How the Hunger Games shaped a generation of young women

All right, let’s get something out of the way straight away: the fantasy world of the Hunger Games is not one that I (or anyone else in their sane mind) would like to live in. Unlike the worlds of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or Narnia, which, even though have their respective villains and glaring disadvantages, are worlds of wonder and magical, fun adventures, the world of the Hunger Games is one of brutality, sorrow and agony. While other fandoms would spend their time dreaming about getting their Hogwarts letter, or about finding a secret door at the back of their closet, or about an old wizard showing up on their doorstep to take them on an adventure, the Hunger Games fandom was more than ok with staying put and not experiencing any aspect of the fantasy world we loved so much.

The Hunger Games takes place in an incredibly cruel and bleak dystopian world, a world full of pain and suffering, of poor people dying of hunger while the rich stuff their faces, a world in which children are sent to battle to their deaths.

So why do I think this world of extreme misery is the best fantasy world out there?

Because every aspect of the Hunger Games is an intricate, profound jab at the world we live in today. Because the best doesn’t always mean the most beautiful or the most charming. In this case, the best fantasy world to me means the world that manages to paint a spitting image of our first world countries that we so comfortably read the books and watch the movies from, the world that gave us a fantastic political commentary that rings more true today than it ever did, the world that gave us a badass heroine that shaped an entire generation of women.

Let’s discuss some of the aspects that make the Hunger Games world and its characters the best one out there.

• Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire

Unless you were a pre-teen when you first read the books or watched the movies, you wouldn’t be able to fully understand what Katniss meant to us young girls at that age. For one of the very first times, we were introduced to a character that wasn’t just a pretty face. Katniss stood out, and not because she tried to, but because of her upbringing and the life she had been forced to live from a very young age.

In spite of what a lot of haters have to say (who have probably not even watched half of one movie, let alone understand the complexities of the story), Katniss is nowhere near the stereotypical “unqualified teenager chosen to lead the rebellion for no good reason”. The entire point of the story is that she is not leading the rebellion. She is a traumatized teenager who, after being thrown to the wolves and made to battle to her death, has emotional reactions to all of the horrors that surround her. All of her actions, all of her motivations, come from her not wanting to conform to a government that thrives of and laughs at the poor, the weak and the unprotected. She never wants to lead the rebellion, she simply becomes the symbol of it by fighting against the system and against the Games: something nobody else dares to do until her.

As heartbreaking as it is accurate, Katniss is exploited by the adults around her in their desire to start a revolution. She is the face of the rebellion, yes, but she is used for propagandistic purposes. She knows that, she despises it, and her storyline revolves around her straining and fighting against that role. We witness her courage to go against the purpose that was intended for her and to fight for the right reasons instead: for her people, for her family, for all those who can’t fights for themselves. And she doesn’t do it for show, she doesn’t do it because she has an image to protect, she doesn’t do it so that she can be on the poster for the rebellion. She does it because it’s the right thing to do.

I will be the first to admit that Katniss and her fierce temper had a huge impact in building my confidence and making me appreciate my self-worth from a really young age. Katniss is never afraid to speak her mind and she never takes anyone’s bullshit. She doesn’t allow people to belittle or make fun of her, she refuses to be used as a pawn in the Capitol’s games, and, most importantly, she is the first one to admit that she is flawed. She hates the glitz and the glamour, she hates dressing up and wearing make-up, she doesn’t care about manners or about smiling at powerful men just to make herself likeable.

As a teenage girl, I also remember being incredibly impressed by Katniss being so vehement about not wanting to get married and have children. Little girls are raised thinking about marriage and children since before they can talk and it was rare at the time (and still quite rare to this day) to have a female protagonist, especially a teenager, say that she doesn’t want to raise a family in a cruel and messed-up world. And yes, Katniss does end up having a family and children, but that is simply because the world that she lives in changes, not because her character arc is destroyed at the end of the series. The reason Katniss didn’t want to have children was because she couldn’t bear the thought of them ever being selected to play in the Games. But after the Capitol is defeated and the Games no longer exist, Katniss can finally live in a world that isn’t completely doomed and she can lead a happy, normal life with Peeta.

Which brings me to my second point…

• The infamous “love triangle” that is so much more than just a love triangle

In my opinion, this aspect of the story is one of the biggest misconceptions about the Hunger Games and a reason why some people dismiss it as a dumb, stereotypical YA story. The “love triangle” aspect of the narrative, the “Team Peeta or Team Gale?” question that was everywhere at the time, is a much more profound sub-plot than it initially seems on the surface, and one that goes hand in hand with the two forces that drive the story.

Yes, there are two potential love interests in Katniss’s life, but the romance is not the point of the story. The romance was never about her choosing between two attractive boys - it was about choosing between two diametrically opposed worldviews. Will she choose Gale, who represents anger and war, the first one who is ready to go into battle and kill the people of the Capitol, or will she choose Peeta, who always strives for compassion and peace even in a world that constantly tries to destroy him and everyone he holds dear?

Of course that at the end of a trilogy filled with the horrors of war Katniss ends up with the peace-loving Peeta. Rereading the books, especially as an adult, makes you realize how blatantly obvious it is that what Katniss was choosing was actually a way of life, not only a person to love. Peeta’s kindness and hopefulness in the face of the living hell he is put through are qualities that make the rebuilding of Panem possible. Gale, on the other hand, while a loyal friend and an amazing fighter, weaponizes people’s humanity, making him a dark and twisted character. Unlike Katniss and Peeta, he is unable to recognize that the people of the districts – no matter how close they are to the Capitol – aren’t the real enemy.

In the final chapter of the series, Katniss equates Peeta to the source of peace she needs and deserves: “What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that.”

She literally spells it out for us. After a lifetime of war and bloodshed and suffering, all Katniss wants is peace. And peace comes with Peeta.

• The Capitol

I still remember rereading the books as an adult for the first time and the way it hit me like a ton of bricks when I realized that the Capitol is not just the greedy, evil bad guys. The capitol is…us. First world countries, living in luxury while we ignore the problems of the rest of the world, thinking of other nations largely in terms of what we can get from them. Suzanne Collins did an amazing job of keeping the allegory simple enough so we can see beyond it. The message of the story is not a comforting, familiar “We need to fight the evil, rich people who are ruining society.” The message is “You are that society”.

Looking around at all the horrors currently going on in the third-world countries of our own world, while we go around clutching Starbucks drinks and overthinking what outfit we are going to wear to that party tonight, that sounds a lot like what the people of the Capitol were doing. Overlooking and turning a blind eye to anything that doesn't come between them and their comfort.

This simplistic world is a sparsely set stage that lets us explore the larger themes about exploitation and war, as well as the atrocities that people are willing to commit for the sake of their bread. It makes us think deeper about what separates a hero from a villain and what category do we, as an audience, fall into.

The odds were never in Katniss's favor. The odds were never in anyone's favor, not as long as the Capitol still thrived. So Katniss did what she had to and decided to create her own odds, targeting tyranny and smashing gender stereotypes one at a time. And we all wanted to be like her (and we still kind of do).

So yes, it is safe to say that I believe that the Hunger Games universe, with its symbolic worldbuilding and its flawed but beautiful characters, is the best fantasy world out there.

There’s a reason these books became a literally phenomenon. There’s a reason that dozens upon dozens of authors have attempted to imitate and copy this story ever since.

It’s because it’s just that good.