Twenty and thirty-year-olds everywhere go crazy as The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping releases in just under two weeks, and we get to see pain, death, and destruction be forced upon our favourite old man, Haymitch Abernathy! Mckenna Grace has been shining on the red carpet each night with references back to iconic moments from the original movies, Whitney Peak has been breathtaking and iconic as ever, and weâve even had JLaw and JHutch cameo confirmations!
When Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes came out in 2023, I saw it in Liverpool with my Hunger Games-obsessed best friend, and I had a great time. Well, I cried, and it was awful, but in the way one would expect from a THG movie⊠I LOVE Rachel Zegler and think she absolutely excelled in the role, AND I still listen to Oliviaâs version of You Canât Catch Me Now when I need a moment. So, to get to experience that all again is super fun!
I do wonder, however, how the timing of this new release and the political climate we find ourselves in now will influence how we consume it and the reactions to it. The Hunger Games came out in 2012, coinciding with the re-election of Obama over the republican Mitt Romney, but the economy was still suffering from the financial crash, and economic anxiety was at an all-time high. Entering a post âwar on terrorâ era, the general public sentiment shifted away from faith in traditional institutions and towards grassroots activism, rebellion, and civil movements, which were on the rise in both frequency and visibility.
For a lot of the privileged West, outlooks began to lighten and a period of hope was entered. The release of The Hunger Games sparked a new appreciation for the genre of teen dystopia, one that utilised speculative fiction and affective motifs centred around community, strength, and anti-establishmentarianism. When the average young person could go to the cinema and see a teenage girl from a systemically impoverished and marginalised community rise up and fight against the institutions and the powers inside of them, they felt inspired.
Katniss especially was the perfect heroine because she was unlikely. She didnât grow up in the rebellion; she didnât even get selected as tribute. But her sister did, and it was pure love that drove her throughout all four movies (and the books of course). Love for family, friends, her town, her environment- that is something that the audience can understand and project themselves onto, creating an even more intimate bond with the idea of revolution.
Catching Fire then came out in 2013, was even better than the first movie, and showed the actual beginning of the end of The Capitol. Where the first movie showed us how, with the help of our beloved Haymitch, Effie, and Cinna, revolution begins in whispers, Catching Fire proved that whispers are built by something: an underground network of revolutionaries. Heavensbee, Finnick, Joanna, Beetee and Wiress- the list goes on of people who are willing to fight, and the [US] public needed that in 2012, in the same way they need that today in 2026.
The US has just experienced a âBlue Sweepâ in the midterm elections, where states like Texas even turned blue. The democratic sweep has split Trumpâs government, and the Democrats now hold the power to block his legislative moves and hold power over the Supreme Court and other judicial agencies. Itâs still dire, of course, but people are feeling those similar sparks that they did in 2012. The protests following the ICE murders were a visceral example of people coming together against the establishment.
However, when TBOSBAS came out in 2023, I think the general population were still in a state of post-COVID fatigue and potential ignorance to a bigger cultural shift that was inevitably approaching. Therefore, the movie, as inspiring and as brilliant as it was, didnât hit at the optimum cultural moment; therefore, the affective drive these Hunger Games movies can have was limited.
Where I think SOTR may differ is that we have seen real mobilisation and we are reaching a point of no return that the average person can understand and comprehend. [Slight spoilers, though the book has been out for over a year] Although Haymitchâs story differs to Katnissâ in the sense that he doesnât outright bring the establishment down, we see how one can be hurt and burned so many times and still have the desire to fight. We learn how a revolutionist is born, and we can visually comprehend the impacts that can have on a person. Haymitch is a character we already know and love, so I think that will also drive a more affective relationship to him and his story, making the film more culturally mobilising.
We have seen real change enacted in the past few weeks, and we are allowed to let that inspire us. We should let that mobilise change and real action, and if it takes a dystopian teen movie to get you there, then so be it. Change can be small and change can be big, what matters is the change that happens.
Teen media can still drive a generation of people who will stand up to the institution and fight for the cause. Iâm not calling The Hunger Games perfect, but as a society we have a tendency to write off things considered for teenagers, especially teenage girls. Thatâs where we fall, when we donât acknowledge the power of those coming next.
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping comes out on the 20th of November. Book your tickets early, and when youâre watching it, remember why!