The Lifelong Hunger Games

While Katniss rarely envisions herself winning the Hunger Games, the allure of winning and the rewards that come with it highlight the discussion of winning early in the novel. When Prim tells Katniss she can win before Katniss is sent away to compete in the games, Katniss is dismissive of her odds, but mentions she would be "as rich as Haymich" if she did win (36). When competing in the Hunger Games, Katniss's thoughts on winning devolve from wanting the riches and fame to simply being reunited with her family. But the near-suicide with the berries ends the hope that the games will end in rewards and the return to a quiet life. Before the final interview and recap show, Haymich warns Katniss about the damages of her actions and how careful she must be with her words and relationship with Peeta to avoid harm to herself or others. The 74th Hunger Games may have ended in the arena for the 22 tributes, but for the two victors, faking their perfect love story, mentoring, and the memories of the games will last the rest of their lives.

In our class discussions, the parallels between the Hunger Games and reality tv have been emphasized several times. This aspect of the lifelong Hunger Games also parallels reality tv and the rise of vloggers. Vloggers are people who film parts of their lives and post videos, usually on YouTube, as often as once a day. Like the Hunger Games, these vloggers have trouble what is appropriate to show tehir audiences and not hurting relationships just for better content. Casey Neistat, a former daily vlogger with 9.2 million subscribers, quit daily vlogging because of the strain on his marriage and the tendency to center his day around not on what he wanted or needed to do, but on what would make good content for his video. He also cited the pressure to always appear happy and upbeat in videos, even on days of funerals or other difficult family events, as another reason for quitting. Katniss struggles throughout the novel on this balance as well, whether she actually likes Peeta or if this is simply done for the camera. As mentioned above, this ever-happy relationship becomes permanent for the cameras to escape harm for others. I'm curious if you think this idea of faking moods or setting up one's life for content is good or bad for society, and if you have ever done events or activities simply for standing or appearance rather than personal enjoyment.