Of Bread, Blood and The Hunger Games: Critical Essays on the Suzanne Collins Trilogy (Critical Explorations in Science Fiction and Fantasy (35))

This collection of fresh essays on Suzanne Collins's epic trilogy spans multiple disciplines. The contributors probe the trilogy's meaning using theories grounded in historicism, feminism, humanism, queer theory, as well as cultural, political, and media studies. The essayists demonstrate diverse perspectives regarding Collins's novels but their works have three elements in common: an appreciation of the trilogy as literature, a belief in its permanent value, and a need to share both appreciation and belief with fellow readers. The 21 essays that follow the context-setting introduction are grouped into four parts: Part I "History, Politics, Economics, and Culture," Part II "Ethics, Aesthetics, and Identity," Part III "Resistance, Surveillance, and Simulacra," and Part IV "Thematic Parallels and Literary Traditions." A core bibliography of dystopian and postapocalyptic works is included, with emphasis on the young adult category--itself an increasingly crucial part of postmodern culture. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may . cover 1 Acknowledgments 4 Table of Contents 5 Preface by Leisa A. Clark 7 Introduction by Mary F. Pharr and Leisa A. Clark 10 Part I. History, Politics, Economics and Culture 24 1. Panem in America: Crisis Economics and a Call for Political Engagement by Bill Clemente 25 2. Absolute Power Games by Anthony Pavlik 35 3. Communal Spectacle: Reshaping History and Memory through Violence by Gretchen Koenig 44 4. Reflection in a Plastic Mirror* by Valerie Estelle Frankel 54 5. Coal Dust and Ballads: Appalachia and District 12* by Tina L. Hanlon 64 6. The “Fine Reality of Hunger Satisfied”: Food as Cultural Metaphor in Panem by Max Despain 74 Part II. Ethics, Aesthetics and Identity 84 7. Katniss Everdeen’s Liminal Choices and the Foundations of Revolutionary Ethics by Guy Andre Risko 85 8. Hungering for Righteousness: Music, Spirituality and Katniss Everdeen* by Tammy L. Gant 94 9. Revolutionary Art in the Age of Reality TV by Katheryn Wright 103 10. (Im)Mutable Natures: Animal, Human and Hybrid Horror* by Sharon D. King 113 11. “Killer” Katniss and “Lover Boy” Peeta: Suzanne Collins’s Defiance of Gender-Genred Reading by Ellyn Lem and Holly Hassel 123 12. Of Queer Necessity: Panem’s Hunger Games as Gender Games by Jennifer Mitchell 133 Part III. Resistance, Surveillance and Simulacra 143 13. Costuming the Resistance: The Female Spectacle of Rebellion by Amy L. Montz 144 14. “Perhaps I Am Watching You Now”: Panem’s Panopticons by Kelley Wezner 153 15. Fueling the Spectacle: Audience as “Gamemaker”* by Shannon R. Mortimore-Smith 163 16. Simulacra, Sacrifice and Survival in The Hunger Games, Battle Royale, and The Running Man by Helen Day 172 Part IV. Thematic Parallels and Literary Traditions 183 17. The PR Wars: The Hunger Games Trilogy and Shakespeare’s Second Henriad by Catherine R. Eskin 184 18. The Masks of Femininity: Perceptions of the Feminine in The Hunger Games and Podkayne of Mars* by Rodney M. DeaVault 195 19. The Child Soldier and the Self in Ender’s Game and The Hunger Games by Sarah Outterson Murphy 204 20. Apples to Oranges: The Heroines in Twilight and The Hunger Games by Amanda Firestone 214 21. From the Boy Who Lived to the Girl Who Learned: Harry Potter and Katniss Everdeen* by Mary F. Pharr 224 Dystopian and Postapocalyptic Fiction and Criticism: A Core Bibliography, with Emphasis on Young Adult Works by Leisa A. Clark 234 About the Contributors 238 Index 242 This collection of fresh essays on Suzanne Collinss epic trilogy spans multiple disciplines. The contributors probe the trilogys meaning using theories grounded in historicism, feminism, humanism, queer theory, as well as cultural, political, and media studies. The essayists demonstrate diverse perspectives regarding Collinss novels but their works have three elements in common: an appreciation of the trilogy as literature, a belief in its permanent value, and a need to share both appreciation and belief with fellow readers. The 21 essays that follow the context-setting introduction are grouped into four parts: Part I "History, Politics, Economics, and Culture," Part II "Ethics, Aesthetics, and Identity," Part III "Resistance, Surveillance, and Simulacra," and Part IV "Thematic Parallels and Literary Traditions." A core bibliography of dystopian and postapocalyptic works is included, with emphasis on the young adult category--itself an increasingly crucial part of postmodern culture. (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Of-Bread-Blood-and-the-Hunger-Games/170670919732829) https://www.facebook.com/pages/Of-Bre... This collection of fresh essays on Suzanne Collins's epic trilogy spans multiple disciplines. The contributors probe the trilogy's meaning using theories grounded in historicism, feminism, humanism, queer theory, as well as cultural, political, and media studies. The essayists demonstrate diverse perspectives regarding Collins's novels but their works have three elements in common: an appreciation of the trilogy as literature, a belief in its permanent value, and a need to share both appreciation and belief with fellow readers. The 21 essays that follow the context-setting introduction are grouped into four parts: Part I'History, Politics, Economics, and Culture,'Part II'Ethics, Aesthetics, and Identity,'Part III'Resistance, Surveillance, and Simulacra,'and Part IV'Thematic Parallels and Literary Traditions.'A core bibliography of dystopian and postapocalyptic works is included, with emphasis on the young adult category--itself an increasingly crucial part of postmodern culture. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.