President Donald Trump stated in a nationwide address on Thursday that, starting next fall, two high school-aged students from each state will be selected to compete in a televised competition called the Patriot Games.
Trump said the proposed contest will be a part of the series of events commemorating America’s 250th anniversary. But to many young people, this concept has an all-too-familiar undertone. Some connected the idea to the dystopian world of Suzanne Collins’s critically acclaimed trilogy The Hunger Games, where two children, between the ages of 12 and 18, are chosen to fight to the death in a brutal televised spectacle.
The president did not suggest any violence would be involved. Still, discourse about the news spread quickly on social media because of what the games implied, as many cited the country’s current political sphere.
“Friendly reminder that Panem is meant to represent a future America,” Abbey Bevans, a student studying studio art at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, wrote on an Instagram post about the news.
The four-day event will include one male and one female high school student from each state and territory, the president said, though he did not elaborate on the selection process or the type of competitions taking place.
“In the fall, we will host the first-ever Patriot Games, an unprecedented four-day athletic event featuring the greatest high school athletes — one young man and one young woman from each state and territory,” Trump said.
The Hunger Games takes place in the fictional world of Panem, the post-apocalyptic nation formed from the ruins of what used to be North America. The yearly event, which resulted in 23 slain children every year, serves as a tool to keep the 12 districts pitted against each other in a mutual collective of impoverished desperation, while the Capitol rules in oppressive, luxurious splendor.
“Setting the trilogy in a futuristic North America makes it familiar enough to relate to but just different enough to gain some perspective. When people ask me how far in the future it’s set, I say, ‘It depends on how optimistic you are.'”
Suzanne Collins, 2018
Panem is aptly named after the Latin phrase “panem et circenses,” which translates to “bread and circuses,” reminiscent of the symbol of control through distraction and fear embodied by the Hunger Games. This is what many people pointed to as concerning. They argued it was a method of distraction and entertainment that takes attention away from prominent issues, like the cost of living, unaffordable health care, gun violence, and more.
“Historically, this is a classic political strategy called ‘bread and circuses’ when leaders distract the public with a spectacle instead of addressing real issues,” said Sabah Bari, a master’s student studying health policy at Columbia University. “When politics turn into a spectacle, it usually means attention is being pulled away from policy.”
Collins, the author of the trilogy, referenced the concept of entertainment and intentional distraction herself in an interview in 2018, stating that it “lulls people into relinquishing their political power.”
While many young people shared their concern about this and what the Patriot Games imply, others defended the event online, suggesting that it would promote healthy competition, youth athleticism, and national pride.
“How is this a bad thing,” Instagram user @MartinJgge wrote on an Instagram post. “It’s basically like the Olympics but regionally. Any drive towards promoting physical fitness is good.”
The schedule of events by the presidential administration celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary will be organized by “Freedom 250,” a national, non-partisan organization, according to its website. The organization also wrote that the Patriot Games will “competitors will light the torch for a new generation of Americans.”
Although the date for the proposed Patriot Games has not yet been announced, the administration also plans on hosting a parade honoring fallen soldiers, a “Birthday Fireworks Celebration” on the National Mall, a UFC fight on the White House’s South Lawn, and others between June 25 and July 10.
“While we’re focused on extravegant announcements, the things that actually affect people’s lives get ignored,” Bari said. “The show is loud but the policy decisions happen quietly.”