Waiting 18 years to read The Hunger Games was a mistake
The Hunger Games have absolutely consumed my life for the past two weeks. Indeed, I read and watched the series I had been resisting for years for the first time.
Suzanne Collins’ stroke of genius continues to resonate with millions across the world, 16 years after the first book of her trilogy was published. The Hunger Games have sold over 100 million copies worldwide. The new movie accompanying the prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023) has propelled the Hunger Games franchise over the $3 billion mark globally. In fact, a movie adaptation was in the works before the book was even finished.
On the menu: a brief review of the books and movies, then a character analysis of President Coriolanus Snow (the main antagonist of the series, whose villain origin story is revealed in the prequel).
Finally, I have assembled a Hunger Games Spotify playlist with songs I have deemed fitting for the series, linked here.
THE BOOKS
The trilogy wove together a dystopian, post-apocalyptic wasteland that used to be North America, where the annual Hunger Games are held. This barbarous event pits children from each of the 12 Districts of Panem (similar to states) against each other. They must fight to the death on live television until a single victor remains.
The Games are a form of twisted entertainment for the wealthy and the epitome of torture for the Districts, who are forced to watch their offspring murder one another.
Achingly raw and garnished with haunting allusions to North America today, the series succeeded in provoking a reflection on my part.
Heavily inspired by the Myth of Theseus and the Minotaur and gladiator games, it didn’t shy away from jabs at today’s Western capitalist society of consumption and destruction, and how much we take for granted (a meal on the table and basic human rights).
It also made me question my relationship to the media and the ways it can be used to manipulate us. A recurring theme in the series is how the Capitol filters the images that will be shown in the Districts to provoke or quell sentiments.
The gut-wrenching situations that force the characters to the edges of their sanity and humanity are timeless; they effectively denounce senseless wars and hatred, and the systematic unequal distribution of wealth, influence, and decision-making power we see in our world today.
THE MOVIES
The books were translated flawlessly to the screen. While remaining relatively loyal to the books, the movies further elevated the source material, giving them a reason to exist as their own storytelling medium.
The behind-the-scenes of the Games and new interactions between the characters enhanced the story. Inevitably, certain scenes and characters were omitted for time, but a stellar cast, immersive cinematography, and jaw-dropping sets made up for it. An epic score accentuated the suspense.
Fast but deliberately paced, we manage to get through major plot points and establish the relationships between the characters quickly and effectively.
PRESIDENT SNOW: A COMPELLING ANTAGONIST…
Donald Sutherland is the perfect President Snow. Wickedly brilliant, undeniably evil, sadistic, and taunting. I will never forgive his character for what he did.
However, the actor deserves to be recognized for his all-knowing, calculating gaze, and devastatingly effective performance.
His maniacal laugh, as blood dribbles from his mouth and chaos unfolds in the aftermath of his planned execution, are proof of his disturbed mind and powers of manipulation. He is a compelling antagonist, unleashing countless horrors with a wave of his hand.
The prequel whisks us back to President Snow’s youth. Charismatic and handsome, the inner workings of his mind are laid out like a textbook; they felt indubitably real and factual, and I drank his thoughts in without question.
I understood, and even agreed with his logic. His often mathematical approach to his social interactions and obsessive nature were hints that he possessed a twisted form of heightened intelligence from the start.
His starvation for power became increasingly apparent as he tossed (or in some cases, murdered) those he “loved” aside, the moment they became an obstacle between him and glory.
…WHO MADE SOME ABANDON THEIR MORALS
Despite his barbaric deeds in the trilogy, many fell for his serpentine charms (Tom Blyth’s powerful performance only made the villain more appealing). Netizens re-entering their “Hunger Games era” succeeding the release of the prequel movie adaptation expressed their internal conflict over this issue.
I think Collins purposefully incites us to sympathize with Snow. He treads along the fine line between heroism and villainy, until he inevitably plunges into the latter.
While his obsession with power is innate, the monster he becomes is also the product of his environment. Orphaned and privy to “humanity stripped naked” during the war, he is traumatized beyond recovery.
Snow chooses to become a predator rather than prey, as he makes desperate attempts to uphold his family’s towering legacy and tear after his dreams. He was in large part corrupted by the situation he was born into. Nevertheless, this doesn’t excuse his later growing tyranny.
I believe that the Hunger Games series is a warning. With series like Squid Game (2021) shattering world records and giving way to hit reality TV shows, not to mention the conflicts that continuously plague our societies, I fear we may be careening toward the charred, toxic world Collins described. A world that creates real-life Hunger Games.
However, the hopeful ending to the trilogy leads us to believe that it isn’t too late for us to work toward a brighter future.
Either way, Collins has left me hungry for more.
