Almost all of Generation Z has lived off of dystopian movies like “The Hunger Games,” “Divergent“ and “The Maze Runner.” Many of these movies were made in the early 2000s and you were able to watch in theaters when it first came out — and like most movies, they are available on different streaming services as well as DVD.

Currently, you’re still able to get them on DVD but they’re now on streaming services you have to subscribe to and pay monthly — and usually they’re all on different services. For people who want to watch these movies and don’t want to spend the money, they go to unsecure piracy websites that can give their device viruses. Netflix has a wide range of shows and movies and can switch certain films out for newer ones, for their price monthly and range of viewing is a good streaming service to get. They recently added “The Hunger Games,” “Catching Fire,” “Mockingjay – Part 1” and “Mockingjay – Part 2.”

“The Hunger Games” is a series that was first made as books written by Suzanne Collins. The books in order are: “The Hunger Games,” “Catching Fire” and finally “Mockingiay.” However, there is also another one, called “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.” It’s a prequel to “The Hunger Games” and is now being made into a movie with a release date of Nov. 17.

The movies are set in the city of Panem, which is separated into 13 districts with each district providing resources for the capital and for President Snow. The Hunger Games were put into place by Snow to punish the districts for rebelling against the capital and to show power. Every year they would pick one boy and one girl from each district between the ages of 12–18, they would all have to compete with each other to survive in an arena that spans from a lifelike scorching desert to a frozen tundra. They had to kill each other to survive and win by being the last one standing, then they’d live in wealth for winning. 

Katniss Everdeen is the main character, she was a rebel in the eyes of Snow but a leader for the districts. She wasn’t manipulated by the capital and stayed true to herself and what she believed in. She was first known for taking her sister’s place when her sister was selected to play in the games. In the end, her goal was to get rid of the games and to stop the tyranny.

To me, “The Hunger Games” series relates to Generation Z and our own government and dealing with some of the same issues as the US. In real life and the movies, children are being killed and the government does not recognize that — it’s good when movies or shows relate to problems that happen in real life. Plus, the movies are overall interesting to watch and nostalgic, as well as there was always something new but not so many things that it was overwhelming and didn’t relate to the movies. 

Because Gen Z has grown up watching movies and shows that do address real life problems, we now are able to respond to real life problems. For example in the movie the president can do whatever he wants no matter the cost of peoples lives and he wants to stay powerful, I believe that coincides with recent years with the Black Lives Matter protests and many school shootings, immigration and separating families. 

“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is the new movie being released in November of this year. Whether you read the books or just watched the movies, it’s exciting to hear about it. This movie is going to be a prequel to the other movies, about Snow when he was younger helping a female tribute. I have yet to read the book because I want the movie to be like a mystery. I wonder what made Snow into the president he was in the previous movies. Why did they finally decide to make it into a movie, now, after eight years?

This new movie will make the next generation want to get into the franchise, and then will have to watch The Hunger Game series and fall in love with it as much as Gen Z does. The next generation already has been well acquainted with some world problems, and even when kids are young they should still be aware of what is happening in the world’s past, present and future. I do think that filmmakers should make more movies like The Hunger Games to influence people, or even movies and shows based on recent real life issues.