On our blog and across the Internet, “The Hunger Games” series and its themes of oppressive regimes and the size and power of government have been widely discussed. Below is our series of alternate endings and also some of the best articles on the message of “The Hunger Games.”
*Spoiler alert: Most of these links contain details regarding the end of the series.*
An Introduction to the The Hunger Games Alternate Endings by Eric Teetsel
Like everyone, I read the series in under a week. It’s pulp, sure, but it’s gripping and fun. Collins won’t win awards for the writing, but she deserves credit for weaving awkward teen romance, compelling action sequences, and a dystopian political culture into a story that offers a little something for readers of all ages and interests. (No worries, credit has come in the form of lots and lots of money.) I’m a fan. Someday, when they’re old enough, I’ll read “The Hunger Games” with my kids. But when that time comes, we’ll have to talk about the ending.The Hunger Games – Alternate Ending by Jordan Ballor
Peeta could hear birds faintly chirping in the courtyard as he was escorted to a meeting with Gale. President Gale. But that wasn’t the important thing. Seeing Katniss was what mattered. He hadn’t seen her, not in person, since the incident nine months ago. After Katniss had killed President Coin, she had been whisked away by guards, and Peeta hadn’t been allowed to see or even talk to her.Re-Ending the Hunger Games Trilogy by Wesley Gant
While I thoroughly enjoyed reading “The Hunger Games,” I was disappointed at the author’s choice of a rather abrupt and disconnected ending, rewarding her heroine with a life of fear, loneliness and uncertainty. A more inspiring piece would have involved less grieving and more closure, less isolation and more relationship. As I wrote in a previous post, Katniss’s dystopian society illustrates the dangers of what F. A. Hayek called “central planning,” namely, an enslaved population and suffocated economy.Interview: George Washington Reviews The Hunger Games by Rebecca Cusey
He’s a hard interview to book these days, but Patheos recently sat down with the hero of the American Revolution and the United States’ first president, George Washington. He told us about the afterlife and his obsession with young adult literature, especially the red-hot “Hunger Games.” The movie version of the first book will release March 23. But be warned, Washington has read all the books and isn’t shy about revealing the ending. He is our nation’s Father, after all, so he has the privilege.Freedom, Tyranny and The Hunger Games by Wesley Gant
Oppressive regimes in the real world succeed by deconstructing and reconstructing our purpose and identity. Step one for the regime that wishes to control everything is to destroy the social fabric that brings communities and families together. In dissolving relational bonds, people are made less accountable for their actions, and their sympathetic faculties are constricted.Five Books You’ll Love if You Liked The Hunger Games by Jacqueline Otto
“The Hunger Games” trilogy by Suzanne Collins has taken the bestseller lists by force, and many “hungry” fans are eating up the first movie in theaters now. Many literature snobs are rolling their eyes at this series, fearing it to be just another tween saga. I myself am saddened over the missed opportunities. The idea of “The Hunger Games” had the potential of being something truly meaningful, yet Collins wasted her pages on petty teenage drama. But despite my disappointments, I am grateful that this series has introduced many new readers to power of dystopian literature.Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” Illustrates the Horrors of Big Government by John Tamny
‘The Hunger Games’ is a blue-state ‘Harry Potter’ by Rebecca Cusey
If you’re wondering what the next big thing is now that Harry Potter has laid down his wand, you’re already behind the curve. The braces-and-acne set has moved on to Suzanne Collins’s post-apocalyptic trilogy “The Hunger Games.” With Lionsgate adapting the best-selling novels into a trio of movies beginning next spring, the blogosphere hangs breathless on every casting tidbit and new photo. MTV even hyped a teaser trailer for the movie during its youth-targeted Video Music Awards on Sunday night.The new trilogy answers Pottermania in more than just popularity — it represents a radically different point of view. Master Potter and his friends, for all their British accents, turn out to be very red-state while Collins’s Katniss Everdeen could not be more blue-state.The Zero Sum Games by Stephen J. Heaney
Now, it is no surprise to find that people in power truly believe that what they are doing is for the best; they hope everyone will see the truth of what they are saying and doing, and want to join in. The thing is, normal people—that is, people who are not bullies, let alone totalitarians—propose their good news and invite everyone to join in the project: “Since we have the power to do so,” they say, “we are going to put our plan into action, because we believe it is good; we hope you will join us.”Hunger Games Taps the Desire for Freedom by Amy Payne
Why does the movie adaptation of The Hunger Games have more than 3 million fans on Facebook? More than 1,000 showings of the film, which opens tonight at midnight, have already sold out. It’s simple: Readers of the book have put themselves in the story. It’s a gripping first-person narrative that prods the reader to wonder, “What would I do in this situation?” again and again. And it’s a fight for liberty—personal and collective—that is relatable.“The Hunger Games”: The Role of Dystopian Literature in Libertarianism by Christine-Marie Dixon
The Hunger Games is a future world rooted in history. Such horrors have taken place before. They can easily happen again. We can, however, take action. By promoting the ideas of liberty, we are working to prevent such atrocities from happening to us. In disseminating the message of liberty we are fighting against a future society where fiction becomes reality.Secular Scapegoats and ‘The Hunger Games’ by Jordan Ballor
“The Hunger Games” trilogy penned by Suzanne Collins has proven to be hugely successful, and deservedly so. The tale of post-apocalyptic love, poverty, war, and oppression poignantly captures the fundamental injustice of tyranny. As the film premiere of the first book dominated the box office this past weekend, it’s worth reflecting on what can be learned about faith and freedom from “The Hunger Games.”How “The Hunger Games” Should Have Ended by Jacqueline Otto
This is what you think it is! A long-time-coming contribution to the alternate endings of this summer’s featured Hunger Games Round Up. I’ve been very vocal about my opinions, saying in a previous post that “the idea of ‘The Hunger Games’ had the potential of being something truly meaningful, yet Collins wasted her pages on petty teenage drama.”
