The Hunger Games' Success

How did one book out of thousands released a decade ago become a worldwide phenomenon?   According to Wikipedia, “The Hunger Games film series is the second highest-grossing film series based on young adult books…earning over $1.4 billion.”  I would argue that it was not masterful writing, but elements of the story, conflict, and setting which garnered its success.  In class, we discussed similarities between the Hunger Games and reality TV shows like Survivor and Big Brother.  The list goes on, as many popular TV shows over the last few years (American Idol, The Voice, So You Think You Can Dance, The Bachelor, America’s Next Top Model, etc.) feature casts of members which are eventually whittled down through talent and performance-based competition.  Regardless of if these shows and judges are truly legitimate and impartial (not merely scripted), they are successful for the same reason as the indisputably fictional Hunger Games: human beings enjoy viewing other individuals competing with everything on the line, life, career, fame, wealth, or otherwise.  After all, “there’s detailed coverage of the bloodbath” (363) but no focus on the aftermath; in the same manner, while cameras in the NBA and NFL playoffs might glance at the defeated party, the majority of screen and interview time is given to the victorious, overjoyed party.  While in no way realistic, The Hunger Games provides the same experience to its readers, gritting through the suspenseful conflict with worry and excitement to finally be put at ease as their (presumed) favorite tributes win.

Though the book and film series might be over, The Hunger Games’ legacy continues in many different ways.  In one unexpected manner, shortly following the 2012 release of the first film, a new videogame genre dubbed Battle Royale, Last Man Standing, or even Hunger Games was created.  In these games, very similar to the series, players are pitted against each other in some form of arena filled with weapons, medicine, and other supplies.  An electric force-field, akin to the “fire…designed to flush out, to drive us together” (173), slowly contracts until there is only one player remaining: the victor.  While this genre appeared insignificant at first, it hosts the current most popular games, Fornite and Battlegrounds, with over 100 million players and $1 billion in revenue over the last year between them.  It is unclear what exactly lies at the root of this popularity, but the innate desires to survive and (if necessary) outcompete one’s peers might play large roles.  Perhaps The Hunger Games, reality TV shows, professional athletic playoffs, and battle royale games all serve as enjoyable escapes from a periodically boring existence of school and work.