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Last week, the McConnell Center hosted Dr. Amy Sturgis, an author, editor, scholar, educator, speaker, and podcaster with specialties in the fields of Science Fiction/Fantasy and Native American Studies. While she was in Louisville, the McConnell Center certainly gave her a lot to do, including delivering a lecture on the Trail of Tears and hosting a variety of seminars ranging from discussions on F.A. Hayek’s book, The Road to Serfdom, to an engaging seminar on “Potter’s Politics.” My favorite seminar was our discussion on the Hunger Games trilogy. Since reading the books and watching the movie this summer, I had been looking forward to discussing the themes and deeper meaning of the books' events.
Dr. Sturgis outlined the works that Hunger Games author Suzanne Collins claimed had influenced the trilogy. The basis of the story, especially the first book, was loosely based on the story of Theseus, the famous Athenian who slayed Minos’ minotaur. Although the stories do not align perfectly, there are some striking similarities. In the story of Theseus and the Minotaur, Theseus volunteered himself in place of one of the Athenian tributes who was to be sacrificed. Athens was forced to produce tributes to King Minos of Crete because of a war they had lost. King Minos continued to demand tributes to prove the power he had over Athens, just as the capitol of Panem continued to demand tributes from each district to prove their power. The Hunger Games' Katniss is likened to Theseus in that she volunteers herself in place of a tribute, her sister Prim, and wins the Hunger Games.
By discussing the series’ connection to the story of Theseus, I discovered many themes and symbols that at first were not entirely visible to me. I also found our discussion on the name, Panem, very interesting. Dr. Sturgis explained the origin of the name, Panem, and the commentary it makes on the country itself. The name comes from the Latin phrase Panem et circenses, meaning bread and circuses, or food and entertainment. In other words, the phrase describes a society in which the people had given up their political rights and responsibilities for a bit of comfort and security. I found this concept very interesting, especially in analyzing today’s global political systems. Panem is certainly an extreme case because the Hunger Game is a dystopian novel, but traces of the system can still be seen in our modern, globalized economy and the wealth disparities between the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere of the globe.
In reflection, the seminars were truly beneficial, and I greatly appreciated the time Dr. Sturgis took to engage us McConnell Scholars on such a variety of subjects.
Cathrine Mountain, of Franklin County, Ky., is a sophomore McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. She is studying anthropology and political science.