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You say you want a revolution? Well, you know… we all want to change the world.

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Okay, so maybe the Beatles said it best. But when things aren’t to our liking, a

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revolution is sometimes in order. In Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy,

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the people of Panem have gotten sick and tired of being treated like garbage.

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They don’t like having to sacrifice their children to the Hunger Games, and they certainly

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don’t like the “Capitol” forcing them into poverty.

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So…they organize… …and attempt to overthrow the government.

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For the face of their rebellion they choose Katniss Everdeen, co-winner of the last Hunger

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Games. Because of her defiance to the Capitol, she

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now symbolizes Panem’s mounting frustration. But is this chain of events how a revolution

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begins here in the real world? How plausible is Panem’s coup?

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Well let’s take a look at another Revolution and compare…

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How did the gears of war get started in the American Revolution?...

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So, pretty much everyone in the colonies was unhappy with the British.

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People would get together in small groups to express their dissatisfaction and organize

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revolts, however they couldn’t exactly send out chain emails to all of their friends.

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So all they could do was rebel on a smaller level.

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Their hope was that their actions would create a spark that would light a fire.

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And the courageous acts of a few colonists inspired the rest to fight.

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But things go down much differently in the Hunger Games trilogy. First thing, the whole

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revolution happens pretty much at once, rather than sporadically and in different locations.

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Secondly, while they are just as much under the thumb of their government as the colonists…

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…the citizens of Panem have a place called District 13 to prepare for battle.

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All in all, it is a much more organized plan than any other Revolution in our world’s

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history. So have we concluded that Collins’ depiction

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of revolution is unrealistic? Or is it a sign of the times?

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With the growth of technology, everything in the world is changing, and war is no exception.

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Today, you can create a website promoting a cause, and before you know it, you have

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a million hits. Even Egypt created a large number of pro-democracy

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protests that merely began as a Facebook page. Because the Hunger Games takes place in the

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future, the people of Panem have access to the same types of technology that we have.

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So this begs the question. Is the uprising in Panem credible? Or are you a cynic?

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Shmoop amongst yourselves. And may the odds of arriving at a conclusion be ever in your

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favor.

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YouTube blurb:

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You love The Hunger Games. Katniss Everdeen is your hero. You might even organize a revolution

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yourself, if you didn’t get quite so queasy at the sight of blood. But hey – you really

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don’t have it so bad. About the only thing you’re randomly selected for is a Best Buy

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gift card. (Careful – it’s a scam.)

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