The first thing that proves that Suzanne Collins wrote The Hunger Games as a direct parallel to our future is the fact that her series is set in a future post-apocalyptic dystopian world where humanity has been reduced to a single population that lives in North America. This reportedly happened after some unnamed catastrophic event which apparently wiped out the rest of the world.
This, of course, raises the question: ‘What catastrophic event could possibly lead to a world where children kill each other on national television?’
And the interesting thing is, that there are currently so many answers to this question that trouble us right now. We as people who have the (mis)fortune of living in the 21st century can take our pick from any number of huge, global issues. e.g. poverty, world hunger, unchecked famine, war, nuclear weaponry, climate change and so on.
I think you can agree that it's definitely not that hard for us as readers to think up reasons for this downfall of humanity because unfortunately in our current day and age we are facing the same problems. These problems also unfortunately have a lot to do with the Capitalist Western World’s unending need for power and money.
Which leads us on to the theory that The Hunger Games actually represents the possible future of our capitalist societies which are so ready to put down others and cause pain to the masses for the excessive luxury and comfort of the few.
For example, the Capitol and the districts offers a parallel to our world where many people work 20 hours a day only to barely get by while a few others have enough to buy a house that could easily accommodate 50 people and have enough left over to single-handedly worsen the global warming problem by way of flight miles or eating their body weight in beef. The Capitol is so similar to our world's group of elite rich socialites that many have compared the Met Gala to a Capitol event. If you were to look at the kind of outfits celebrities wear at such an event, you would understand.
In fact, 13.4% of the global GDP is held by the US* alone (which only makes up about 4.23% of the world’s population) while about one in ten people live in extreme poverty globally. Many of these people work for US/Western companies who capitalise off their labour.
This is incredibly reflective of the difference between the relaxed, comfortable Capitol and the scared, tired and hungry districts which feed them.
Another similarity between The Hunger Games world and our world is the fascination people of both worlds find in either reality shows or the annual hunger games themselves. Obviously we haven't got anywhere close to the point where we see homicide happening in real time on our TV screens (yet), but the fascination people
have with watching reality shows or news stories where real life peoples lives are people cheer as tributes are killed onscreen in The Hunger Games movies, unwittingly playing the part of the frivolous Capitol.
In addition, think of the callous ways many privileged people talk about genocides, post colonial poverty or wars indirectly caused by past colonialism. We all say what the Capitol does would never work in our elite, modern world but what we do every time a controversial issue happening outside of our immediate circle rears its head in discussions and media speaks volumes (what we do is normally ignore it and move on, by the way).
The way President Snow maintains order in Panem is by making sure everyone remains ignorant of what happens outside their immediate circle - or, their district. The Capitol residents don’t really have any idea or scope of what the districts have to face on a daily basis - they can’t even bring themselves to imagine it. Instead, they roll their eyes at the videos of rebels fighting and say ‘It’ll blow over in a few days.’
Which is what a lot of us say to the news we see as well.
Another reaction is to become uncomfortable and not talk about these issues at all - because you simply don’t want to think about who’s right and who’s wrong.
This is probably the worst way you can react at all - and Collins highlights this through the blunt and chilling details in her writing.
You cannot stay neutral to oppression, whether it’s in a fictional world that’s all for fun and games or in the real world where it’s not fun and games at all.
All these parallels between the Capitol and us are not by accident. Collins specifically wrote about such a world to poke fun at the holes in our society that we claim is developed, civilised and offers freedom and opportunity for all. In reality, just like the Capitol, we televise horrible things and make money off of it, not thinking about the people behind the scenes who are suffering while we supposedly prosper. After all, there's a reason 'Capitol' sounds a lot like capitalism.
Further pushing our similarities with the Capitol forward, is the pop song version of the Hanging Tree. The Hanging Tree was, in some ways, the anthem of the rebels and symbolised their struggles as they fought for freedom under the oppressive regime of President Snow - in short, it’s incredibly powerful. However, taking the mournful, bone-chilling tune and turning it into a pop song is exactly what the ignorant Capitol and the manipulative President Snow would do in order to reduce the power and symbolism of it.
In fact, we as a modern audience, reduce the symbolism and power of a lot of things; we make jokes and memes out of shocking things we see online that we wouldn’t appreciate if the events in question were happening to us.
Of course, we are allowed to have fun and laugh at entertainment - but there are real life issues much like the Hunger Games that much of the rich, developed world refuses to educate themselves on.
The Hunger Games, in its entirety, is about inequality and the choice of staying ignorant.
It makes us ask the question how far off we are as a society from a world that looks like the Hunger Games. Who are we as people? The rich ignorant who live in a bubble where the only news is controlled by algorithms and wealthy politicians? Or the grudging revolutionaries who see and actively work towards a future of freedom and peace for all?
This is the decision that The Hunger Games forces us all to make; and it’s an increasingly important one as the world develops.
*The UK has a global GDP share of 2.2% which is a whopping amount on its own.