I love the story of The Hunger Games and getting lost in the characters and the worldbuilding, and of course, the romance. However, it is genuinely one of the most politically thought-provoking pieces of literature. One of my favorite things about THG is how it can be used as an allegory for so many aspects of history. Obviously, it is an allegory of the contemporary United States and a direct critique of capitalism and the hoarding of wealth; in addition to its profound critique of the U.S. actions in the Middle East. However, these concepts transcend to other facets of history and power politics throughout the world, which makes it so powerful as a series.
I actually wrote an entire paper about THG and Eastern Europe for part of my final in a class at university, using Todorova’s “Balkanism” and Said’s “Orientalism.” There are so many connections between the social-cultural aspects of THG and the West-East power dynamic during the “communist”-“post-communist” eras. While I was in this class, I couldn’t help but relate Collins’ work to these topics, as well as wonder if any aspects of West vs East played a genuine part in her creating Panem’s society and culture. THG can absolutely be used as an allegory for contexts it wasn’t initially intended for, and I think that makes it so incredibly versatile and such an accessible way for people to get invested in and learn about politics.
If anyone even wants to read my paper, I would love love love to share it with you! I think there are some really interesting takes and relations to Eastern Europe and communism specifically, that I don’t think I have ever seen anyone talk about in this fandom. Or, if anyone else is interested in talking about politics within THG (or even in general), I would love to yap about it!
