The Hunger Games book and movie series by Suzanne Collins has been a highlight of popular culture for the last several years because the theme echoes the crisis we have seen in the Middle East for the last decade. the story is set in futuristic post revolutionary America, known as Panem. It describes the conflict between the poor majority of the citizens and the rich minority ruling class referred to as “The Capital.” The Capital uses fear tactics and terrorism to keep the majority from uprising. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks the freedom of Americans has also been threatened by terrorism. The Hunger Games relates with our culture because it shows us that we can fight back against these fear tactics.
Each year the Capital reminds everyone of its power by taking two children from each district and forcing them to fight to the death in a virtual reality arena. This creates fear in the public and demonstrates that their lives are not valued. In our world, random terrorist bombings have the same effect on society.
There is a scene in the Hunger games when the president of the Capital states that although fear is powerful hope will always outweigh it. “Hope, It is the only thing stronger than fear. A little hope is effective. A lot of hope is dangerous. Spark is fine, as long as it’s contained.” This tells us that even in the face of terrorism, resilience is possible.
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