For what seems like the past year, everybody has been talking about The Hunger Games: The Girl on Fire, Josh Hutcherson and the crazy spectacle of the games themselves. But why have these ten-year-old books and movies stayed so popular over the years, and why does everyone seem to be talking about them again?
First and foremost, it’s just a really good series. The concept is unique and incredibly entertaining (I could talk for hours about how good the arena is for Catching Fire), which means you could read or watch the series over and over again and never get bored. The books and movies were also released in accordance with other dystopian series like Divergent and The Maze Runner, which cemented them as a part of sci-fi/dystopian culture, a moment in history. You can’t bring up one of them without talking about the others.
The Hunger Games movies are also considered a staple of our generation because they are faithful adaptations of the books. Often, movie adaptations will create almost a new plot entirely or take out fan-favorite scenes just to distinguish themselves from the original material to fit the format of a movie. So, when a franchise takes a book’s story and not only adapts it well but accentuates its theatricality, everybody remembers it. I consistently say that The Hunger Games series is the best book-to-movie adaptation, but they are also all incredible stories on their own. They pull in multiple demographics that can enjoy the tribulations together. Classic tropes like the love triangle between Katniss, Gale and Peeta have allowed for continuous conversations around the characters. (Sidenote, if you are Team Gale, I simply don’t believe you). Just don’t. But anyway, these tropes add relatability to the characters that may be hard to get otherwise because of their environment. Even so, Suzanne Collins was able to successfully pack the story with a lot of real-world issues, prompting relevant conversations as we see our own society mirror the ongoings of Panem.
I know my friends and I really got into The Hunger Games again when all the movies became available to stream on Netflix exclusively for the month of March. It was a way to celebrate the eleven-year anniversary of the first The Hunger Games movie’s release but definitely was also used as a way to build up hype for the new movie. Getting to rewatch the heart-pumping finale of the berries scene or the ever-iconic “If it weren’t for the baby” moment were definitely highlights of that month. My friend and I would show each other edits of the movies and the cast and even finally read Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes (the prequel book) together because we rewatched the original movies.
Speaking of the prequel, the Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes movie comes out in just a couple of weeks on November 17. With a run time of 2 hours and 45 minutes, you can be sure that they will do the books justice. The movie stars popular actors like Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman and Hunter Schafer, as well as newcomer Tom Blyth playing main character Coriolanus Snow. There hasn’t been a huge press tour for us to truly get to know the cast and their take on the characters, but trailers and short clips have been released to tide viewers over until November.
This prequel is a huge part of why The Hunger Games franchise has had a resurgence lately. Making a prequel in general is a great way to continue the legacy and entertainment power of a piece of media. I believe that Suzanne Collins allowed for the perfect amount of time to pass before releasing the prequel; the series was still relevant, and the original demographic has not aged too much that they wouldn’t be interested in Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes. The creators have included great callbacks to the previous movies like the main character, Lucy Gray, imitating (or I guess creating?) Katniss’ iconic bow to the Gamemakers from the first movie, or Lucky Flickerman’s hairstyle and wardrobe emulating what his descendent Caesar Flickerman wears throughout the series. I’m interested to see how they make the story flow and be easily accessible to audiences who might not have read the book. Only a small chunk of the book is actually the games, but that was often the most dramatic and engaging part of the past movies for me. No matter what, you will find me sat for the movie during Thanksgiving Break, Mockingjay pin and all. And if these past Hunger Games-filled years are any indication, this franchise is not going away any time soon. Okay, it’s time to watch Catching Fire again!