“The Hunger Games” trilogy revolved around betrayal, found family, and corruption.
In the early 2000s, Suzanne Collins skyrocketed to success as her books rose to fame, and all three dystopian novels, loved by millions, were developed into blockbuster films.
The movies, released in the 2010s, brushed on the same topics as the books, combining love with notes of terror and hope with a dance of politics and rebellion.
However, the visual elements of the films also brought illustrative violence to the table, an already prominent theme in the trilogy. With blood splattered across the camera lenses, audiences were reintroduced to the horrors of the Hunger Games and the arena. But this time, in a whole new light.
In 2020, Collins came out with a new novel to add to her masterpiece of a series, including a prequel to the story. “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” covered President Coriolanus Snow’s tragic love story with a girl from District 12, Lucy Gray Baird. Three years later, the movie came out to pair with the prequel, and corpses once again piled up for all to see.
Collins wrote the original trilogy as a reminder and warning against current propaganda and media. She got the original idea for “The Hunger Games” flipping through channels: coverage on the War on Terror and a reality TV show, trash for the brain.
Combine these two levels of entertainment, along with some government corruption, and the Hunger Games comes to life.
The movies were never supposed to happen.
The movies, the pixels that capture death and blood and gore, a fascination for so many audiences across the world, destroyed Collins’ entire message: our fascination with drama and violence will be the end of humanity as we know it.
In early 2025, “Sunrise on the Reaping” came out, the second prequel to the original series. The story covers Haymitch’s games, a notable mentor and friend to Katniss and Peeta.
As promised, Collins paired death with pleasure and twisted Haymitch’s life into one of misery and gut–wrenching loss. The book was a reminder, a warning, for the current generation that rules and roams the earth.
The government is rarely your friend, no matter what the news networks and social media influencers tell you. President Snow is just as disgusting and cruel as his debut in the first novel.
With a new movie on the rise, the entertainment industry has the golden opportunity to wreck yet another book, covering the themes of love and loss with blood and war.
Social media has also taken over the advertisement for this movie, the anticipation matching the excitement of millions.
During summer, many started gushing over casting announcements: Joseph Zada as Haymitch and darling Elle Fanning as Effie Trinket. And while these actors are amazing at what they do, I couldn’t help but compare our excitement to the eagerness and delirium of the Capitol citizens, as if the actors are at their own personal reaping.
Just like the Capitol citizens, we cannot wait to watch people die on the silver screen.
We lust over violence. And whether it be a biological urge or a societal phenomenon, Collins didn’t write these books to be a cultural eyesore.
Our government is in a constant power struggle. The deception and corruption are mixing to make a profound cocktail of societal collapse and destruction.
We are not new to dystopias. They are broadcast constantly, from Africa to Washington, D.C.. But, in light of the new movie, coming out next year in November, it is imperative to separate ourselves from the mindset of the fictional Capitol citizens of Panem.