Topic 5 Post 1
Discuss some of the similarities and differences between science fiction and
fantasy. Which category would you put dystopian literature, like The Hunger Games
or the Divergent series into? Why?
In the case of popular YA dystopian titles like The Hunger Games and Divergent, I would consider them
neither sci-fi nor fantasy. Sci-fi is generally defined by the uprising or use of technology to spread a
message about how the use of technology can be dangerous, more like Black Mirror or Matrix, or other
“punk” subgenres like steampunk, raypunk (Star Trek), or stitchpunk (Frankenstein). Fantasy is
speculative fiction that is typically characterized by a use of fantastical elements, like magic. Fantasy
genres are more like high or epic fantasy (Lord of the Rings, Eragon), fairy tales, or modern or urban
fantasy (Harry Potter).
Neither The Hunger Games nor Divergent can necessarily fall into these genres. If anything, it may have
elements of a modern urban sci-fi punk genre, considering both books are anti-authoritarian, anti-
corporation, and anti-media. Punk genres aren’t limited to sci-fi, but neither book contains elements
generally accepted as fantasy.
Topic 5 Post 2
The Hunger Games and the trilogy it belongs to are a massively popular cultural
phenomenon. How do you think this popularity reflects our current culture and its
concerns and values? Explain? Also, do you think it is a good idea for an English
teacher to bring popular texts like this into a classroom discussion? Why or why not?
The Hunger Games’s influence on Western culture was immediately prevalent in the resulting wave of
YA
fiction that later died with Divergent. The Hunger Games was successful because the book
was
immediately clear to be anti-authoritarian and came out in the middle of the 2008 housing market
crash.
Teens feed off the emotions and opinions of adults around them, who thirsted for validation for
their
anger at the economy and political scene. However, The Hunger Games was good because the message
behind it, how media requires a constant flow of new, desperate blood to stay alive, was
real.
The realism of the book and the inner anti-media message it told was heart wrenching, so The Hunger
Games was successful. Other authors tried to emulate that, breaking the genre defined by The Hunger
Games into its bare bones: a lonely child manipulated by a government. In doing so, titles like The Maze
Runner, Divergent, and Throne of Glass effectively stripped the emotional resonance from the genre in
attempts to mass market relatability to the message of the book that teenagers didn’t connect with.
It is important for teachers to teach this kind of book in a classroom. We generally agreed in Topic 4
that teenagers should be able to relate to the literature they read, and (good) YA fiction is specifically
designed for young adults. The marketability of copycat YA fiction just proves the point of The Hunger
Discuss some of the similarities and differences between science fiction and
fantasy. Which category would you put dystopian literature, like The Hunger Games
or the Divergent series into? Why?
In the case of popular YA dystopian titles like The Hunger Games and Divergent, I would consider them
neither sci-fi nor fantasy. Sci-fi is generally defined by the uprising or use of technology to spread a
message about how the use of technology can be dangerous, more like Black Mirror or Matrix, or other
“punk” subgenres like steampunk, raypunk (Star Trek), or stitchpunk (Frankenstein). Fantasy is
speculative fiction that is typically characterized by a use of fantastical elements, like magic. Fantasy
genres are more like high or epic fantasy (Lord of the Rings, Eragon), fairy tales, or modern or urban
fantasy (Harry Potter).
Neither The Hunger Games nor Divergent can necessarily fall into these genres. If anything, it may have
elements of a modern urban sci-fi punk genre, considering both books are anti-authoritarian, anti-
corporation, and anti-media. Punk genres aren’t limited to sci-fi, but neither book contains elements
generally accepted as fantasy.
Topic 5 Post 2
The Hunger Games and the trilogy it belongs to are a massively popular cultural
phenomenon. How do you think this popularity reflects our current culture and its
concerns and values? Explain? Also, do you think it is a good idea for an English
teacher to bring popular texts like this into a classroom discussion? Why or why not?
The Hunger Games’s influence on Western culture was immediately prevalent in the resulting wave of
YA
fiction that later died with Divergent. The Hunger Games was successful because the book
was
immediately clear to be anti-authoritarian and came out in the middle of the 2008 housing market
crash.
Teens feed off the emotions and opinions of adults around them, who thirsted for validation for
their
anger at the economy and political scene. However, The Hunger Games was good because the message
behind it, how media requires a constant flow of new, desperate blood to stay alive, was
real.
The realism of the book and the inner anti-media message it told was heart wrenching, so The Hunger
Games was successful. Other authors tried to emulate that, breaking the genre defined by The Hunger
Games into its bare bones: a lonely child manipulated by a government. In doing so, titles like The Maze
Runner, Divergent, and Throne of Glass effectively stripped the emotional resonance from the genre in
attempts to mass market relatability to the message of the book that teenagers didn’t connect with.
It is important for teachers to teach this kind of book in a classroom. We generally agreed in Topic 4
that teenagers should be able to relate to the literature they read, and (good) YA fiction is specifically
designed for young adults. The marketability of copycat YA fiction just proves the point of The Hunger
