The return of dystopian entertainment

The newest addition to The Hunger Games film series is set to be released in November 2023, what does this mean for dystopian novels and films?

With the release of the newest movie in the Hunger Games universe later this year, “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” I’ve noticed that dystopian films and novels seem to have made a comeback. I am also totally here for it! 

I grew up with these sorts of movies and books being a staple, so exciting to see what they can do now with the books that they are bringing to life. This comeback has led many, including myself, to revisit the books and movies they loved in middle and high school. I spent the last week rereading the first book in The Hunger Games series and I have so much to talk about after rereading it. 

As I started to reread the first book, I watched the corresponding movie. With any adaptation of a movie, there were quite a few obvious differences between the book and the movie. I know some stuff has to be left out for sake of time, but some details seem necessary to the storyline. The biggest difference was the roles that each character played and who was actually in the book, like the moment Katniss receives the Mockingjay pin. Not only is how she received it different, but the interactions and emotions around it are completely different. 

I also remembered the many other series that were part of that dystopian wave in the early 2000s. “The Maze Runner” series by James Dashner and the “Divergent” series by Veronica Roth, to more classics like “Nineteen Eighty-Four” by George Orwell and “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury. These books all remind me of one thing; rising up against a tyrannical authority. I could not help but recognize many things in the books I read taking place in my real life. It was shocking to realize how much was taking place in these books and my day-to-day. 

These stories were my entertainment in my formative years, so of course I am trying to overthrow the government. Kidding! But really, The Hunger Games series was a very big part of my life and the messages conveyed in the books and movies are very interesting when compared to the present day of the U.S. and politics.