In the novel of The Hunger Games Panem has been split into thirteen Districts which are divided and ruled by the Capitol. Each of these Districts has a trade that they are known for. There are power plant workers, lumber workers, and coal miners are a few of the trades that were represented. Of course, the plot of The Hunger Games was served to the public as a fictional work meant to entertain but this paper will explore how there are parallels to today’s society and our history. It is obvious that The Hunger Games is a violation of human rights. Districts forced into slavery, every year forced to offer a boy and girl from their District to fight against every other tribute each District offers with the only end to this horrible event being a single male and female survivor crowned as victors and rewarded for their lives. While modern day society isn’t quite as blatant as The Hunger Games one cannot deny the connections.
Our text breaks down and defines the general global agreement of human rights. “In general, there is a global agreement among humans, simply because we exist that we are entitled to at least three types of rights” (Payne, 2017). The right is civil rights which includes personal rights such as freedom of speech, thought, and religion; the right to equal treatment under the law; and the right to own property (Payne, 2017). The second concerns political rights, this includes our right to vote, participate in the political process, and voice political opinions (Payne, 2017). The final aspect is social rights, “this includes the right to be secure from violence and other physical danger, the right to the decent standard of living, and the right to health care and education. The ones who have the power to control most societies across the globe are known as the 1%, I would even say the government would be included in that percentage.
In The Hunger Games, one of the mains purposes behind the protest was the unfair divide where the Capitol abused the power that was given to them by the 99%. One of the four types of human rights claims that dominate global politics is “the abuse of individual rights by governments” (Payne, 2017). Districts each with their own set of unique skills and resources, pitted against each other for the personal gain of the 1%. Those who had rebelled were treated with unfair working conditions and unreasonable laws. Sounds like how countries are pitted against each other globally. For example, a resource we didn’t have but wanted was in Iraq; this was oil. We could not simply take it, so we were fed stories about terrorism and violence against the “home country” from our government which led to a hatred and action proceeded from there. The consequences of those actions are still being felt by those in Iraq as we destroyed their infrastructure and made a country indebted to us as we “fixed” it. In America, the consequences aren’t so painful to us, instead we have made Iraq to be known as a place of war and danger; constant planning and plotting; and an easy scapegoat.
In this novel District Thirteen had nuclear power and the ability to do damage to the Capitol if they didn’t continue to comply with their laws; which they didn’t. After the attempted rebellion, District Thirteen was decimated by bombs which forced the habitants to relocate underground. Whenever there were possible rumors of more trouble the Capitol would revert to what District Thirteen did and what they were left with. This type of fear by control is seen all over the world where the government tries to control what we are able to see and know about the rest of the world as a means to control their people.
We can look to examples in history such as the Holocaust; where a group of people were pitted against many others and set to dominate and exterminate them. This is somewhat like the mindset the tributes have when going into the arena where everyone is considered an enemy. In the novel tributes one and two, from Districts One and Two, are generally looked upon as the closest to the capitol, they don’t have to work nearly as hard for favor simply be loyal in all aspects. This type of blind following in the hope of reward or possibly because you have some deep hatred and superiority complex, is not unlike how the Nazi’s followed Hitler and those who did what he wanted were rewarded and those who did not were punished. This parallel indicates that we are creatures of habits, the ways in which we embody the basic ideas of this novel change with the times but the overlying theme of control is still there.
It should be noted that what started the split of the Districts was a war that backfired. Those under the capitol finally were fighting for freedom and the capitol responded with harsher restrictions on their basic rights to prevent further possible uprisings. In the real world when governments feel threatened, whether that be an internal or external threat, “it is believed that short term restrictions on civil and political rights are essential to combat terrorism, many governments find themselves on a slippery slope that leads to more durable infringements on democratic freedoms” (Payne, 2017). For example, Britain they responded to conflicts between Catholics and Protestants with increased arrests, essentially arbitrary detentions, increased surveillance and the creation of a special court to prosecute terrorist suspects (Payne, 2017). This means if you are caught fighting against the whole (regardless of which country you’re from) extreme measures can be taken to prevent further harm being committed.
The series The Hunger Games resulted in a rebellion that was won and steps were taken for a better Panem for all. While we haven’t had a rebellion as blatant as that one, we have made steps to help better the world. We created ways to hold other countries accountable and help enforce human rights globally. Sanctions were created which are punishments or penalties which are imposed by one state, a group of states, or global community on another state or group of states. The purpose of this is gain compliance with widely accepted global standards of behavior (Payne, 2017). While I think, we have made some great steps to working towards freedom I think we still a way to go. I was honestly a little disgusted by the parallels I was seeing between this novel and my reality. It is saddening to be in position where you really don’t feel like the government is working for you like it should be. Instead, you feel like fighting for basic rights, such as the rights to my own body, are always an uphill battle when some things just shouldn’t be touched. That is just my reality, across the globe there are women who are subjected to genital mutilation (an accepted standard), rape daily, and not even granted the right to an education. Yes, The Hunger Games is a fictional novel but the systematic control the Capitol uses to control all of Panem can be easily recognized by many governments across the globe. From where I sit now I see no clear solution except to keep fighting for the basic rights, to come together and stand up for what is right for everyone. A girl can dream, right?