By holding the government ultimately responsible as the instigator of the gruesome violence committed, The Hunger Games encourages young adults to examine the power and responsibility of government. Jenna Benson takes issue with this approach in her article “Violence in Pop-Culture Media and The Hunger Games as a Prime Artifact” because as she explains, “Following this logic, all killing in the world of Panem is in some degree, the Capitol’s fault, and therefore, justifiable in the eyes of the reader who identifies with the hero girl who is forced to do the work of death dealing in order to survive” (62). However, while Benson sees this as a negative since it takes away personal responsibility, if Katniss were ultimately responsible for the
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By criticizing the social glorification of violence and blaming the majority of the violence on the government, The Hunger Games provides an enemy which needs to be fought to prevent future violence. In addition, The Hunger Games promotes the innocence of young characters and gives a message of hope which works to provide young adults a motivation and responsibility to fight social injustice. Removing the violence from The Hunger Games only attempts to shield young adults from what they must ultimately face in the world around them every day. As Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Katniss Everdeen in the film, explains, “Violence is at the heart of the movie, because it has to make people angry enough to start an uprising” (qtd. in Eames). In the same way that violence is the heart of the revolution in The Hunger Games, the violence in the story is necessary for young adults to acknowledge similar problems in the world around them and prepare them to take action against these problems. Whether it is the modern media, foreign politics, class warfare, or government control, The Hunger Games uses violence to create awareness in young adults of the problems that surround them and to encourage them that they are able to make a difference. Ultimately, the power of The Hunger Games lies in utilizing enough violence combined with hope to empower a generation of young adults to, like Katniss, stand up and fight the real
By criticizing the social glorification of violence and blaming the majority of the violence on the government, The Hunger Games provides an enemy which needs to be fought to prevent future violence. In addition, The Hunger Games promotes the innocence of young characters and gives a message of hope which works to provide young adults a motivation and responsibility to fight social injustice. Removing the violence from The Hunger Games only attempts to shield young adults from what they must ultimately face in the world around them every day. As Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Katniss Everdeen in the film, explains, “Violence is at the heart of the movie, because it has to make people angry enough to start an uprising” (qtd. in Eames). In the same way that violence is the heart of the revolution in The Hunger Games, the violence in the story is necessary for young adults to acknowledge similar problems in the world around them and prepare them to take action against these problems. Whether it is the modern media, foreign politics, class warfare, or government control, The Hunger Games uses violence to create awareness in young adults of the problems that surround them and to encourage them that they are able to make a difference. Ultimately, the power of The Hunger Games lies in utilizing enough violence combined with hope to empower a generation of young adults to, like Katniss, stand up and fight the real