Why The Hunger Games Hasn’t Worked (Yet)

Last spring I wrote a review about Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games. After reading Catching Fire and Mockingjay and watching the movie, I continue to appreciate Collins’s artful methods of communicating her stance against violence, corruption, and oppression. Still, I don’t think many fans of The Hunger Games realize what Collins is trying to say.

Around the time the movie came out, The Hunger Games-themed merchandise became hugely popular. Mockingjay pins became a fashion statement, along with replicas of Katniss’s hunting jacket and arena costume. If you’ve read Catching Fire, this should sound familiar: It’s the same way the Capitol responded after Katniss’s victory in the arena.

Does this creep you out? It should.

The point of view that Collins uses throughout the series pulls readers into Katniss’s world to create empathy for Katniss. The connection that Collins builds between her readers and her main character is so strong that, in a sense, the readers become Katniss. This helps the readers sympathize with the oppressed and abused characters that populate the story.

But instead of wanting to become champions of justice, fans of The Hunger Games get wrapped up in the excitement of the games and the love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. Instead of getting inspired to help starving and mistreated people in our own country and around the world, fans are intrigued by the false “star-crossed lovers” theme—just like the citizens of the Capitol.

I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and it bothers me. After all, writers have been using fiction to expose societal flaws for hundreds of years. So…why isn’t it working now? Is fiction becoming less effective than it used to be?

I could argue that readers aren’t taking The Hunger Games seriously because our society can’t take anything seriously anymore, but I’m not going to go that far. There are always difficult things going on in daily life, not to mention on a national and global level. Sometimes life gets so troublesome that you need to lighten up a little just to stay sane.

So what is the problem? Well, I can’t claim that I’ve figured it out, but here are a couple factors to consider.

The Movie

Ok, I know what you’re thinking, but I am NOT going into that cliché books-are-better-than-movies spiel. I like watching movie adaptations of books, if only to see how other people interpret books and use their creativity to bring them to life. Granted, film adaptations can be done poorly, but I think it’s safe to say that The Hunger Games was a good one.

However, the movie’s point of view is completely different from the book, and I think that damages the fans’ perceptions of the story. The film creates emotional distance between viewers and Katniss by placing the audience in the role of Capitol viewers, at least during the arena scenes. Caesar Flickerman and Claudius Templesmith periodically interrupt the games with commentary and explanations, making the viewers feel like they’re watching one of the Capitol’s mandatory broadcasts.

On one hand, the movie’s shift in point of view cleverly solves the problem of translating a first-person novel into a film. Removing the viewer from Katniss’s head also allows the film to portray other perspectives, such as members of other districts during the games and Seneca Crane’s interactions with President Snow. At the same time, it fails to build a strong level of empathy with Katniss, which, in the books, is essential to understanding how the Capitol oppresses the districts and how the young heroine subverts its power.

Perhaps this is why many fans just don’t get the significance of The Hunger Games. From my observations of other fans, the film affects the fandom’s perspective on the story about as much as the books do.

The movie isn’t hopeless, though, especially since the entire trilogy hasn’t been made into movies yet. It’ll be interesting to see how the filmmakers portray Catching Fire, which will be in theaters this fall. If they spend enough time depicting the Capitol’s oppression of the people in the districts while steering away from creating angst over the whole love triangle thing, perhaps they can preserve Collins’s message.

The Fandom

This brings me to another factor: the Hunger Games fandom.

**Side note: for those of you who don’t already know, a fandom is basically a kingdom of the fans of a particular book, movie, or TV show. They congregate on the internet to talk about their obsession, to laugh over related internet memes, and to cry together over dead favorite characters.**

Like I said earlier, the film heavily influences the fandom. However, I think the biggest problem is the fandom’s tendency to become too attached to characters.

Let me personalize this so I don’t sound like I’m bashing the idea of fandoms. I’m a bit of a fangirl myself. I get really attached to characters I like: I just want to hug them and squish them and call them my own. Sometimes I love these characters to the point that I feel like I know them better than the author does. I’ll change the story in my head just to benefit them. Confession: I skipped over the death scene of one character while I was reading Mockingjay, and I pretended it didn’t happen.

Is this wrong? Of course not. The relatability of fictional characters is the sign of a good author. However, if this is all you think about when you’re reading, you might be in trouble.

Sometimes you need to detach yourself from a character and think about what the character represents and why the author placed him or her in the story. What role does the character’s backstory play in his or her life, and why do you think the author chose that backstory? Does the author approve or disapprove of the character, and why? What idea does he or she represent?

The main pillar of the English major is that every good author makes specific choices to communicate a particular meaning. If you don’t read carefully, you can miss the whole point of what the author is trying to say—which is what I think has happened with The Hunger Games.

And, actually, it’s dangerous not to think about what you read. Careless readers can miss valuable lessons, or worse, mindlessly accept harmful ideology. A lot of people read carelessly, which is why propaganda is so effective.

So…are you thinking about what you’re reading? It’s a question I try to ask myself routinely, because if I’m not paying attention, the results could be unfortunate.

And finally, a reminder

Don’t forget that this Thursday, August 1, I’m planning a question-and-answer post, featuring questions from YOU! (If you missed my announcement, you can read it at the end of my last post.)

Feel free to ask about my life, college experiences, thoughts on literature, or just opinions on whatever you’d like to hear about—or you could just ask silly questions, because I like those, too. I’m looking forward to hearing from you, my fantastic readers. Just post your questions as a comment on this post, or email them to me at marginalia.jo@gmail.com

Until Thursday, then, and may the odds be ever in your favor!