Since it was announced that The Hunger Games would be made into a movie, the series has become even more popular than before.  I don’t know about you, but ever since I wrote my piece on the allusions to the Roman Empire in The Hunger Games, I’ve been thinking about the series quite a bit.  And with the movie release only yesterday, I have decided to examine the reasons behind the Hunger Games phenomenon.

1.  Katniss is more of a unisex narrator.

Stephenie Meyers’ Twilight series was (and still is) popular, but it will never reach the popularity level of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series.  Other than the quality of writing, the main difference is the target audience.  Twilight appeals to women, both young and old, but that means it’s only targeting 50% of the population at most.  This is because Bella Swan is a very helpless, extremely feminine protagonist that every girl wants to be.  Harry Potter, on the other hand, appeals to far more than just 50% of the population because he is a boy, but he is not so overly masculine as to turn away girls.

Do you see what I’m getting at here?  Generally speaking, protagonists must be written almost as if they are unisex if they are to achieve a high level of popularity.  Katniss is a female protagonist, but she is far from a damsel in distress and her point of view is not so overtly feminine that it turns off male readers.  And that simple fact is what contributes to the series’ immense popularity. Continue reading →