Why I love Hunger Games (and you should too)

I've always been sort of obsessed with dystopian literature. Ever since I read The Giver in fifth grade I've always been fascinated with a world that is created to be Utopian but has this awful underbelly. Also I'm not a huge fan of capitalism and therefore I like reading about what happens when capitalism goes to its extremes. Also, I'm morbid and like when the world gets all messed up and the future is pretty fucking bleak. So enter The Hunger Games. I read the first book after the second book came out because it got a lot of hype and I'm a sucker for that sort of stuff. I consumed it, bought the next book and impatiently waited for the final book to come out. And as a lover of this series, I shall now present the awesome things about this book (and a few things that aren't that great but I overlook for the love of the genre).

1. Katniss is an antihero: Let's be straight, Katniss is pretty annoying, especially in the third book. You sort of start rooting against her and hope the rest of the series is from Peeta's perspective. It's pretty rare to find a series you love but you hate the narrator. But this is actually what I love about her- she's real. She's 16 years old in the first book. She's selfish, annoying, self righteous and doesn't want to take orders. Basically she's a teenager. She doesn't claim to be anything more than what she is, and the author doesn't give you more than that. She isn't a hero, and doesn't claim to be either. She doesn't want to be the Mockingjay but does it because she wants to save Peeta. She is not an altruistic person. Her one and only good deed was volunteering in her sisters place. But this is because Katniss knows something about herself: she is capable of killing, and her sister isn't. We are rooting for a person to be the last one standing in a battle to the death with other kids her own age who have done nothing wrong other than get their name drawn in a shitty lottery. She isn't a good person, she's a survivor in a world that downright blows.

2. Panem is awesome: For those of us who are fans, we want more Harry Potter books. Not because there is more to understand, but because we don't want it to end. We don't care what form it takes, be it about Dumbledore's adventures before Hogwarts or the first War with Voldemort or about Voldemort himself- we just want it because we love the world that JK Rowling created. With Panem though, there is so much to understand. Where are the districts located? How did the Hunger Games start? What were they like in the beginning? What started the first Rebellion? How did the Capitol control the districts before the Hunger Games? How did it become established that the districts would be focused on a sort of USSR production type society? Why was District 13 the one destroyed? These are all unanswered questions that will more than likely never be answered. But Panem is a really awesome world that exists without existing. It's America, only the continent got smaller and the states are districts that we don't know the exact location of (other than Colorado gets to be the Capitol and District 12 is the Appalachian mountains somewhere around VA/NC).

3. Peeta and Gale both have pros and cons: Let's face it- we love Peeta because he is a smooth talker. He says some pretty romantic things. But the kid is sort of useless. He would have died in the games without Katniss and he's pretty gullible to think there would be no fallout for the whole berry situation. But he's very loyal and loves Katniss despite her being an utter bitch. Then there's Gale. Gale is strong, a fighter, and let's face it- hot. But Gale is also an egotistical asshole who believes the ends justify the means. Maybe it was character assassination, but I think we were always supposed to believe that he and Katniss were very much alike. If Gale had been chosen to be in the games, he would have been just like Cato, and though he wouldn't have killed Katniss himself, he would have wanted to be the last one standing. The point is they each have good and bad qualities, just like real people. Katniss chose the person whom she felt best complimented her own personality and gave her something she desperately needed.

4. President Snow is legit scary: I'm happy they got Donald Sutherland to be President Snow in the movie because for some reason that guy freaks me out no matter what his character is. Snow is scary. He isn't a Stephen King character but he knows how to manipulate a crowd and suggest to you what will happen if you cross him. When he visits Katniss in Catching Fire you're scared for her because he's someone she isn't smart enough to fight. She might be physically strong but that guy is smart and always two steps ahead on how to work the situation. He and Katniss understand each other that way, but it doesn't mean she can compete.

5. Other people did it first (but not necessarily better): Look, I understand, Battle Royale came out in 1999 and the movie came out in 2000 (I think). It has the same concept: A group of kids are forced to kill each other until there is only one survivor and it's government controlled. That is where the similarities end. For starters, no one else knows this is going on. The kids are on a field trip, are drugged, and wake up in this situation. No one is watching it on TV and making bets on it and even though it's government operated the general public doesn't know what is going down on this island. Also, there are way too many characters to keep up with. Battle Royale is awesome, but I don't think it's right to say it's a straight up rip off. The Running Man by Stephen King focused on this concept of televised violence. But it's also somewhat of a choice. The people are poor and dying and are going there as a last resort but they are choosing to be on this "game show" all on their own. No one made them audition. But it doesn't make the concept any worse, and it is a very astute commentary on our culture made before the whole reality show mania got out of hand.

6. There are a slew of plot holes: I know he says it in the movie and I am pretty sure he talks about it in the book too but Gale makes the point that if no one watches, then the Hunger Games won't have any power. And this is true, but the only place that it really matters where they watch is the Capitol and they'll never stop watching because their children aren't the ones being killed. Part of me doesn't understand how they became so disenfranchised that they don't care to watch kids die, while another part of me thinks maybe they don't know it's real. Maybe they think they don't really die and it's all fake and they would never know because they don't go visit the districts. But they have to know it's real because they sponsor them and send medicine and food and stuff. I don't know, it's a question that is never answered: how they can justifiably accept that human sacrifice is necessary for rebellion. Also, why don't the kids just refuse to kill each other? I mean, the Capitol can just blow the arena up and they'd all die, but that goes against the whole concept of the Games. If the kids all got in there, looked around and said "I don't really want to kill you, let's just hang out" the Games couldn't exist. Instead they just accept that they need to become cold hearted killing machines. Maybe that's the point of brainwashing the Career districts, they'll kill at random so everyone else better get with the program too. This is something Battle Royale does better, if they don't kill anyone or participate, their collars get detonated and their heads explode. Why can't people move from their district? It's never discussed that they can't but Katniss never gives an indication that they can. I guess it makes sense with the whole totalitarian concept but you'd think you could move from your district (just not to the safety of the Capitol). These plot holes make me love the series more, mostly because I keep thinking I'll get the answers. I love the mystery of it all!

7. We don't focus too much on who loves who: Katniss doesn't sit around wondering if she should pick Peeta or Gale. She actually doesn't spend a whole lot of time on that at all. She thinks about it, but she doesn't obsess about it. If she was Bella all she'd do is sit around thinking about which boy she was going to love forever and ever. Peeta doesn't spend the whole time trying to convince Katniss of his love and Gale doesn't do much of that either. They all know there is something more important going on and spend an appropriate amount of time swooning over one another. I like the balance (even though there were times I didn't want some of the more romantic moments to end).

Overall, this series has its share of problems, but at its core it's really awesome. Katniss is a pretty crappy person, and I love that. I love that we aren't supposed to think she's a heroine because she's not. She's a normal girl who has normal girl issues (mostly with her own arrogance) and even though she has these setbacks, she achieves a lot. She makes a lot of mistakes, but she also makes a lot of smart (albeit unpopular) choices as well. She isn't a role model per se, but I'd rather be a Katniss than a Bella any day.