"The Hunger Games" movie had a multimillion-dollar weekend opening and
seems destined to be the most successful film of the year. Which is remarkable because it's a political
movie set in a not-too-distant America and expresses themes that are familiar
and disturbing.
"The Hunger Games" was published in 2008, the first book of a trilogy
written by Suzanne Collins. It imagines
a post-apocalyptic America, "Panem," with an authoritarian central government
set in "The Capitol." Inhabitants of the
Capitol live a life of luxury while the rest of the citizens of Panem live in
twelve slave colonies, "Districts," scattered across North America. Once a year the Capitol televises a great
spectacle where two teenagers are selected by lottery from each district, brought
to the Capitol, trained and groomed, and then transported to an arena for a
battle where only one teenager can survive -- the games' slogan is, "May the
odds be ever in your favor."
"The Hunger Games" heroine is sixteen-year-old Katniss
Everdeen who represents District 12. She
supplements her family's diet by (illegal) bow hunting. Her archery talents protect her when the
games begin.
"The Hunger Games" novel was targeted for young-adult
readers -- there's violence but no sex -- and then crossed over to a larger
audience. The "Hunger Games" movie
grossed more than $155 million in its first weekend: 61 percent of moviegoers
were women and 56 percent of ticketholders were over 25.
Unlike other recent blockbuster movies -- "Harry Potter,"
"The Dark Knight," and "Spiderman" -- "The Hunger Games" is set in a
recognizable America and expresses themes from the contemporary zeitgeist.
The first is that things aren't going well. "The Hunger Games" is part of a wave of
dystopian novels -- other examples are "Pure" and "Divergent" -- that are favorites
with young-adult readers. The books
assume an America that has been ravaged by nuclear war or an environmental
calamity. This builds upon fear that the
US is headed in the wrong direction -- in the most recent Gallup Poll 72 percent of respondents felt this way.
The second theme is that the central government cannot be
trusted. In "The Hunger Games," President
Coriolanus Snow, an autocrat, governs the Capitol, which controls the twelve districts
by means of a ruthless police force. In
addition to forced-labor camps, Panem utilizes extensive electronic
surveillance, and during the period of the games, compulsory television
viewing. This reflects the belief the US
government cannot be trusted. Those on
the right believe the Federal government has been usurped by "socialists" and gotten
too big. Those on the left believe the
Federal government has been bought by plutocrats and isn't doing anything to
protect workers. Many Americans believe
there is too much government intrusion into our private lives.
The third "Hunger Games" theme is that government no longer
works for all the people. There's a small
group that lives a life of privilege while most people struggle to fend off
starvation. Collins doesn't use the
terms 1 percent and 99 percent, but it's clear that those in the Capitol are
members of the 1 percent and everyone in the Panem districts is part of the 99
percent.
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