This weekend, the fourth and final movie in the Hunger Games series was released in theaters. This popular book-turned-movie-series has sold over 70 million copies, making it one of the most popular teen book series of all time, comparable only to the Harry Potter series. One of the reasons for the popularity is because the story line resonates with millennials increasingly disgruntled view of society's flaws.
Vietnam soldier-turned-author Tim O’Brien once said, “Fiction is the lie that helps us understand the truth.” In many ways, The Hunger Games follows this format, as much of the story line serves as commentary on the excess consumption of society, the propaganda we see on TV, and our distrust of power.
There are a lot of theories floating around on the internet about the Hunger Games taking place in futuristic North America, as many of the districts correspond to different regions of the country. When you look at today’s society, you can see a lot of the problems seen in the movie already manifesting here.
The lifestyles of the one-percent in American society have come under fire now as more people push for wealth distribution. The reality is that the US as a whole has become consumer-driven, as "poverty" has been redefined to merely not being able to afford cable, internet, and a smart phone with an added data plan. On top of that, society has taught us that we constantly need the newest and better things - not because there is anything wrong with the things that we currently have, but because we want to appear cool and trendy.
In the media, there are accusations of bias from both sides, as two news stations can cover the same issue while appearing to tell two very different stories. Meanwhile, reality TV shows like “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” and “Real Housewives” have distracted us from reality, as more people care about the designer a person is wearing in Hollywood than the bills being passed in D.C. Even the news media has bought into the trend, news coverage now includes updates on what is trending on social media and what cat video is going viral.
As for the government, distrust is at an all-time high, as is the blatant disregard government officials have shown for the authority of the Constitution. More power is being concentrated in the hands of the executive and judicial branches of the government and away from the legislative branch - which happens to be the branch designed to be most responsive to the wants and needs of the American people.
In re-watching Mockingjay: Part Two last weekend, I noticed another warning hidden in the story. There is a reason why the Capital was able to keep the Districts subdued for so long: the people had been disarmed.
In several scenes (this one in particular), the people of the districts are shown taking a stand against the Capital and their peacekeeper army. In doing so, they were mowed down by gunfire. In this scene, people from the districts are charging towards the dam and have to run over the bodies of the neighbors who have been mowed down before (spoiler alert!) they reach the dam and are able to set the bomb to destroy it.
The second amendment of the Constitution was written because the founding fathers recognized the importance of an armed public to hold the government accountable, should they make the shift from a republic to a dictatorship. However, the current administration has used every opportunity to push for more gun restrictions moving the country in the direction of a disarmed public.
Eliminating guns may seem like the simplest way to to put an end to violent attacks like the one in Paris. But if someone wants to inflict harm on other people, guns or not, they will find a way to do so. Knives and homemade bombs can be just as deadly as guns and are much more difficult to regulate.
Allowing people to arm themselves provides a means for people to protect themselves and their families. It also ensures that should the institutions designed to protect them become corrupted to the point that they must be abolished, the people have the means to do so.
