Oh, 2012. A time in every teenage girl’s life that will forever be remembered by side braids, archery lessons, and tree climbing. If you haven’t caught on by now, I’m talking about the one and only The Hunger Games series that took the YA dystopian genre by storm and became an instant classic. As an avid Hunger Games fangirl, you can imagine my excitement when the first #everlark TikTok popped up on my “For You” page and even more when they just kept coming. Naturally, I succumbed to my preteen obsession and started watching video after video, ranging from character analyses to the history of Panem. And while I’m gladly falling down this Hunger Games rabbit hole, I can’t help but wonder why everyone else is too — and if there’s a deeper meaning behind it.
THE NOSTALGIA OF IT ALL
As you can tell by the way I started this article, I am no stranger to reminiscing or romanticizing my past, especially my childhood. It’s no secret that we all wish we could go back to our younger years and sometimes live life as a kid. We had less responsibilities, less worries, and honestly, less knowledge about how complicated and unpredictable life truly is. The most obvious example of this is of course, the COVID-19 pandemic. Ever since then, we refer to periods of our lives as “pre-covid” or “post-covid,” because of the drastic impact it had on our lives. The pandemic single-handedly changed everyone’s unique perspective on life, and as much as we can change the past, sometimes it’s fun to imagine a world without it. A more peaceful, simple world, much like the world we saw through our youthful eyes.
Therefore, a big factor in the resurgence of the Hunger Games craze is frankly that it takes us back to simpler times. And of course, there’s nothing wrong with reminiscing and fantasizing about the past. Rewatching old shows or movies that were popular at that time helps us reconnect with our inner child, which is something that you can never do enough of.
THE REALITY OF DYSTOPIA
Bear with me while I get dark for a second — but another big reason for the films’ resurgence is the question of how far-fetched it truly is from our current reality. Don’t worry, I’m not implying that the government will eventually reap us and force us to annually fight to the death, but some aspects of The Hunger Games government (aka the Capitol) have some disturbing similarities to ours.
Starting off with the history of Panem, there are the portrayals of climate disasters and a totalitarian society. In The Hunger Games, Panem is stated to be the only surviving land on Earth after a global climate disaster. The establishment of the republic was also started as a totalitarian state with an unequal distribution of power. As we are all aware, climate change is a big problem in our society that has been scientifically proven to have massive effects on future civilization; which makes the portrayal of a future climate disaster completely plausible and honestly terrifying. Other than this, the establishment of a totalitarian government with the rise of rebellions is heavily reminiscent of human history as a whole. The number of wars, revolutions, and unequal societies that have existed throughout history (and currently are) are also worrying since we know what society is capable of and how unpredictable it is.
Moving on to the citizens of Panem, there has been recent discourse on how they are eerily similar to our current “elite society.” During my repeated scrolling through The Hunger Games rabbit hole, I came across a video that talked about how celebrities reminded the user of the Capitol citizens.
In the video she says: “This is The Hunger Games,” referring to the Schiaparelli fashion show in which celebrities dressed very extravagantly and outlandishly. She sarcastically says that there’s no way the rich and elite are showing off their wealth while the common people are pitted against each other. I’ll admit, when I first saw the outfits I was taken aback just because of how in-your-face they are. However, after looking at it from a dystopian perspective, it is strange that wealthy, elite people constantly dress up and show off their wealth, especially since there really is no reason to prove it. It all comes off a tad unsettling and enforces the narrative that celebrities are out of touch and tone-deaf.
UPCOMING PREQUEL FILM
On a more optimistic note, there’s another installment to The Hunger Games universe! On May 19, 2020, Suzanne Collins released the prequel to The Hunger Games series: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The novel takes place in the beginning stages of the Hunger Games and it follows a young Coriolanus Snow (aka President Snow). The film adaptation comes out in theaters on November 17, 2023, and it features some familiar faces such as Hunter Schafer, Rachel Zegler, and Viola Davis, among many other stars.
With the news about the upcoming film, The Hunger Games resurgence makes perfect sense from a marketing perspective. Think about it: they placed the entire movie series on Netflix (sadly only for the month of March) and got the audience interested in it again, just to release another movie in a few months. Genius, really. In fact, I would gladly fall for a marketing ploy if it means I get to indulge in the cinematic masterpiece that is The Hunger Games series and one that I hope The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes becomes!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Even though The Hunger Games series was released more than 10 years ago, it clearly still holds cultural relevance in today’s society. Whether you reread the books or rewatch the movies seeking comfort, social commentary, or a riveting story (or all three), the series has so much to offer. Its resurgence only proves how much of an impact literature and media have on the world, and it also goes to show how much we should be paying attention to it. Personally, I will gladly keep rewatching my YouTube videos and TikToks about the series to kill time until November 17th!