Populism and Counter-Revolution in the Cinematographic Saga The Hunger Games: An Ambiguous Political Response

The Hunger Games is one of the best-known and most profitable film sagas of recent years. It is an openly intertextual product that mixes the tradition of dystopian science fiction with some cliches of teen romance novels. Its success has generated academic attention, which has discussed the narrative details, visual universe and the political proposal. In latter, the role of Katniss Everdeen as a heroine has been frequently highlighted and, as a consequence, many writers further analyze the value of the rebellion carried out by Katniss against the totalitarian political order. The purpose of this article is to examine the meaning of this gesture of rebellion and to analyze the connections it maintains with political populism. We will highlight the deep ambiguity of the political proposal presented in The Hunger Games, the role played by a messianic heroine like Katniss and we will interrogate the true meaning of her media revolution.