The Impact and Treatment of Security Threats by the State in The Hunger Games - Essay Example

Assess the impact and treatment of security threats by the in The Hunger Games In its essence, the story written by Suzanne Collins is a dystopia in the circumstances of totalitarian political regime. In particular, the key method of control over the population is the duality of fear and entertainment, illustrated in the specific annual invention called The Hunger Games. In this event, two randomly chosen persons (tributes) from each district should fight until the only one is left alive. Throughout the content, the main character, Katniss Everdeen, wins this competition twice and leads the political regime of President Snow to change. Although, this story has other dimensions; in particular, given essay analyses this trilogy from the points of human security, terrorist threat for the state, and the elements of revolutionary success. To start with, the story rises on issue of human security as a main topic of all its chapters. In the context of the Games themselves, Clemente (2012) noticed that the lottery-like ceremony based on “tessera” (or material goods) is created in order to disadvantage desperate people from the poorest industrial parts of the country (p. 25). In other words, Hunger Games challenge human security, because they arise as “a distraction from the real game of economic inequality” (Muller, 2012, p. 52). Moreover, the sharping contrast between Capitol’s leisure style and poverty of the majority of the country (Muller, 2012, p. 53) underlines the impression of human insecurity existence. In this context, this link can be also presented as a greedy Capitol’s consumption from the oppressed producers of material goods (Burke, 2014, p. 4). In other words, the issue of human security in the novel is above all a complex problem of natural life within the districts in the circumstances of political dictatorship and industrialized economy created in the Capitol. However, the appearance of mutated animals and soldier society of District 13 also illustrate the above-mentioned conflict, since all these instances demonstrate limitations on human life in terms of food security and human rights protection. Above all, food motif is crucial in the context of human security. In fact, the most appreciated prize in Hunger Games is the guarantee of the basic needs for human security, meaning “food, a decent house, relative safety to his/her [winner’s] family, and the perennial honour of being the winner of the game” (Muller, 2012, p. 53). In general, food appears as a “social and environmental justice concern, showing that we view the natural world” (Burke, 2014, p. 1). In addition, human rights of ordinary Panem inhabitants are constantly violated. In fact, everyone is a part of the Hunger Games, and the more person goes through them, the more it breaks his own life. In this context, even the happy-end in this story looks strange. In Henshaw’s (2013) opinion, the plot of the story demonstrates violations of the basic human rights highlighted by the UN, meaning “limitations on lifestyle choices, free movement, and political repression” and adding “disease and hunger”. In fact, this list is too long not to harm people both in short-term and long-term perspectives. Moreover, identity crisis enters the stage with damaged human security. In its essence, food has always been a basis for communication (Peksoy, 2014, p. 80); thus, unequal food distribution forms dispersed identities within formally unified society. In fact, these various spaces even have physical fences in the novel. They are constantly incorporated in the literal space, making the country to resemble the cage (Clemente, 2012, p, 26). In addition, they not only play the role of making each district “surrounded by electric fences” (Burke, 2014, p. 2) but also demonstrate the power of state control in the everyday life of its inhabitants. In the given circumstances, even Katniss’s identity is blurring. In particular, “she is a manufactured thing, forced into performative mode, which in turn generates another performance of ‘self’” (Muller, 2012, p. 57). In the wider perspective, this idea reflects Bhabha’s view on colonization, since it modifies with the help of tools like stereotyping and hybridity the personal identification of each community member (Ghaffarpour, 2012). The most noticeable effect of such a misunderstanding is a main love story between Katniss and Peeta, since the girl is confused about her feelings because of the pressure she feels from Capitol: “Already thinking ahead of me in the Games again and well aware of the danger we’re in? Or… already desperately in love? I don’t know. I haven’t even begun to separate out my feelings about Peeta. It’s too complicated” (Collins, 2008, p. 358). Thus, the trilogy reveals how human food insecurity damages not only physical well-being but also the emotional level of living. Furthermore, Capitol’s position in the conflict with other districts reflects the typical behaviour of state in providing security while facing terrorist threats. Like in Caesar times, the political structure of Panem represents the idea of stability via division of the country on the isolated parts (Henshaw, 2013). Hence, development of the story reveals the destruction of such a system with the help of active group of united individuals from different districts. In this context, the style peculiarities like genre choice and references to the past increase the emotional tension of this political transformation. On the one hand, “the trilogy [as a genre] portrays oppressive violence as a primary political tool” (Pavlik, 2012, p. 30). On another hand, Collins frequently uses references to Roman history; from the very title of the country (Peksoy, 2014, p. 80) to the way Snow attempts to maintain power in a classic manner through poisoning his opponents and providing manipulations of different scale (Clemente, 2012, p. 22; Muller, 2012; Pavlik, 2012, p. 32). In general, the course of struggle events and basis on the real facts enable to represent the actions of fiction state Panem as a real model of dealing with internal and external threats by increasing violence. In this context, fear is the main instrument Capitol uses in order to prevent terrorism on the territory of Panem. In this intention, Hunger Games play a key role, since they enable to exercise dual-use technologies, “with which Snow threatens the increasingly restless population of the Panem below Capitol’s heights” (Clemente, 2012, p. 24). For instance, their effectiveness reveal themselves in the selection process of tributes, because their names appear in the lottery as a punishment for stealing food (Collins, 2008; Henshaw, 2013). Notwithstanding, people wear their best dresses for the day of reaping (Collins, 2008; Ghaffarpour, 2012, p. 92). In this context, researchers on the trilogy also widely discuss the problem of parents who are frightened to such an extent that send their children to these games (Ghaffarpour, 2012; Henshaaw, 2013). In the given episode, the equivocation of political rule over society is evident, since participation in Hunger Games is highly honoured and used as a penalty at the same time. In order to maintain above-mentioned fear of threating the government, Capitol also exercises state-controlled media (Clemente, 2012, p. 22). In particular, they are highly effective in making deaths on the arena as both an element of the show and lesson for non-satisfied individuals in the reality. In general, Collins presents television as a “propaganda tool” (Pavlik, 2012, p. 31), which has a direct impact on their spectators both in cases of Hunger Games and in the following competition between Capitol and District 13. With the constant flow of fear on media channels, Capitol’s rulers secure themselves from any courageous assassination attempts. In addition, the very appearance of the District 13 in the last book of the trilogy introduces a motif of Cold War in the story (Clemente, 2012, p. 26). In this context, nuclear weapon, media war, and ideological competition form the political background of the final part of the story. However, both Snow’s regime in Capitol and Coin’s dictatorship in District 13 are fascist in their essence (Pavlik, 2012, p. 36). Consequently, Katniss is a terrorist for both of them, as she is a threat for the stability and security for both political leaders. In this context, Collins takes an unusual side in the conflict between state military forces and non-state resistance by defending proclaimed by government terrorist Katniss Everdeen and her supporters. Nevertheless, it allows the story is be an illustration of how media and politics easily manipulate with different labels, including terrorism. Finally, the revolutionary turn of the story enables to analyse its content in the framework of uprising success. On the very beginning, Collins emphasizes on the existence of Hunger Games as an annual reminder of Capitol’s might and districts’ impotence (Collins, 2008; Pavlik, 2012, p. 31). However, the latter events of the story appear in the environment where no Hunger Games emerge, since the main characters had broken the pavilion for them. As a result, the local sabotage grew into the full-sized mass revolution. Although, Collins presents it in a specific manner. In this context, it is an illustrative fact that “the significance of the personal turmoil and of the actions in these books rises above individual psychological chaos and self-interested motivations” (Clemente, 2012, p, 21). In other words, the very appearance of the story provides a popular idea that human potential is powerful in front of state apparatus. In the same manner, dramatic effect of this pathetic statement rises with the extent of competition, which starts on the small artificial arena and ends on the overall country as a battlefield. In general, the appearance of uprising in the text raises a dilemma between status quo and necessity to change. In particular, ruler of Capitol seems persuasive in his belief of “the greater good” (Pavlik, 2012, p. 32) of peaceful and stable political system in Panem. However, it does not work with other dimensions within the state. As for the social background, with the help of Katniss Everdeen’s story Collins shows that conditions of the Cold War-like competition threatens public wealth and social well-being (Clemente, 2012, p. 27). Even though the very positioning of District 13 in the novel is to be a “rallying point for rebel sympathies” (Pavlik, 2012, p. 33), it does not help it to maintain the Capitol-like power in the end of the story. Thus, the environment of growing injustice and social despair led the country to the destructive transformations of its political regime. However, overall plot of the story leaves an impression that revolutions are rather well planned actions than emotional enthusiastic public manifestations. In this context, the emphasis on the Katniss’ role as a symbol, plenty of advertisements and slogans create suspicion of the potential of contemporary revolutions to be sincere and impulsive. In Clemente’s (2012) words, Panem society “overripes for the revolution” and finding an appropriate symbol for it is the only thing needed (p. 24). Consequently, the revolution in Panem by being a social movement could not extent without certain degree of manipulation. On another hand, Pavlik (2012) directly links appearance of Hunger Games trilogy and the Arab Spring uprisings, as they have similar starting conditions (p. 36). In this perspective, the key message of the story is that “demonstrating [of] our silence and inaction allows this violence [of corporate and state control] to continue” (Burke, 2014, p. 3). In addition, the movie franchise enabled the story to enter celebrity culture and promote struggle with hunger in global perspective (Shah, 2012). In other words, the range of problems risen in a film touches not only local level but also inspires to see in Panem injustice in the contemporary world. In fact, all these revolutionary ideas are encouraging and pretentious, as they target responsibility on the individual for his own future in the world in general and in his country in particular. In order to sum up, it is evident that The Hunger Games is not only a popular young adult fantasy but also a dystopia that touches deep political issues. In this context, the central topic of hunger refers to the problem of human security, which breaks normal relations in the society and increases the gap between rich and poor in it. Moreover, the way totalitarian leaders protect their seats create an intention for terrorists to emerge, meaning the individuals opposing constant fear, cruelty, and poverty in their country. Finally, all these segmental processes lead to the spread of local despair into the mass revolution, which breaks all the previous political norms and encourages each personality to change his living conditions. References: Burke, B., 2014. “Reaping” Environmental Justice through Compassion in The Hunger Games. English Publications and Papers, 3, pp. 1-24. Available at: [Accessed 21 March 2015]. Clemente, B., 2012. Panem in America: Crisis Economics and a Call for Political Engagement. In: M. Pharr and L. Clark (eds.), 2012. Of Bread, Blood, and the Hunger Games: Critical Essays on the Suzanne Collins Trilogy. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Inc. Pp. 20-29. Ghaffarpour, R., 2013. A Postcolonial Appraisal of Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games in the Light of Bhabha’s Ideas. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 2(4), pp. 90-97 Henshaw, A., 2013. The Hunger Games and Human Security [online]. E-International Relations. Available at: [Accessed 21 March 2015]. Muller, V., 2012. Virtually Real: Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games Trilogy. International Research in Children’s Literature, 5(1), pp. 51-63. Pavlik, A., 2012. Absolute Power Games. In: M. Pharr and L. Clark (eds.), 2012. Of Bread, Blood, and the Hunger Games: Critical Essays on the Suzanne Collins Trilogy. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Inc. Pp. 30-38. Peksoy, E., 2014. Food as control in the Hunger Games Trilogy. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 158, pp. 79-84. Shah, S., 2012 Starved for Attention. The Lancet, 379(9823), p. 1290. Read More