If you haven’t currently got videos of Katniss and Peeta all over your TikTok for you page' are you even on BookTok? Re-activate your fan page because we’re being transported back to 2008. The Hunger Games is having a resurgence.
Seemingly out of nowhere, everyone has collectively decided to re-read and re-watch the iconic series, bringing about a whole new set of opinions, obsessions and theories. The Hunger Games is a franchise that many of us associate with our childhoods. 12-year-old me wore my mockingjay pin with pride and even had a birthday card with Josh Hutcherson’s face on it. A lot has changed since then, so how does this saga fit into our lives now? Is it still just as relevant now our obsession has returned over a decade later?
The first important thing to note is that TikTok wasn’t around back when we were all fangirling over the trilogy, so there’s space for a whole new type of content. From fan-made edits, to deep-dive theories and even funny videos of what creators would do if they were in the games themselves. The hashtag #thehungergames has over 3.5 billion views on TikTok and the movies soared into the Global Netflix Top 10 streaming chart back in March, staying put for a while.
One of the biggest contributors towards the resurgence has to be the upcoming film for the prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, based on the book that was released in May 2020. It also helps that Sam Claflin, who played Finnick Odair is back on our screens again as Billy Dunne in Daisy Jones & The Six. Taylor Swift is even feeding into the resurgence with the re-recordings of the songs she wrote for the films, ‘Safe and Sound’ and ‘Eyes Open’.
Maybe all of these factors combined caused the resurgence, or maybe we all just fell in love with it again at the same time, who knows. We’re off to re-read it, in the meantime, here are some of our favourite TikTok’s to refuel your obsession:
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