A decade after their original release, the Hunger Games movies, adapted from Suzanne Collins’s dystopian novels, were available on Netflix. Fans were able to rewatch their beloved series, and newcomers were able to fall in love. 

The Hunger Games follows Katniss Everdeen as she is picked to be a tribute in the annual Hunger Games where children aged 12-18 are forced into a deadly battle royale. Even after surviving one game, she must face the totalitarian government of Panem. While the Hunger Games is purely fictional, it may be more realistic than you think.

But no one would ever watch violence as entertainment…

According to USHistory,  gladiator games were commonly held in a huge stadium called the Colosseum. Wealthy spectors paid to watch gladiators, who were slaves or prisoners, fight to the death. Sometimes people volunteered to be gladiators for a chance at winning fame or freedom. 

Just like the Romans, tributes are of lower class than their rich audience and some tributes volunteered for the chance of gaining fame and fortune.

Currently, several reality TV competitions share similarities with the Hunger Games. One of these shows being Survivor. Each season, a large group of contestants are placed on a remote island and must compete in challenges against each other in order to be the last man standing. Contestants also must fend for themselves by building their own shelter and finding their own food. While there’s only one winner, contestants make alliances to survive longer and to win, a jury of voted-off players must choose the sole winner. 

Certain aspects, such as surviving in a remote location, alliances, and contestant’s popularity being a winning factor, are parallels to the tributes’ experience in the Hunger Games. 

So our society is doomed to play murderous games

In an interview with Bibliostar.TV, Collins reveals she wrote the Hunger Games story to help young people understand the result of becoming desensitized to mass violence. 

The Hunger Games is not a crystal ball that showcases our society’s inevitable fate, but it’s a warning sign. Unlike the iconic quote, “may the odds be ever in your favor”, we shouldn’t stand by and rely on odds to dictate our future but instead change our actions to build a better one.