by Aarushi Mutreja

When I was in middle school, my dad bought a boxed set of The Hunger Games series. Before letting me read it, he insisted on completing the series himself. Following his read-through, he exclaimed that it was “too dark” and that I wasn’t allowed to read it. I did anyway. It confused me because I simply could not understand my fathers response. To me, the series was a thrilling adventure that I followed Katniss on. Yes, it was a little violent and sad, but I had already read other books with similar themes. It was years later, when I revisited the books in high school, that  I started to understand. I began to see The Hunger Games as a critique, a warning even, concerning the path that we are on as a society. 

Reflecting back on the plot of The Hunger Games, it is evident how little hard work matters in a system that is built against you. The games created the illusion of a fair competition, where people were randomly chosen and no one knew anything about the challenges they would soon face. This couldn’t be less true. From a young age, children in richer districts were trained for the possibility of participating in the games. On a far more basic level, they had access to good living conditions and resources that people, like Katniss, did not have. How then is it a fair game when some participants have less opportunities and experience than others? Is this not a perfect representation of “The American Dream” where people say that if you work hard enough, you can achieve anything? Meanwhile, the wealthy have greater access to every opportunity. 

The separation between the districts in the world of The Hunger Games serves as a reminder of the social ladder and how difficult it is for those without wealth to escape the situations they are born into. Just like Panem, where it is almost impossible for people to leave their district and make a living in a richer one, the US has a drastically low rate of social mobility. Only 8% of children raised in the bottom 20% of income distribution are able to climb to the top 20% in their lifetime. With such a low figure, it is clear that this is the exception, not the rule. 

I remember watching the movies, seeing crowds in the Capitol don their extravagant attire and flash their brightest smiles, having the time of their lives. Meanwhile people in poorer districts were fighting for their own. I remember thinking that there is no way something like this could happen in reality. There is no way people could get so caught up in the glamor that they lose sight of (or simply do not care about) human suffering. Enter the 2021 Met Gala. The theme? In America: A Lexicon of Fashion. Celebrities paid $35,000 for a ticket to this event, all while right outside the building, at least nine people were arrested during a Black Lives Matter protest. “Black and brown people are on the brink of houselessness. We cannot go back to normal. Where was your rage last year?” 

Inside, the party went on.

Cover Photo by Kate Iko