This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UWindsor chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

The Hunger Games is a franchise that needs no introduction. With over 100 million copies sold in 55 different languages, it’s safe to say that it is a global phenomenon. When the first Hunger Games book was released back in 2008, I had yet to turn 3 years old. So it wasn’t until middle school, after all the books and their movie adaptations were released, that I first saw The Hunger Games. After watching the first movie in school, I was hooked. Because something about these books felt different than the other ones I was reading. They felt more adult, and more meaningful than other book series. Other dystopian series like Divergent or The Maze Runner did not have the same depth as The Hunger Games. I believe a large part of that is due to the author. Suzanne Collins wrote The Hunger Games because she had something to say, a message she needed to tell the world. And as a result, her books are still praised nearly two decades later. And don’t worry, I will only be covering the story from the original three books in this article, so if you have yet to read the latest novel, Sunrise on the Reaping, you will receive no spoilers here!

As the story goes, Collins was inspired to write The Hunger Games after flipping between TV channels. On some were mindless reality TV programs. On others were live coverage of the Iraq war. The juxtaposition of the two opposite ends of reality coming together felt deeply unsettling to Collins, and thus began the birth of a modern classic. Collins did not set out to write a dystopian trilogy for young adults; she aimed to criticize our desensitization to violence and the use of entertainment to ignore the harsh realities of the world. Because I was too young to read the books when they debuted, my exposure to The Hunger Games came from hearing that they were overly violent and graphic and not at all appropriate for children. Although I can understand why someone may believe that, I vehemently disagree with that message. On the contrary, I think middle school-aged children should be encouraged to read these books. They approach topics like violence and the media in a way that is easy for children of that age to understand, while being just graphic enough to impose upon them the importance of the message. The books are not pro-violence in any way, shape, or form. They can be hard to read at times, but I think that is the point. In a world where violence is inescapable, it is important to learn about it in a way that promotes empathy and critical thinking, not mindless consumption.

One of the most thought-provoking aspects of The Hunger Games is its approach to the just war theory. The just war theory is a philosophical theory that examines whether war can ever be justified, and if so when? Katniss is a character who repeatedly struggles with the ethics of violence. Her love triangle between Gale and Peeta can be seen as a metaphor of this struggle of ethics. Peeta is against violence in any form, wanting to stay peaceful and empathetic, no matter what he goes through. His character can be summed up by the conversation he has with Katniss the night before the 74th Hunger Games, when he tells her that he doesn’t want the games to change him. In contrast, Gale is willing to do whatever it takes to fight back. He never questions his own beliefs, nor does he have any empathy for the Capitol citizens. There is no correct answer to the just war theory, nor is there one in the book. Although Katniss ultimately ends up choosing Peeta, you could argue that she is only able to do so because of Gale’s actions. When Gale decides to bomb the children, he is showing us that he believes that the end justifies the means; he believes that there can be a just war. While on the surface, his actions are morally deplorable, it is ultimately what allows the rebels to break through and seize the Capitol. This back and forth between what is just and what is done is what makes The Hunger Games so interesting to read. I personally have always despised Gale, especially after Mockingjay, but the books would not be the same without him. Ultimately, I believe that the book’s ending serves as a warning to others. Gale’s actions were desperate due to the circumstances they were in, and if we are not careful, we may find ourselves in those same circumstances. Although we may believe that there is no justification for violence or war, desperate people will do desperate things to ascertain their own freedom.

Suzanne Collins is a master at taking complex moral debates and shaping them in a way that is accessible to all. It is easy for a child as young as 11 or 12 to pick up on the themes of violence as entertainment and government propaganda in The Hunger Games. This trust she has in her audience is part of why these books are able to hold up all these years later. She trusts that the audience will dig deeper into her words to analyze the hidden themes and subtle messages stored within. In turn, the audience is able to trust that there are deeper messages and that everything is written for a reason. This trust between author and audience is difficult to create and can only happen when both parties are fully invested in the story. The author must trust their audience to put in the work and analyze what they have written, and the audience must be willing to sit through the whole story and let themselves disagree with the characters at times. With the growing popularity of short-form content, I worry that this level of dedication and analysis will eventually disappear. Even in 2008, when social media was in its early stages, it reduced the books to “Team Gale vs. Team Peeta” and ignored the actual messages of the stories. Now, people seem even less willing to engage in critical conversations about media. Within five minutes of scrolling any social media platform, I am met with comments saying “it’s not that deep” or people begging others to “just have fun” instead of overanalyzing. I fear that this is causing media to become less profound. Once people stop looking for deeper themes, authors stop writing about them. These fears were exacerbated when I read a headline this week saying that Netflix is requiring scripts to explain their plots out loud 2-3 times per movie, to ensure that everyone understands.

The Hunger Games remains one of my favourite book/movie series, for so many reasons. I’m sure I could write three more pages about the importance of this book having a female main character, or the themes of anti-consumerism, or the subtle criticisms of the beauty industry that these books cover. There are so many different ways to analyze these books, and that’s why I love them. While I also love the movies, I would encourage everyone to read the books, as they could offer a more in-depth story. I would also encourage you to continue reading, analyzing, and caring about the quality of the media that you consume—this is how we will be able to get modern classics in the future.

Citations:

https://www.scholastic.com/newsroom/online-press-kits/hunger-games-series.html

https://thecreativemind.net/3130/suzanne-collins-writing-hunger-games

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunger_Games