The Hunger Games: The Real World Impact

“While you live, the revolution lives.” Suzanne Collins

Last week, like many Americans, I joined the masses of people who were sitting in the movie theater about to see the movie of the year: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. I had on my mockingjay necklace (yes, I’m that cool) but still tried to stem my enthusiasm. I’m a grown woman after all. I had read the books years ago, then refreshed my memory by reading them before I saw the movie. (It’s a mistake, by the way, to finish the book one day and watch the movie the next. You will see every inconsistency.) As the movie began, and I watched death, after death, after death something didn’t set right with me. My excitement faded as I began to think. These are kids….killing kids. Why has a movie/book series about kids killing kids reached such popular heights? What kind of society goes on letting their children be murdered for seventy-five years by the government without rebelling? Could this happen in America? Is it already happening?

These books are immensely popular because despite the events being far removed from our culture, the themes are entirely relevant ones that resonant with all young people, and most adults. I will admit that in the last year I have probably read more young adult fiction than adult fiction. The reason, in most cases, is that young adult fiction is about overcoming issues that adults face too-racism, classism, strength, truth, the fickleness of fame, the ultimate triumph of good-and that’s just the Harry Potter series. The themes of The Hunger Games resonate with us because they are stories that have us rooting for the underdog who wins against insurmountable odds. They are a love story, not one where love is based on sex, but one based on an actual relationship (albeit, one frought with danger and adrenaline). When someone small overcomes someone bigger than we can imagine, that gives us hope in our own lives to overcome our giants of depression, addiction, anger, grief, or whatever your “President Snow” may be. So despite the morbid plot that involves the murder of dozens of teenagers, the story gives us a hope of overcoming.

The big question is: is this happening in America? Well, on the surface, no. Of course not. Our country is not divided into impenetrable sectors where our jobs are based on our geographic location only. Our government does not randomly select 24 teenagers every year to fight to the death in gladiator style entertainment. We are free. On a smaller scale though, The Hunger Games are real. In the book series, a small percentage of people own all of the country’s wealth. In America, 80% of our population controls only 7% of our country’s wealth.  One out of every six Americans still goes hungry. The gap keeps widening between the upper and lower classes and economist have projected the dissolution of the middle class if our economy continues the way it is. In a free market society, competition and labor unions drive up wages. More wages, in turn, can mean better business for retailers, like Peeta’s family. Competition, although good sometimes, can also lead to monopolies like the ones forced in Panem. Every district was divided into the forced labor of one trade, thereby eliminating competition . Had the government allowed labor laws or labor unions, Katniss’s father may have survived the mines were he was employed. Today, only 6% of Americans have jobs that are protected by unions.

I feel like too often we are distracted by things that don’t matter. We are distracted by the flashy lights, the dazzling smiles, and the crazy fashion choices, just like the people in the Capitol. For example, on the same day Miley Cyrus preformed her fiasco twerking performance with Robin Thicke, thousands of Syrian civilians were murdered by their own government in a chemical attack. Do you remember which event got more news coverage? I do. Just before the release of Catching Fire, the movie’s star Jennifer Lawrence got her hair cut in a pixie style. It was reported on CNN. In an interview with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show, Jennifer herself said that it was “the most bizarre thing that has ever happened” to her. Distraction is a choice, though. You can chose to see through the distractions, the glamour, the fluff, the things that don’t matter and find what does matter. I’ll give you a hint: people are what matter.

My final challenge to you is be a Peeta. Be a person who shows strength by being kind and generous even when it isn’t popular. Be a Gale. Find your cause and raise awareness for it. Don’t be afraid to let your beliefs call you to action. Be a Katniss and volunteer. Champion those who don’t have a voice and give them one. Don’t be intimidated by the big numbers of the world's overwhelming problems. The odds may never seem to be in your favor, but fight for what’s right anyway. President Snow has shown us that government intervention is not the answer. Power corrupts. If change is going to happen, it’s going to happen through us. Person to person. In the words of Margret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; for indeed, that’s all that ever has.” So raise your three-fingered salute with me toward the hungry, the hurting, and the enslaved and may the odds be ever in your favor.