Culturess
Fansided

5 reasons The Hunger Games remains one of the best YA series of all time

By Amanda Mullen

Jennifer Lawrence (“Katniss Everdeen”) stars in Lionsgate Home Entertainment’s THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2.. Photo Credit: Murray Close/Lionsgate
Jennifer Lawrence (“Katniss Everdeen”) stars in Lionsgate Home Entertainment’s THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2.. Photo Credit: Murray Close/Lionsgate /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
From left to right: Elizabeth Banks (“Effie Trinket,” left) and Jennifer Lawrence (“Katniss Everdeen,” right) star in Lionsgate Home Entertainment’s THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2.. Photo Credit: Murray Close/Lionsgate
From left to right: Elizabeth Banks (“Effie Trinket,” left) and Jennifer Lawrence (“Katniss Everdeen,” right) star in Lionsgate Home Entertainment’s THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2.. Photo Credit: Murray Close/Lionsgate /

The Politics

Inequality is a problem that never seems to go away, and while The Hunger Games takes a corrupt society to its extremes, its political message never really grows old. The overarching theme of rising up against oppression is as important today as it was 10 years ago, and Collins’ books take a cold, hard look at what political resistance looks like — without shying away from the losses that accompany it.

But it’s not just the major political themes that The Hunger Games handles well. Looking back at these books, fans will notice more subtle commentary as well, with Collins pointing out smaller inequalities. You know how Katniss has to be charming, in love, and even pretend pregnant to be deserving of empathy from the Capitol? That’s a very real look at what it means to be a woman competing with men in basically anything, and it’s cleverly included in these novels.

There’s also so much commentary on the media and its impact on the masses and what they’re thinking. It’s carefully woven into the narrative, so much so that it’s easy to miss the first time around, but it shows how the Capitol picks and chooses what to feed the people — making sure to keep them separated and uninformed as it does.

From the overarching themes to these small details, The Hunger Games handles politics in a way most dystopian stories should strive to. And we don’t see it getting old anytime soon.

Home/YA