Upon the initial release of Suzanne Collins’ “Sunrise on the Reaping,” the fifth book in her “Hunger Games” series, countless nostalgic fans and readers discussed how well written the book was. In person and online discussion pulled at the timely context of the book’s story then quickly turned to the anticipation of the film as the roll out of the cast flooded social media. The discussion of the importance of the book shifted into a discussion of the excitement for the media, a slight splinter reflective of the original trilogy’s book-to-movie adaptation wherein the media dissected the love triangle between Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, and Gale Hawthorne. While love is an important theme in “The Hunger Games,” “The Ballad of Snakes and Songbirds,” and “Sunrise on the Reaping,” the relevancy of the Hunger Games’ dystopic future government ties into the usage of real-world propaganda as means of distraction.
To discuss the series’ display of propaganda, one must first zoom out to the simple name of Collins’ post-North America country: Panem.
‘Panem et Circenses’
The Latin phrase “panem et circenses” or “bread and circuses” comes from the Romans, an ideology in which “the people” must be kept fed and entertained, just enough so that they do not dare disturb the order of things. Wine and coliseum duels, cake and ballet, glass coke bottles and FDR’s fireside chats, red food dye and the newest season of Love Island. The meal changes, the entertainment changes, but the goal remains the same. Nonetheless, this formula has kept things afloat. In some cases, the entertainment itself is the politics in charge; however, the 24-hour news cycle creates a fast-paced form of entertainment that begs the audience to not dwell on the details for too long. In Collins’ fictional future, the current land of the United States of America goes through climate change, war and nuclear destruction, which leads to the eventual creation of Panem. At first, Panem consisted of the 13 Districts and the Capitol.
The formation of Panem and the Rebellion of District 13 both happen prior to the series, with the exception of a young Corio Snow’s memory. Teenaged Snow—Panem’s future president—lives in the direct aftermath of the Rebellion—or “the Dark Days”—in the Capitol as a closested lower-class citizen. Following the Dark Days, the Treaty of Treason is written with new laws and restrictions over the 12 remaining districts and introduces the annual event, the Hunger Games, an annual event where each district sends one boy and one girl for a brutal fight to the death.
As revealed in “Ballad,” Corio Snow’s father had been a key player in developing the Games. At first, the Games were rather simple—“to keep the peace”—as the posters and peacekeepers within the districts remind the citizens. After Corio Snow’s experience as District 11’s Lucy Gray’s mentor and romantic partner, a revised form of the Hunger Games is created to entice Capitol viewers while also enforcing a more brutal Games that sparks “humilitainment” media.
Propaganda is a key theme in “Sunrise on the Reaping,” and it is easy to identify Collins’ inspiration through the book’s epigraph featuring quotes from George Orwell, William Blake and David Hume. Propaganda, as defined by Merriam-Webster, “is the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person,.” This is a modern definition especially as it relates to political ideologies. The term itself had initially been used in relation to religious context during the 17th century; however, criticism of Roman religion and political propaganda dates back to Paul’s Letters to the Romans in 60 CE. This historic tie in Collins’ work emphasises inspiration from the Roman Empire in Collins’ work in tandem with her propaganda criticism.
The Use of Propaganda
Within the first chapter of “Sunrise,” readers are introduced to a freshly 16-year-old Haymitch Abernathy on the day of the annual Reaping—the annual selection ceremony for the Hunger Games—and his observation of the scene before him: “My stomach clenches at the sight of the square, plastered with posters and crawling with heavily armed Peacekeepers in their white uniforms. Lately the theme has been ‘No Peace’ and the slogans bombard you from every side. NO PEACE, NO BREAD! NO PEACE, NO SECURITY! And, of course, NO PEACEKEEPERS, NO PEACE! NO CAPITOL, NO PEACE! Hanging behind the temporary stage in front of the Justice Building is a huge banner of President Snow’s face with the words PANEM’S #1 PEACEKEEPER.”
In an odd twist, “NO PEACE, NO BREAD” echoes a similar cry coined during the United States’ Black Lives Matter protests, “No Justice, No Peace”. The cruelty of the statement, “no peace” resulting in “no bread” takes the original message from BLM activists out of the people’s hands and into the authoritarian government’s, as it withholds basic human needs to control the population so it acts in accordance to the government’s will, in opposition of the people..
To recall “panem et circenses,” the distraction of food comes from the need to eat. While the billionaires of the Capitol are distracted by the surplus of food provided by the various districts, the districts’ people are distracted by their constant labor to gain food. Malnourished people lack the energy to revolt and plan, which supports the Capitol’s balanced scheme. In an interview with Scholastic, Collins recalls Enlightenment thinker’s debates as it “addresses the human condition before we had societies or political associations. Your opinion on who we were in the state of nature defines the form of government you think we need.”
As it is written in “Ballad,” President Snow believes that in nature, humans are animalistic and behave savagely at their core. Like a dog sitting for a treat, this fictional president commands his people through food. The better one behaves, the more one eats.
This quick overview is just a small glimpse of the political depth Suzanne Collins built in her “Hunger Games” universe. There are a number of examples of “panem et circenses” depicted in each iteration of Collins’ world building that translates through propaganda. “Sunrise on the Reaping” is the grandchild and reiteration of George Orwell’s “1984” as it reminds readers not only to fight back, but that the fight has never stopped. “Sunrise” is not just a five-star book for nostalgia’s sake, it is a direct reflection of the bread and circuses around the globe.
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