confined area is something already seen in William Golding’s 1954 dystopian novel Lord of the Flies. 16

The Hunger Games also bears the distinctive hallmarks of heroic myth. According to

Joseph Campbell, one of the most acclaimed mythologists of the 20th century, myths are an interface between the knowable and the unknowable (132). The ageless quality of myths lies in the fact that they cannot be analysed on a completely rational level: “they are a mystery that transcends all human research” (Campbell 132). Moreover, many myths are “in a language that talks to young people, and that’s what counts” (Campbell 144).

A “hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself”

(Campbell 124). This is what Katniss does when she volunteers as a tribute for the Hunger

Games in order to save her little sister Prim (Collins, The Hunger Games 25). A hero can be thrown into an adventure and undergo death and resurrection; by putting on a uniform like a soldier, (s)he becomes another creature (Campbell 129). Apart from having resolved to step in for her sister, Katniss has no choice but to participate in the Games, and she has to wear the same outfit in the arena as everyone else (Collins, The Hunger Games 169). Another key aspect is that “the adventure that the hero is ready for is the one [s]he gets” (Campbell 129), and a typical process for the hero comprises departure, fulfilment and return. This process is something that Katniss must go through several times in the trilogy. She has to overcome a number of trials; as a result, her consciousness is transformed (Campbell 126). Throughout the Games, Katniss realizes that if she “def[ies] the Capitol, [she] is someone of worth”

(Collins, Catching Fire 134). She realizes that the Capitol’s tyranny is responsible for her father’s death in the mines years previously, and that the systemic violence instituted by the

Capitol has also starved her family and almost got her killed in the Hunger Games. In the grander scheme of things, Katniss also recognizes that Panem’s oppressive system compels people to compete with each other, even if they might prefer to co-operate (which is what the rebel tributes eventually do during the Quarter Quell). The system defines the enemy and rewards participants for playing along, but only if they manage to survive and win. Once she 17

has learned this, Katniss is able to transcend her old conformist self. It is this journey that turns her into the hero of her own myth.

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5. Changes from page to screen

When the first book in the Hunger Games trilogy became a bestseller, it attracted the interest of Hollywood, and many production companies wanted to have a crack at producing a cinematic adaptation. Collins was hesitant at first, but film executive Nina Jacobson, who is famous for having produced The Chronicles of Narnia and the Pirates of the Caribbean series, eventually got the job. Collins believed that Jacobson “had the greatest connection to the work” and “would do everything she could to protect its integrity” (Egan 13).

By that time, the books already had a cult following, so the film crew had to make sure they did not let the fan base down. Jacobson has said that she believes a cinematic adaptation does not have to follow the original book to a tee, but it does have to convey the same feeling

(Egan 20). Collins and the acclaimed screenwriter Billy Ray wrote the screenplay, and Collins helped to pick the cast for the films (Yamato). In a Facebook comment, Collins declared herself happy that “[d]irector Gary Ross has created an adaptation that is faithful in both narrative and theme, but he’s also brought a rich and powerful vision of Panem, its brutality and excesses, to the film as well” (quoted in Ford).

It would take an average reader many hours to read each of the books from cover to cover, but Hollywood films aim for a running time of about two hours (Boozer 5). Hence, big- screen adaptations inevitably have to differ from the original books, at least to some extent.

As a result, differences between the books and the films abound, but most have little, if any, discernible effect on the plot. However, while the films largely maintain fidelity to the novels, some relatively small changes do have a far-reaching impact.

The single largest factor that differentiates the books from their film adaptations is the narrative perspective. In the books, Katniss recounts the story in the first person, which means that the reader knows only what Katniss knows. However, the film changes this to a third- person narrative. In the books, Katniss’s life is revealed through numerous stories about her 19

past, which she relates throughout the novels. Meanwhile, the films feature short flashback scenes that fill in the blanks for an audience that does not get to hear Katniss’s narration.

The third-person perspective allows the films to add a few details that shed light on what is going on behind the scenes, such as events that the first-person narrator in the book could not and did not witness. An example is the conversation between President Snow and

Head Gamemaker Seneca Crane in the first film, in which they talk about what to do about

Katniss’s rising popularity. Likewise, the new Head Gamemaker and future rebel commander

Plutarch Heavensbee is shown talking to Snow in the second film, trying to pull the wool over the President’s eyes by convincing him not to kill Katniss – the novel does not mention this.

Another crucial scene from the first film that is missing in the corresponding book is the uprising in District 11 that follows Rue’s death.

Unsurprisingly, the films are very action-oriented. Some action scenes were expanded for the films, such as the extensive rescue mission in the Mockingjay – Part 1 film, which the book treated only briefly. Because the films rely on action scenes but cut back on Katniss’s moments of contemplative reflection, the heroine often appears somewhat tactless and even abrasive in the films, whereas in the books she is a very kind-hearted and conscientious, albeit shrewd, young woman.

Another striking difference is the appearance of the (wolf) muttations from the first book of the trilogy. These muttations (or “mutts”) are genetically engineered beasts that are unleashed upon the contestants in the arena. They can stand on their powerful hind legs and each bears a resemblance to a recently-killed tribute. Katniss is taken aback when she recognizes the face of Glimmer, the female Career from District 1, in one of the mutts she kills (Collins, The Hunger Games 390). In the corresponding film adaptation, these beasts look nothing like genetically altered wolves. They have a generic canine look about them

(something like a pit bull and Rottweiler mix), and they all look alike. In the film, we see how 20

these mutts were engineered by the Gamemakers in the control room and cast into the arena.

Because of the book’s first-person perspective, this creation process is missing from the novel, since Katniss was in the arena at that time and thus did not get to see how the mutts were created.

“Mutts.” Screenshot. The Hunger Games. DVD.

There are some other significant changes between the print and film versions:

1. In the books, gifts from sponsors do not come with notes attached. Hence, Katniss has

to figure out herself how to use them properly. In the movies, the gifts arrive in cases,

and the enclosed notes often contain vital information on how to improve one’s

chances of staying alive in the arena. A note that says “Drink up” is the reason why

Katniss immediately knows what to do with a spile that she receives as a gift in the

second film. In the book, working out how to use a spile takes some trial and error

(Collins, Catching Fire 327-8). 21

2. In The Hunger Games novels, Katniss and Gale are described as olive-skinned (9),

while Haymitch sports a paunch (22). In the films, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and

Gale (Liam Hemsworth) are pale, and Haymitch (Woody Harrelson) has a rather flat

stomach.

3. In The Hunger Games novel, Haymitch suffers an embarrassing incident: he is

inebriated at the reaping ceremony and tumbles off the stage (Collins, The Hunger

Games 54). This scene is missing from the film.

4. In the same book, the Mockingjay pin is given to Katniss by Madge Undersee, the

privileged mayor’s daughter, who is not featured in the films (Collins, The Hunger

Games 44). In the corresponding film, Katniss picks up the pin at the Hob.

5. The Hunger Games book features a sub-plot concerning Avoxes, servants who were

punished for their transgressions against the Capitol by having their tongues cut out

(89-96). During her stay in the Capitol, Katniss has a flashback when she sees a red-

haired Avox girl. Katniss is visibly distressed when she remembers that she has seen

the red-haired girl before: the redhead and a boy were on the run from the Capitol

when Katniss and Gale spotted them in the woods outside District 12. Katniss’s and

the red-haired girl’s eyes locked just before Capitol forces captured the redhead, and

Katniss has felt guilty ever since for not being able to help the girl to escape her

predicament. In The Hunger Games film, this subplot was omitted in its entirety,

though Avoxes do make an appearance in the next two films.

6. The first book sees Katniss give Peeta a potion that puts him to sleep before she sets

out for the Cornucopia to get the medicine that will eventually save his life (Collins,

The Hunger Games 323-24). This is not shown in the film.

7. In The Hunger Games book, Katniss aims an arrow at Peeta when the Gamemakers

retract their previous announcement, which had suggested that two tributes could win 22

the Hunger Games (400). This retraction meant that, as had previously been the case,

only one tribute could win the death match. In the film, Katniss does not draw her

bow, which produces a dramatically different effect, because as a result the on-screen

Katniss demonstrates that she trusts Peeta much more than her counterpart in the novel

does.

8. Another significant element missing from the films is Peeta’s artificial leg. In the first

book, after he suffers a nasty leg wound, Peeta’s leg is amputated and replaced with a

prosthetic, but the film series simply omits this detail (Collins, The Hunger Games

430).

9. Likewise, an explosion in the first film leaves Katniss only temporarily deaf in one

ear. In the book, the damage from the explosion appears to be permanent, but the

Capitol decides to fix her ear after she wins her first Hunger Games contest (Collins,

The Hunger Games 407).

10. Cato, the muscle-bound male Career from District 2, has something of an epiphany at

the end of the first film. He gives a brief speech before his death, lamenting the fact

that he was raised to become a cold-blooded killer, which is the only thing he is good

at. He does no such thing in the book. In stark contrast to the novel, the film shows a

humane side to Cato: on film, he does not come across as merely a ruthless brute.

11. Another character who gets a family-friendly makeover for the cinema is President

Snow. In The Hunger Games: Catching Fire film, he is seen at home talking to his

granddaughter. This scene is missing from the novel, although Snow’s granddaughter

is mentioned in the Mockingjay book (416).

12. Gale comes across as more of a hero in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire film than

he does in the novel. In the film, he is whipped after he tries to save a District 12 23

citizen from getting beaten by the new Peacekeepers. In the book, Gale is whipped for

having poached a turkey (Collins, Catching Fire 123).

“A line of Peacekeepers.” Screenshot. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. DVD.

13. At the beginning of the second book, Katniss learns from two District 8 refugees that

District 13 might not have been wiped off the face of the earth by the Capitol after all

(Collins, Catching Fire 159-60). In the corresponding film, Katniss never meets the

refugees. Hence, it is only at the end of the second film that she learns District 13

might still exist.

14. In the second book, the Gamemakers give both Katniss and Peeta a training score of

12 after the pair show off their skills before the contest (Collins, Catching Fire 273).

This decision effectively paints a target on their backs because 12 is the highest score

possible, and every tribute would want to prove his or her mettle and garner support

from sponsors by taking out such a highly-regarded rival. However, in the film the

scores are not announced. 24

15. In the Mockingjay book, Katniss’s prep team, consisting of Venia, Octavia and

Flavius, is still alive. Katniss is appalled when she discovers that they have been

locked up and tortured in a compartment in District 13 (Collins, Mockingjay 53). In

the Mockingjay – Part 1 film, the entire prep team is replaced by Effie Trinket, who

barely features in the Mockingjay book.

16. In the final book of the trilogy, Katniss agrees to be the Mockingjay (the figurehead of

the rebellion), but only on condition that she be allowed to kill President Snow once

the revolution is over (Collins, Mockingjay 47). When the rebels emerge victorious,

Katniss surprises everyone by shooting rebel leader Alma Coin rather than President

Snow (Collins, Mockingjay 418). However, in the film version Katniss does not even

demand to kill Snow. It will be interesting to see how that scene will play out in the

forthcoming Mockingjay – Part 2 film.

Overall, the books give off a much grittier vibe than the novels do. The films are very polished and feature eye-popping special effects. Even when the characters have been to hell and back, they still have a studio look about them. If the characters do get dirty in the films, they still look like participants in a boot camp, the kind that showers every day. The action in the books, on the other hand, feels a lot dirtier: Collins makes the characters in The Hunger

Games appear downright grimy. While the movie watcher is overwhelmed by the extravagant special effects, the reader of the book can almost taste the dirt and dust from the arena in his or her mouth.

25

6. Faces of Dystopia in The Hunger Games

In his 2015 book, Sapiens, the prominent Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari stated that the principal distinguishing characteristic of the human race is the power of imagination, which can be exploited for the purposes of both good and evil (305). One of the downsides to humankind’s powers of inventiveness is our proclivity to be influenced by propaganda. In The

Hunger Games, the government of Panem diverts the attention of the populace away from genuine political issues by providing compulsory mass entertainment in the form of the

Hunger Games, in which the participants are required to put their lives in jeopardy.

Throughout the story, Katniss and Peeta are forced to maintain the charade of a romantic relationship and to ensure that this charade is credible to the citizens of Panem. This serves as a further distraction. According to Noam Chomsky, the contemporary use of such mechanisms enables the societal elite to exercise control over the population, especially over lower socioeconomic echelons:

What's happening with TV is part of something much broader. Elites always

regard democracy as a major threat, something to be defended against. It's been

well understood for a long time that the best defense against democracy is to

distract people. That's why 19th-century businessmen sponsored evangelical

religion, people talking in tongues, etc. Kids are watching TV forty hours a

week. It's a form of pacification. It is a kind of pacification program. (241)

In Collins’s novels, the audience of the Hunger Games is spoon-fed a game of make- believe, and this is the “circuses” element of Panem’s politics of “bread and circuses.” Human emotions are redefined within the context of the controlling regime’s rubric and reduced to a spectacle. This is how the ruling class builds its brand of corrosive ideology, the ultimate aim of which is the retention and exercise of power. 26

The innumerable allusions to Rome in the trilogy, such as the Capitol’s extravagance and corruption, the abundance of names of Roman origin and Juvenal’s concept of “bread and circuses” are references to Rome’s history and eventual downfall (Clemente 22). There is one crucial difference between Ancient Rome and Panem, though: the latter has modern destructive technology. Although Panem is a lot like Rome, it is a lot like a modern country as well. Panem’s President Snow has solidified his reign by waxing apocalyptic about the threat of another revolution that could upset the country’s stability; in a similar way, current

American (and other) politicians like to use “the ever-present threat of terrorism” as an excuse to cement their rule (Clemente 23).

The concept of “circuses” is also as relevant as ever in modern countries. Since many politicians are beholden to big money interests, they will do the bidding of the hand that feeds them. Some of these elected officials are not likely to represent their electorate adequately, so a large number of people have come to view democratic elections as merely a giant spectacle

(circuses), and have adjusted their expectations for societal improvement accordingly

(Clemente 23).

The Slovenian anthropologist Vesna Vuk Godina has written extensively about dependency theory, i.e. the concept of core versus periphery states, regions or cities. Wealth is transferred from the less developed periphery to the more advanced core by means of exploitation, unsustainable loan repayments, etc. (Godina 128-32). Moreover, natural resources are extracted from the periphery and cheaply exported to the core. This theory is popularly referred to as “the West and the rest.” Such is the relationship between the wealthy

Capitol and the much poorer Districts in The Hunger Games. The latter produce goods that the Capitol consumes, and they are also expected to do the dirty work for the Capitol, yet they themselves suffer shortages. Toilers from the Districts have counterparts in real-life capitalism: miners and sweatshop labourers from third world countries who work to prop up 27

the current global system. Many plebeians from first and second world countries are hardly better off. The ruling class of the Capitol, on the other hand, is a true-to-life representation of many people in the West, primarily the wealthy class.

“Map of Panem and its Districts.” Screenshot. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. DVD.

Capitol citizens are not shy to flaunt their wealth. In his 1899 magnum opus The

Theory of the Leisure Class, the Norwegian-American economist Thorstein Veblen pioneered the concept of “conspicuous consumption.” Veblen believes, in a nutshell, that the upper classes show off their wealth and social status by routinely consuming luxury products, food, clothes, even “expensive vices” (51). The more they can afford to splurge on pricey and exclusive items, the greater their perception of superiority. Similarly, they engage in what

Veblen terms “conspicuous leisure.” While the labouring classes pride themselves on their ability to work hard, the wealthy use their time non-productively, precisely because to do so is deemed a sign of prestige. For the poor, idleness is a vice, since they take pride in their 28

efficiency and diligence (Veblen 28). Members of the “superior pecuniary class,” on the other hand, consider leisure to be a measure of success because it is evidence of wealth and power, while productive labour is evidence of poverty (Veblen 29-30).

These two phenomena can be readily observed in the Capitol, whose citizens are extravagantly clad and coiffed. They dye their skin garish colours, implant gems in it, and wear ornate wigs or even cats’ whiskers (Collins, Catching Fire 55). These fashion choices are exuberantly portrayed in the silver-screen adaptations. The buildings in the Capitol are luxuriously furnished, complete with showers that have panels “with more than a hundred options you can choose” (Collins, The Hunger Games 86). The Capitol can afford to build, and keep vacant, upscale houses for future winners of the Hunger Games in the Victor’s

Villages located next to the Districts (Collins, The Hunger Games 357). Ordinary District workers, on the other hand, live in squalor. At parties, Capitol citizens like to ingest a vomit- inducing liquid that makes them throw up the ornately-shaped food items they have just downed, in order to consume more, a practice once popular with wealthy ancient Romans.

They like to engage in idle chatter and they speak with a peculiar accent, so peculiar, in fact, that Katniss thinks it is impossible to mimic them (Collins, The Hunger Games 70).

Their accent is yet another thing that sets Capitol citizens apart from the commoners living outside the Capitol; it is one of their marks of superiority and evidence of wealth, to use

Veblen’s terms. To Katniss and Peeta, who hail from the rather rustic District 12, these people seem grotesque and surreal (Collins, Catching Fire 55-56). Moreover, by portraying Capitol citizens as being dolled up beyond recognition, Collins deftly satirizes the vapidity of the appearance-obsessed popular culture in our own post-industrialist societies.

29

“People from the Capitol.” Screenshot. The Hunger Games. DVD.

These are just a few examples of dystopian elements from the trilogy that reflect traits present in contemporary societies, albeit sometimes in a less extreme form. The books provide a glimpse into what happens when society breaks down: the emergence of a barter economy and people suffering because they have limited access to medicine and health care. In District

12, apothecaries are in charge of health care because people cannot afford doctors (Collins,

The Hunger Games 9). When children are selected for the Hunger Games at the annual reaping ceremony, any child may be picked to participate in the Games, at least theoretically.

However, kids from poor families often have their names entered into the lottery more than once, in exchange for grain and oil (Collins, The Hunger Games 14). For the 74th Hunger

Games, Katniss’s name is entered 20 times and Gale’s 42 times. This shows that for poorer families, the odds are not in their favour. Children from the Capitol do not even have to participate in the Games. A number of parallels with the real world can be drawn here.

Moreover, the participants of the Hunger Games come to recognize modern technology for what it is: a tool for surveillance and oppression. As in Orwell’s 1984, surveillance looms large in Panem. In the first chapter of the first book, Katniss says that “you 30

worry someone might overhear you” when she describes her native district (Collins, The

Hunger Games 6). The Capitol’s presence is so ubiquitous that Katniss even feels like a stranger in her own house, especially when President Snow visits her to interrogate her: “[a]s if this is his home and I’m the uninvited party” (Collins, Catching Fire 21).

During the Hunger Games, the contestants are watched inside the arena, have tracking devices implanted under their skin, and the entire event is televised. In the rebel-led District

13, Katniss encounters more of the same. Each day, everyone has their daily schedule tattooed on their forearm, and the underground structure of the district allows the leaders to keep a close eye on the population (Collins, Mockingjay 20). In real life, revelations by whistle- blowers such as Edward Snowden have shown that a similar dystopian situation is present in our own world. Big corporations such as Google and mobile network operators store conversations and massive amounts of personal information about their users, and governments can access this data (MacAskill and Dance). CCTV cameras are a standard feature in most towns, and unmanned aerial vehicles, more commonly known as drones, can spy on people and even kill them (Greenwald). During the rebellion that led to the Hunger

Games, the Capitol engineered jabberjays, birds “that had the ability to memorize and repeat whole human conversations” (Collins, The Hunger Games 49). Jabberjays spied on rebels and relayed their conversations to the Capitol. In what Katniss calls a “slap in the face of the

Capitol”, the rebels started to feed the birds lies, and the whole project miscarried (Collins,

The Hunger Games 49). Instead of becoming extinct, jabberjays mated with mockingbirds, creating a new species called mockingjays. These birds would eventually become the symbol of the rebels.

31

“A mockinjay.” Screenshot. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. DVD.

In the final book of the trilogy, the power structures in the rebel-led District 13 become reminiscent of the Capitol’s. Increasingly, the Capitol and District 13 seem like two sides of the same coin. Throughout the trilogy, Katniss becomes a cultural icon, thereby presenting a threat to the leadership of President Alma Coin. To counteract this, Coin decides to send Peeta into the Capitol to join the rebel squad that includes Katniss, knowing full well that Peeta is likely to kill Katniss because he was previously captured by the Capitol and brainwashed into hating her (Collins, Mockingjay 292-98).

Moreover, the rebels are not above shooting into a crowd of civilians, killing many innocent people in the process (Collins, Mockingjay 383). Disguised as Capitol forces, rebel soldiers also drop concealed bombs on Capitol children. Thinking these are supplies, the children catch them and die a gruesome death when the bombs detonate (Collins, Mockingjay

390). Katniss’s sister Prim is among those who die in the explosions.

The actor Josh Hutcherson, who plays Peeta in the films, said in an interview that the end of the trilogy is something of a cautionary tale: When the disparity between the 99 per 32

cent and the 1 per cent grows, many things can go awry (Palmer 7). Such rising inequality can turn into a messy affair, according to the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek. In his foreword to Sophie Wahnich’s In Defence of the Terror: Liberty or Death in the French Revolution, he stresses that “for the oppressed, violence is always legitimate (since their very status is the result of the violence they are exposed to), but never necessary (it will always be a matter of strategy whether or not use violence against the enemy)” (Wahnich xxii). Žižek also maintains that freedom is never itself free: “Freedom is not something given, it is regained through a hard struggle in which one should be ready to risk everything” (Wahnich xxv).

Donald Sutherland, who portrays President Snow in the big-screen adaptations of The

Hunger Games, has said that the message of the films is to “mobilize young people to change this dreadful world that older people like me have created,” and that this is why he was so keen on starring in the films in the first place (HitFix). The famous three-finger salute used by

Katniss and the rebels has already been banned in Thailand (Ehrlich).

“Katniss’s three-finger salute as viewed from District 11.” Screenshot. The Hunger Games.

DVD. 33

7. The Cultural Impact and Popularity of The Hunger Games Franchise

Every so often, a book comes along that really hits home with young readers. Many parents have complained about young The Hunger Games aficionados flocking to cinemas to soak up the violence-heavy on-screen action. While they are waiting for another instalment, these youngsters scour the world-wide web for The Hunger Games merchandise, such as

Official Illustrated Movie Companions and limited editions of The Unofficial Hunger Games

Cookbook, stocking up on mockingjay pins, THG-themed licence plate frames and other paraphernalia in the process. Some parents and teachers are themselves not fond of the novels, but are happy that at least they have got some children and teenagers reading again. The cinema adaptations have been bona fide cash cows, with the first three films grossing just shy of 2.4 billion US dollars (Yapching), while the book trilogy has cracked the top 100 best- selling books chart of all time (Rogers).

On the back of this success, many other teen dystopian novels, such as Divergent and

The Giver, have been brought to life on the big screen. Perhaps most tellingly, Jennifer

Lawrence, who plays Katniss Everdeen in the movies, became the most searched-for celebrity on Google in 2014, unseating Kim Kardashian from the top spot (Mullins). The question that arises is: how does such a phenomenon occur?

It certainly does not hurt that the trilogy is a page-turner. The novels are well-written with a smooth flow of words, vivid descriptions and immersive action scenes. However, according to most commentators, the eerie relatability of the dystopian world of Panem is the true deal-maker for most fans of the franchise.

Slate.com writer Dana Stevens believes that young adult “dystopias externalize the turmoil that’s already taking place in adolescent minds, hearts, and bodies.” Katniss despises the spectacle of the Hunger Games, and yet she cannot help but marvel at the various outfits her stylists design for her, spending a great deal of time describing every minute detail of the 34

costumes she is forced to wear. Katniss is a teenager torn between the wish to become popular and a desire to rise above such petty concerns (Stevens). In dystopian novels, Stevens surmises, such teenage anxieties and worries are sublimated and presented in a dignified way.

By the same token, the cut-throat action taking place in the arena mirrors the trials and hardships of daily teenage life in a very in-your-face manner (Stevens).

At the other end of the spectrum, Austrian youth researcher Bernhard Heinzlmaier has delivered a scathing indictment of what he calls “a trilogy of violence.” In his book Verleitung zur Unruhe: Zur Hölle mit den Optimisten (Incitement to Unrest: Optimists Can Go to Hell), he maintains that The Hunger Games books were written with the intention of addressing the consumerist needs of their target audience. Heinzlmaier suggests that this process follows a given pattern: first, a target audience is studied; next, a product is developed that the audience is likely to buy en masse (90). Within this process, authors write with the sole intention of selling as large a volume of books, films and merchandise as possible. Heinzlmaier likens this process of producing well-targeted novels to the production of shampoo or fast food: the author gives the audience only what they have asked for and avoids coming up with original ideas that could actually shake up the reader. He goes on to say that creativity has become an impediment to the marketability of novels in general, citing The Hunger Games as a prime example of this phenomenon (90). Accordingly, the trilogy is the “superficial spectacle” that teenagers expect it to be: It does not produce readers capable of critical thinking, because it is written in a way that merely evokes an emotional response. The audience emotionally over- identifies with the characters, something that Heinzlmaier says drowns out all “critical energies.” He claims that whenever teenagers are asked to describe their impressions of the film, they seem consumed with the love stories, individual fates of the characters and the intense on-screen action, while the dystopian elements in the story are never mentioned, let alone their relevance to present times (91). He blames this development on skills-oriented 35

education, which strives to fill a pupil’s head with information but does not equip him or her with the tools necessary to reflect on this newly-acquired knowledge. Regrettably, he concludes, only critics can decode the socially critical dimensions of the story: As a result, the trilogy merely serves as an opiate that superficially soothes the pain of young adults raised in our cold, achievement-oriented society.

Heinzlmaier is not alone in his criticism. Salon columnist Andrew O’Hehir remarks that The Hunger Games extols the mantra of rampant individualism, calling the franchise

“propaganda disguised as fantasy or science fiction.” In addition, he calls The Hunger Games politically vague, a quality that enables both left- and right-wingers to project their fears and fantasies onto the story. He lambastes the books for falling short of works such as 1984, which accurately portrayed the ills many societies faced at the time. Instead of focusing on the immediate dangers posed by powerful corporations, The Hunger Games would have us believe that citizens ought to remain content as long as they live in a world free of government tyranny. There is an ulterior motive behind this: if tyrannical governments are the only thing we ought to fight or rebel against, we will accept or even welcome a society of isolated individuals ruled by organized corporations (O’Hehir).

O’Hehir goes on to say that over recent decades, feminism has been partly co-opted by this type of corporatist ideology and anti-social individualism. Nowadays, even dystopian novels fail to critique the true dangers our societies face, dangers posed by organized corporate power rather than openly totalitarian governments:

When we convince ourselves that . . . “The Hunger Games” contains any sort

of lesson about resisting authority or speaking truth to power, we have already

accepted their central premise that personal liberty, as defined by

contemporary capitalism, is a precious virtue and that it might someday be

under threat from somebody, somewhere. . . . The model of individualism 36

presented as so noble and so embattled in these oxygen-propaganda movies is

in fact the authoritarian ideology of our time, the instrument used by the one

percent to drive down wages, dominate and distort the political process and

make all attempts at collective action by those below look stodgy,

embarrassing and futile. (O’Hehir)

These sentiments are echoed by the Scottish author and screenwriter Ewan Morrison.

He complains that while 20th century dystopian novels had a progressive slant to them, recent teen dystopias have served as a vehicle for right-wing political ideas. In The Hunger Games, it is Katniss’s individual merit, especially her hunting skills, that makes her stand out from the crowd. A lone wolf like Katniss sets out on a path to annihilate “Big Government,” righting wrongs caused by it (Morrison). While dystopian novels from the 20th century often predicted that global corporations would replace democratic governments and rule over people, the recent crop of dystopian teen novels pillories governments (Morrison). What has caused this seismic shift from “democratic” governments (that have to be protected from greedy corporations) to “oppressive” governments (that need to be fought)? After all, this view of what government represents pretty much sums up the difference between most left-wing and right-wing ideologies. Morrison believes the reason for this shift is that we have all internalized Thatcher’s TINA (there is no alternative) mantra:

This is one of those zeitgeist moments where the subconscious of a culture

emerges into visibility. We might be giving ourselves right-wing messages

because, whether or not we realise it, we have come to accept them as

incontestable. This generation of YA dystopian novels is really our neoliberal

society dreaming its last nightmares about the threat from communism,

socialism and the planned society. We've simplified it to make it a story we

can tell to children and in so doing we've calmed the child inside us. 37

Still, it could be argued that the collective uprising which took place in Panem is an example of progressive action. The same applies to “Katniss’ greatest skill, [which is] not her dexterity with a bow, but her knack for creating community wherever she goes” (Wilson 237).

Suzanne Collins went to great lengths to show that all tributes are unique human beings, so they all bring something unique to the table, including a special skillset and specialized knowledge, but they are all at their best when their effort is collective. In Catching

Fire, Katniss fends off the Capitol’s monkeys with her bow and arrows, Finnick spears them with his trademark trident, and Peeta slices them up with a knife. Even the weaker tributes prove to be more than useful, even indispensable, saving the day when everyone is at their wit’s end. Wiress saves everyone’s hide when she discovers that the arena is shaped like a clock, even though she is in shock and a burden to everyone when she makes that discovery

(Collins, Catching Fire 364). We also find out that Mags, a seemingly useless older woman, was actually Finnick’s mentor. Although pegged as a highly efficient, born and bred killer,

Finnick seems lost without Mags (Collins, Catching Fire 362). Beetee is wheelchair-bound, but without him, the rebels would have failed on multiple occasions.

Laurie Penny notes, in an article published on NewStatesman.com, that The Hunger

Games trilogy serves “as a warning about what happens when entitled nobility oversteps itself.” She cites a NASA-funded paper saying that the world as we know it could come to an end in 15 years, which only confirms the fears of many young adults that their future is becoming increasingly uncertain. Just as Katniss is forced to compete in the Hunger Games, teenagers are tossed into the hostile world of adults and are often left to their own devices

(Penny). They could try to opt out, but they are told that this would be irresponsible. The problem is that acting responsibly nowadays means playing along with a system that is economically unstable, environmentally unsound and politically oppressive (Penny). The sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein is one of many social commentators who believe that the 38

current socio-economic system will soon be replaced by another, possibly worse, system

(Wallerstein). Since The Hunger Games depicts a future that is an exaggerated version of what might actually lie ahead of them, young adults identify with the heroine’s manifold anxieties (Penny). They wonder whether romance can survive in such a future and whether they will have the strength to carry on in the face of uncertainty and adversity. Penny identifies the ways in which dystopian fiction helps these young adults to cope with their situation:

These stories function both as manifesto and pressure release valve. They are

escapist only in that they allow for the possibility of resistance. The message of

The Hunger Games, like the message of The Bone Season, could not be

starker: however much they make you fight one another, you must always

“remember who the real enemy is”.

The strategies crafted by Katniss in the arena, in order for her to survive, are very much the strategies a person must employ in our cut-throat society just to get by. During the

Games, Katniss carefully considers with whom and how to forge alliances, weighs every word before uttering it, and spends much of her time wondering when to smile and who to be friendly with, all in order to improve her lot. She embodies all the dilemmas a person in

Panem and, by extension, our own world, faces. After the first reaping, Katniss and Peeta are advised by Haymitch and the entire prep team to work the “star-crossed lovers” angle. They will need to lead lives of make-believe in order to make it through the Hunger Games, to attract sponsors and to maximize their chances of survival. The pair eventually realize that they will have to keep up the act for as long as they live. Katniss does try to play along with the charade, but she has trouble pretending to be something she is not.

At the end of the day, Katniss’s plans only pan out when she acts in accordance with her conscience, which is something her close advisers Cinna (Collins, The Hunger Games 39

140-41) and Haymitch (Collins, Mockingjay 84) eventually realize. They both acknowledge that her authenticity is something she should be guided by. This comes at a steep price, though. In order to survive in the arena, all tributes need to be marketable and attract sponsors, since sponsors can significantly increase the tributes’ chances of survival. Katniss thus plays a risky game. Being herself and preserving her integrity might cost Katniss her life in the Games, but being fake is something she is just plain bad at, and the reader might feel the same about the real world, too.

According to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, authenticity is one of the highest virtues, especially for individuals living in a complex civilization like ours, which is a civilization that favours conformity over being oneself (cited in Coatney 185). In a primitive society, remaining authentic is no virtue; rather, it is the default state of pre-civilized human innocence

(cited in Coatney 188). Katniss, on the other hand, lives in the complex and unjust society of

Panem but does not try to escape from it. Instead, she takes a stand and goes out of her way to rectify the evils perpetrated by the Capitol. Preserving one’s authenticity in the face of such adversity and standing up for what is right, notes Rousseau, is true virtue (cited in Coatney

189).

This is also the reason why Katniss fails at everything she fakes but brings out the best in herself when she is authentic. She has something of Rousseau’s “noble savage” and the readers admire that about her, because such a way of life and attitude are very hard to maintain in our modern societies. Although sometimes intangible, the atmosphere in the books is evocative of times long past. In her simple world of District 12, Katniss can be herself, and her rustic lifestyle and salt-of-the-earth attitude are a breath of fresh air in the context of our highly complex world.

The German-American psychoanalyst Erich Fromm noted in his 1942 book Fear of

Freedom that a child in the modern world is taught not only to suppress and deny his or her 40

feelings, but also to actively feign positive emotions and put on a smile in order to become more likeable (208). According to Fromm, this is a mechanism that fosters conformism, stifles dissent as well as creativity, and binds people to the status quo:

[E]arly in his education, the child is taught to have feelings that are not at all

"his"; particularly is he taught to like people, to be uncritically friendly to

them, and to smile. What education may not have accomplished is usually

done by social pressure in later life. If you do not smile you are judged lacking

in a "pleasing personality" – and you need to have a pleasing personality if you

want to sell your services, whether as a waitress, a salesman, or a physician. . .

. Friendliness, cheerfulness, and everything that a smile is supposed to

express, become automatic responses which one turns on and off like an

electric switch. To be sure, in many instances the person is aware of merely

making a gesture; in most cases, however, he loses that awareness and thereby

the ability to discriminate between the pseudo feeling and spontaneous

friendliness. (210)

This is what many young adults feel is going on in their lives, even if they cannot really put their finger on it. In a world as complex as ours, make-believe has become too heavy a burden for young people, who yearn for authenticity. They find it in books such as

The Hunger Games.

Another striking fact is that more adults than teenagers actually read teenage dystopian novels (cited in Williams). A Guardian survey found that adults consume young adult fiction for pretty much the same reasons as teenagers: The novels are exciting and well-written, and some adult readers admit that escapism is a key aspect of their enjoyment (Howlett).

However, other factors come into play as well: such books are relatively “clean” in that they do not contain much that might be deemed gratuitous or otherwise offensive, they have an air 41

of youthfulness about them, and many adult readers are simply nostalgic, so they might pick up an older novel that they could have read as a child or a teenager (Howlett). It is therefore not a stretch to surmise that a yearning for authenticity is not exclusive to teenagers.

The various views summarized above may have more in common than one might think. Young adults appear to be drawn to stories in which good and evil are easily discernible. Maggie Stiefvater, an author who has written her own YA trilogy, notes that teenagers would like to stand up for what is right and fight all that is evil. However, in a complex world, simply figuring out what is right and what is wrong is now the lion’s share of the battle (Stiefvater). In The Hunger Games, the Capitol, President Snow and his acolytes are the embodiment of evil, while the downtrodden people of the Districts represent all that is good. Things could not be more clear-cut than that. The confusion of young adults that some authors are quick to criticize seems to be a necessary side-effect of the fact that we are inundated with a constant stream of contradictory information, which results in decision paralysis (Stiefvater).

According to a study published in the International Journal of Communication, the world produced 14.7 exabytes of new information in 2008 – an almost threefold increase over

2003 (Bounie and Gille). In view of this ever-increasing information overload, escapism, opting out of this confusing mess, appears to be an entirely rational choice for youngsters. In a roundabout way, the trilogy does capture the “spirit of our times” after all: a generation trying to cope in a world overwhelmed by the changes that technology has foisted upon it. The

Hunger Games trilogy is a product of an era that yearns for authenticity and clarity. By hearkening back to simpler times, the books try to identify “who the real enemy is.”

42

8. Conclusion

According to Campbell, each historic era needs a new narrative (32). New generations create new myths that reflect the circumstances, technology, fears and hopes of their age. The world is revealed to us through stories that emerge from our time, but, in turn, these stories also help to shape it. The Hunger Games trilogy draws upon classical myths, and is itself written as a myth that channels the fears of its readers. This remarkable quality of tapping into our fears is what makes old stories timeless in the first place.

One of these fears is the danger of a future dystopia, as environmental and economic crises give doomsayers reason for gloom, and afford readers of dystopian fiction an opportunity to reflect on the fundamental questions about the meaning of our existence and the legacy we are bequeathing our successors. Contemporary readers are faced with the prospect that their generation might be one of the last in which humans are not yet genetically altered and robotically enhanced. Robots are slowly but steadily becoming sentient, and chimeras such as the various types of mutt in The Hunger Games no longer seem an impossibility. We are rightly worried that without a new and robust narrative framework to address these issues, humankind will be too overwhelmed to tackle the challenges ahead of us, as we appear to be too entrenched in our old and, in many respects, dysfunctional and obsolete ways.

A paradigm shift of such seismic proportions might require a new global myth to emerge. The successful creation of such a narrative could very well be the single most important challenge this generation faces. Yet, this generation is also one of the most disenfranchised in a long time. A combination of powerlessness on one hand and imminent doom on the other only adds greater urgency to the situation.

Apart from being a modern heroic myth, The Hunger Games trilogy is a revelation of these looming horrors. Through the trials and tribulations of the story’s heroine, the possible 43

challenges that await us pass before the mind’s eye of the reader. As a prime example of contemporary dystopian fiction, The Hunger Games trilogy helps to put things into perspective and offers the readers inspiration in these confusing times. By picking up a novel that treats some of our most pressing issues with appropriate urgency, readers realize that their fears are not unwarranted and that these challenges will, sooner rather than later, have to be faced head-on. The Hunger Games novels are simultaneously both timeless and timely.

44

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