Panem Today. Panem Tomorrow. Panem Forever.

Suzanne Collin's masterful Hunger Games trilogy has sparked debate ever since its conception in 2008. After gaining serious momentum within the literature community, the trilogy was adapted to monumentally successful blockbuster films. 

 The series appeals to a wide demographic. Rich in action, romance, and suspense and aligning perfectly with the ever popular "apocalyptic" or "dystopia" genre, the film franchise has found profit in many beyond the book fandom. 

Collin's work is a truly powerful piece of literature that holds meaning far deeper than Gary Ross or Francis Lawrence would have been able to capture and convey through in their films.; nor is it necessarily the platform to elevate these components. Luckily, due heavily to Collins working closely with the film franchise, a number of her deeper themes 

translated into the film medium furthering her impact. 

The Hunger Games trilogy is a deeply political series full of allusions to history like Nazi Germany, the depravity and severe imbalance of class division, and serves ultimately as a glaring commentary on our modern society. 

Upon the series initially gaining momentum in both the literature community and within larger culture, the complaint of brutality within the work surfaced. People were shocked at the audacity and abhorrence of the Capitol as they forced the district's children into the arena to play their sick game. However, how different is the Games from what we watch everyday within our society as a means of entertainment? From MMA fighting to reality television to the innumerable horror films produced each year, we are no better than the citizens of Panem. 

Within his article "'The Hunger Games:' A Commentary on Society", Alexander Vassiliadis states, "The Hunger Games take the concept of 'reality TV' and successfully blows it up in society's face... What is Collins trying to tell us? Are we blind to the very fact that our entertainment today is elevating... Shows like Fear Factor and Ninja Warrior are only primitive examples of violent, revolting, and action-based reality TV. People need to take a step back and realize that if these types of exaggerated media were to evolve into something bigger and a bit more ludicrous -- based on historical data showing the magnitude of violence in films and video games today -- who says that a reality TV show in which kids come together and fight to the death is really out of modern-day society's reach?" Collins sketches the horror of these games with true intentionality and seeks to hold a mirror to the grimace of society as we thoughtlessly consume media with equal insensitivity and brutality.

The franchise pulls slightly on the threads of history Collins incorporates within her texts by using propaganda images as advertisements for the upcoming installments of the series. 

Within the books, the elements of history are obviously much more clearly pronounced. This layer of political history is just another of the many deeper pieces of Suzanne Collin's work. 


Within our text, Matthew Leggatt also evaluates some of the more substantial components that Collins incorporates. In discussing the first film, he states, "The economic consciousness of the film reflects only one element of today's concerns. This film also deals with over-indulgence, fascism, state propaganda, and the manipulation of the work force primarily through fear and surveillance" (331). Leggatt continues to say, "These are certainly not films that celebrate the end. Rather their purpose is to mourn the loss of the future. Why do we watch them? Perhaps to find something that lies outside the system of capital...or maybe we watch in order to remind ourselves of the bleakness of the future" (332). However, in the case of The Hunger Games, I would argue our attraction steps from an unconscious connection to the culture of Panem. Within social science, it has been proven individuals are generally more attracted to other people and materials that are seemingly similar. And while we, of course, would prefer to identify with our incredible protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, we see ourselves more clearly in the faces of the Capitol citizens. 

Leggatt ponders throughout the chapter what makes this apocalyptic and dystopian genre so popular within our culture. While he believes it to be a direct result of our obsession with the end of the world, I would say it stems more from our culture's preoccupation with excess and over stimulation, much like the Capitol. In her impactful trilogy, Suzanne Collins creates a dystopian society that's a little too close for comfort when we break it down. She confronts the unsettling truth of how desensitized our culture has become, and ultimately conveys a powerful and sobering message through an engaging and accessible platform; an unfortunate necessity within our Capitol-istic culture.