The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Not only is a false perception that appeal to the audience important for success, but also the way they can interact with them. Interactivity is key to how reality television and The Hunger Games formatted. After “adhering to the reality TV process of molding her ‘true-self’ to the reality TV persona”, Katniss is able to gather help from the sponsors (Layfield 7). The sponsors are the wealthy people in Panem who donate silver parachutes filled with a gift or equipment to their favorite tribute. While this may seem like a harmless act and more like a sign of kindness, it makes the Games more interesting, if one tribute has a subtle advantage over the rest. Similarly, in a recent survey done in an “Introduction to Literature,” students that were surveyed admitted to viewing reality television but “felt that their viewership made little impact on the outcome of the program itself” (Smith 7). So viewership is deemed as harmless and acceptable to witness a drunken tirade or heated argument because the producers are seen as the ones controlling the fate of the constants, not themselves. In relation, voter participation is used to lure the audience into participating in the selection of their favorite winners and transition “from a more passive position as viewers to a more active role through which can effect the outcomes of narratives”(Andrejevic 11). Dedicated fans not only become observers, but they in a sense become participants as well. Then, “self proclaimed fans tweet their feedback on Twitter and Facebook, where the “stars” of these shows…entertain the spotlight of a second stage where they respond en masse to viewer comments and queries” (Smith 5). Although it is an artificial form of communication garnered through the use of s...

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...esensitization elements of The Hunger Games illuminate with those seen in reality television. While they might not be to the point of death, actors actively participate in drama that arouses the audience. The masses cheer and encourage their favorite tributes or contestants who reflect that any message portrayed can reach people if it captures their attention. Together, Collins rhetorical choices combine to become nonrealistic characteristics seen in reality television. Her choice in setting, identity construction, and desensitization of human emotion, pulls the reader even further into the actions displayed by the “actors.” Incorporating the context of reality television helps gives structure to the novel in order to demonstrate that while initial viewership of drama may seem harmless, the reality is that it desensitizes and dehumanizes a society just like Panem.