Hunger Games Fans are Hungry for More

 
    The moment the Hunger Games first book came out in 2008 it was an instant hit with teenage audiences all over the United States, from the time between when the book was published and when the movie was produced in 2012 fifty million copies of the book, both electronic and physical, had been sold (Fabry, 2015). It appealed to every type of audience, with action, romance, and a dystopian setting it has everything a young adult reader could ever want. Not only that, but it reflected the feeling of being helpless most teenagers feel. They could see their own feelings reflected back at them through their favorite characters and watch them succeed at their end goal. It provides hope to teenagers that whatever they are going through they can make it out okay, which is why it was such a big part of many teenager's lives. Even though the trilogy came to an end, its fandom remains loyal to the series because of how much it impacted their lives. With people making fan films/fanfiction, going to conventions, and even people naming their kids after their favorite characters, the fandom is keeping the memories of the series alive and well.


Fan Films/Fanfiction

    When the Hunger Games trilogy produced its last film for the foreseeable future fans wanted to continue experiencing the magic of this dystopian world. Many found that the best way for them to do that was to make the world their own and produce fan films. Definitions describes a fan film as, "a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book, book, or video game created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators." This fan film allows for people to explore their favorite stories in a creative outlet all while providing fellow fans with more content from their favorite series. One of the more popular fan films from the Hunger Games can be viewed in figure 1.


Figure 1   


    On top of that, fans also like to take their own creative spin with fanfiction. Fanfiction as described by Merium Websters dictionary as, "stories involving popular fictional characters that are written by fans and often posted on the Internet." This allows for fans to take their favorite worlds and either put themselves into the story or make certain situations that they wanted to happen, exist. There have been many instances where I have walked into my dorm room and my roommate told me that she was crying over a Harry Potter x Hunger Games fanfiction called Crimson Rivers, and she wasn't the only one who loved it. That one fanfiction has 2,938,691 hits, hits are a counter of how many times a fanfiction has been accessed (Crimson Rivers). Fanfictions help make the fandom grow closer together and allows for fellow fans of a series to experience the same worlds they love together; all while allowing for fans to use creative expression to write the worlds they love in the way they want to. 

Conventions
    Many fandoms choose to keep their favorite series alive by roleplaying or dressing up in their favorite characters. This is especially prevalent at conventions where people from all different fandoms can come together and express their joy at their favorite characters by imitating them or putting their own spin on the characters costume. An example of cosplaying characters from the Hunger Games can be seen by figure 2.

Figure 2.
This figure comes from this cosplay website


    In a convention people are allowed to dress up and express their love for their favorite characters while also meeting people that are also a part of the fandom. While there are not many Hunger Games specific conventions, there is a multitude of conventions that are multifandom so they have a variety of fandoms present. A wide selection of conventions with the Hunger Games fandom can be found at Roster Con. A convention does so much more then offer a place for people to cosplay with one another though, it also offers an opportunity to go to panel rooms. Senpai (2022) stated, "Panel rooms. Many conventions use the smaller rooms inside the convention center or hotel to host various activities, including: Q&A with voice actors and celebrities, fandom discussion, video showings, games, activities and more." The panel allows for a unique experience where fans can talk to and ask their favorite actors questions. While the Hunger Games actors and actresses can't be there all the time, the panels still offer an interactive experience for all fans.

Hunger Games Children

    Some fans are so in love with this franchise that they name their kids after characters from the movie. Baby Name Popularity Statistics found that in 2012, 12 girls were named Katniss while in the previous years no one had named their kids Katniss.  This continued to rise until it came to a head when in 2014, 38 people named their babies Katniss. This is further supported by viewing figure 3 (Katniss: Baby Name Popularity Statistics). It is safe to presume that there is no coincidence that the name Katniss started being used after the movie franchise was released, though Katniss wasn't the only name from the trilogy that rose to popularity. With names like Primrose, Rue, Cato, and Posy all rising in popularity after the movie was released it only natural to make the connection that the names rise in popularity is because fans are naming their kids after their favorite characters.



       Figure 3.
      This figure can be found here.


Conclusion
    With the impact that the Hunger Games made on many teenagers it's no wonder why the fandom is so strong. The upcoming movie The Ballad of Songbirds and the Snakes will no doubt cause old fans of the Hunger Games to come rushing back and new fans to become a part of the Hunger Game fandom. This not only will affect a whole new generation and will cause them to become a part of an already large fandom, but will also cause old fans to remember their love for the series and how it was such an integral part of their childhood. I personally cannot wait to see the new movie and see all of the new artwork and creative expression from fans that come of it.

References

“Crimson Rivers.” Archive of Our Own, https://archiveofourown.org/works/search?work_search%5Bquery%5D=crimson+rivers.

“Definitions for Fan Film.” What Does Fan Film Mean?, https://www.definitions.net/definition/fan%20film#:~:text=Fan%20film%20A%20fan%20film%20is%20a%20film,than%20by%20the%20source%27s%20copyright%20holders%20or%20creators.

Fabry, Merrill. “The Hunger Games History: How Ya Books Became a Category.” Time, 20 Nov. 2015, https://time.com/4121206/hunger-games-ya-books/.

“Fan Fiction Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fan%20fiction.

“Hunger Games.” Roster Con, https://www.rostercon.com/en/tv-show/hunger-games-en.

“Katniss: Baby Name Popularity Statistics.” Everything Birthday, https://www.everything-birthday.com/name/f/Katniss#:~:text=Katniss%20is%20predominantly%20a%20girls%20name%2C%20with%20100%25,named%20Katniss%2C%20and%20257%20females%20given%20the%20name.

Phillip. “Hunger-Games-Cosplay-Gccdortmund.” Book Walk, 5 Dec. 2016, https://book-walk.de/2016/12/behind-the-screens-12-13-persoenliche-worte-stress-comic-con-und-weihnachtswuensche/hunger-games-cosplay-gccdortmund/.

Senpai, Roger. “Anime Convention Guide: Everything You Need to Know.” The Senpai Cosplay Blog, 1 Dec. 2022, https://rogersenpai.com/cosplay-convention/.

Shauna, Wright. “'The Hunger Games' and 'Twilight' Are Influencing Baby Names?” Screen Crush, 12 Apr. 2012, https://screencrush.com/hunger-games-twilight-baby-names/#:~:text=Here%20are%20a%20few%20highlights%3A%20%27%20The%20Hunger,that%20seems%20to%20be%20garnering%20the%20most%20attention.

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