David Hume, Posters, and Media- Breaking down Propaganda in “Sunrise on the Reaping”

By Natalie Pereira

Woody Harrelson in 'Catching Fire' (2013). Photo: Lionsgate/Kobal/Shutterstock

As a long-time fan of Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” series, I was absolutely ecstatic to hear about the release of “Sunrise on the Reaping”. There is a well-known adage about Collins’s writing based on a quote from this Scholastic interview: Collins only writes when she absolutely has something to say. This quote holds absolutely true for “Sunrise on the Reaping” and if you haven’t read the book yet, I strongly recommend picking it up. It is a phenomenal book, and spoilers will be discussed so be warned.

If you choose to read this article anyway, a brief synopsis of the book is that it follows Haymitch Abernathy in the 50th Hunger Games, the second Quarter Quell, and his path to winning the games, unwillingly. It focuses on his attempts to make a difference against the Capitol during the Games, and how it leads to President Snow’s punishment against him. 

Collins points to her conversations with her father about David Hume’s ideas of implicit submission as the main inspiration for the book, and that idea is deeply ingrained throughout the story. Collins does not hide this inspiration, even including a conversation between Haymitch and Plutarch Heavensbee where Plutarch even asks Haymitch why he submits so implicitly. 

To those unfamiliar, Hume was a Scottish philosopher whose idea of implicit submission came from his question of: “How are the many so easily governed by the few?”. His main answer was that he believed the many are governed easily by the few through opinion. He believed that people would only implicitly submit if they believed that the few had their best interests in mind. In the case of “The Hunger Games” series, the book gives us a direct line to see how people can believe this even in a story where children are being sent to their deaths. That line is propaganda.

Propaganda takes a big role within these books, but the point is made even more direct through “Sunrise on the Reaping”. Haymitch notes that there are posters within both the districts and the Capitol with differing messages for the same goal. In the districts, the streets are covered in posters that say “NO PEACE, NO BREAD! NO PEACE, NO SECURITY! NO PEACEKEEPERS, NO PEACE! NO CAPITOL, NO PEACE!” as well as a poster of President Snow with the caption “Panem’s #1 Peacekeeper”. In the Capitol, the message is similar, just altered, “NO PEACE, NO PROSPERITY! NO HUNGER GAMES, NO PEACE!”. Alongside these propaganda posters, a major form of propaganda highlighted and themed throughout the book is media manipulation.

Fans of the books have long claimed to know the story behind Haymitch’s games ever since it was mentioned in “Catching Fire”, however this book shows just how much of the games had been manipulated by the Capitol. Haymitch himself notes this after the games when being shown the recap – none of his attempts to paint revolutionary posters of himself (attempting to destroy the arena numerous times, the truth behind his reaping, and his stunt with Louella and Snow) have been included within the recap. Even the events of each day have been altered to make the game more entertaining, fitting when you consider that the name “Panem” comes from the latin “panem et circenses” – also known as “bread and circuses”, from the Roman poet Juvenal who wrote it when describing the superficial appeasement of people and their willingness to give up their basic political rights for basic needs and entertainment. 

The way the games are changed and altered allows the Capitol to maintain a facade of full control over the games, which feeds further into the ideas of implicit submission. Every attempt at rebellion by Haymitch is entirely hidden, but it does not go unpunished. Punishment by force is a major factor that highlights the opposition of implicit submission by opinion that Hume references – implicit submission by force. Hume mentions that force alone will not work to keep the many oppressed by the few, and Snow’s repeated use of force and punishment to attempt to further implicit submission is part of what directly leads to the downfall of the Capitol and Snow’s rule. During Haymitch’s games, force is being used more than opinion is, and it's clear through the amount of dissent for the games even within the Capitol and the first time we see Snow in the book is recovering from poisoning the parade master. It’s the use of media manipulation that allows Snow to shift from primarily force to primarily opinion-based submission, and it’s a clear growth from when we meet him in the 50th games to when we see him in the 74th and 75th games. It is important to note that he still uses force, through Peacekeepers, the games themselves, and threats, however his reign lasts much longer due to his ability to shift and use opinion alone for Capitol citizens and even some districts like career districts. 

The stronger use of force over opinion is also why there’s more immediately clear signs of rebellion in “Sunrise on the Reaping”. In “The Hunger Games” the first time we see dissent against the Capitol, it’s through Gale ranting in secret, and this is the main direct anti-Capitol sentiment seen in the first book. However, in “Sunrise on the Reaping”, not only are the past tributes and even Capitol members scheming ways to try and take down the Capitol, there’s also more direct rebellious actions mentioned, such as Lenore Dove’s posters mentioned at the end of the book. While these acts are still done in secret, there’s far more of them than in the “The Hunger Games”, and “Sunrise on the Reaping” does a fantastic job at answering one very important question about the original series: “How did people let this happen?”

Whether or not they realize it, people were broken down by propaganda, media manipulation, dehumanization, and a mixture of force and opinion to control rule that eventually gets to the point of the original series.