Alex Arze's Summer Assignment

Hunger Games
By: Alex Arze


Many books have come into this world. In the ancient times, people wrote books mainly to record information or thoughts. Later, they began writing enjoyable books, specifically plays. But eventually, people began getting tired of going to plays to see entertainment, so the movie was designed. But between then and now, only a fraction of books that were published were enjoyed by a vast majority of people, and even less turned into a movie. One of the great accomplishers of this task was Suzanne Collins in her book The Hunger Games. In order to best understand why this movie became so popular, it is important to understand the popularity of the book, the philosophical concepts within the book, and the differences between the book and movie.
The Hunger games was published in 2008 as what was supposed to be a teenager-audience book. However, when it received the titles of #1 New York Times Bestseller, #1 USA Today Bestseller and much more, it quickly rose to the top of many people’s favorite book lists- adults and all. But why was it so popular? Many people have written blog posts on this subject, which, in this case, is one of the most credible sources since the people’s opinion is most important. For instance, Tim Challies, author of Challies.com, claims in his review of the book that one of the themes that contributed to the book’s popularity was the idea of Good and Evil. “The story clearly delineates between good and evil.” Challies explains, “There is no confusion about what is right and what is wrong, no difficult or confusing shades of gray. Collins makes it easy on the reader by making the participants in the games either all-good or all-evil.” Another theme, which Mary Rayme from Suite101.com touches on is the seperation between rich and poor. In a nutshell, she talks about how the farther districts, representing rural regions of the United States, have little to eat, while those closer to the Capital “lead lives of decadent luxury.” These two themes played a large part in the book because they are plausible predictions for the future of the world. People attached to these themes because they gave an accurate description of the place in which many people believe America is headed.
The second reason the movie was a hit is the philosophical concepts contained within the book. There were many concepts throughout the three books in the trilogy, including things like the definition of self, but the main idea that the entire series revolved around was the power of the government. The summary of the moral is that the government, when allowed, can and will corrupt. And if this happens, everyone working together to make a change is the only way to correct it. This attracted a relatively large audience because of the parallel to the current government. Many people are concerned about the secrecy and potential corruption of the government, so this book really hit a sweet spot for many of those people. The idea that one person was able to start an entire race in a rebellion against the Capitol simply draws people in.
However, the book is written in a first person, present-tense perspective. It is extremely unique in that way, but at the same time doesn’t allow people to see what is happening away from Katniss, the main character. The third reason that the movie was such a great hit is because it allowed another perspective to be taken, one that was never provided in the original series. By letting the audience see the game-maker's room while they survey the arena creates an entirely new perspective to the series. It gives the people knowledge. And nobody likes anything more than a little extra knowledge that the other characters may not even know. It also allowed for differences in the book and movie that were previously not possible, such as the bitter ending when Seneca Crane was killed provided a whole new idea to the story. It also allowed characters to be expanded upon, which was safe to do with Suzanne Collins as the script writer for the movie. For instance, a whole new perspective is taken upon President Snow as he plans the annihilation of innocent children. These two differences from the books are what really made the movie stand out.
We looked at what originally made the book popular by examining the themes contained within the book, looked at the philosophy that expanded the audience appreciation, and found the differences between the book and the movie that caused the movie to be so great. The themes of good and bad, along with separation of rich and poor allowed basic realizations to attract an audience. The philosophical concept of rebellion and government power further expanded that audience. And finally the movie hit home when it allowed a whole new perspective to be taken by showing through a third person’s view. So next time you want to go see a movie, read the book first. There may be some interesting things hidden inside that will enhance your experience.