I love seeing the varying interpretations of the map of Panem, the world Suzanne Collins created for The Hunger Games trilogy. It’s one of those enduring mysteries – exactly what the future North America looks like and just how much is left after the wars and droughts and rising waters.
Lauren Davis at i09 has taken a look at the new book by V. Arrow, The Panem Companion: An Unofficial Guide to Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games(published by Smart Pop Books). It won’t be out until the end of the year, but promises to be a detailed analysis of the future nation of Panem. V. has spent a fair bit of time trying to work out just where the 13 Districts might be.
I chose to center part of the cataclysm in the Gulf of Mexico as a tectonic shift and moved the Yucatan Peninsula, rather than sinking it. Mostly this is because I ♥ Finnick/Annie and wanted them to have a little island for the D4 Victor’s Village. Plus, it doesn’t really alter the topography of any other District, so hey!
So what do you think? I like how the first few districts circle the Capitol as described in the book. I also like where 13 is postioned. We’d love to hear what you think in the comments below.
Jonathan Parris is a visual artist and freelance vidoegrapher, who also happens to be a huge fan of The Hunger Games. He has been using his considerable talent to take the descriptions contained in the three books to create the world of Panem. We’ve featured some of Jonathan’s work on our site before – especially the Katniss and Gale bows that he’s recreated in meticulous detail.
Now he’s about to launch a short film. As Jonathon explains, he has wanted to create a film that will be as accurate as possible to the vision he saw from the text.
“In order to keep it distanced from what is being created for the real feature film, I chose an intense action scene from the third book, Mockingjay. My hope is that other fans will agree it was how they envisioned it too!”
Hot Topic has released the Hunger Games items that will be available on Feb 22nd. They are also available for pre-order right now. The items range from Mockingjay hoop earrings to character t-shirts. They are also carrying Katniss’ replica bow!! For a list of all their soon to be available merchandise click HERE!
From Logan: This is a photo of a painting I did of Panem (from Mockingjay). This is where I think all the district’s are, I based this off of what I think a control panel in command would look like. The black lines represent railways, the circles with blue represent the rebelling districts, the red circle is the Capitol, and finally the circle with white is district 12.
From Crystal:
This is a drawing from one of my favorite parts in Mockingjay ….where Katniss sings “The Hanging Tree” song
If you want to send in your wonderful fan art send it to admin@myhungergames.com!! We can’t wait to see your art work!
SPOILER ALERT – this question is all about the ending of the final book in The Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay. If you haven’t finished reading all three books, the perhaps you might want to come back later.
If you could change the ending of Mockingjay, what would you have happen differently? What would be the cause and effect of your decisions?
***Summer***- I would personally change how quickly the book ended. I don’t like how katniss’ mom just left. She said she couldn’t return but as a mother of 2 I would never leave one child alone if something happened to the other. Not until I thought she could deal with it. And that she wanted to live her own life. Also I wouldnt think Gale would just leave Katniss either. Nothing ever became of him. These are some of the things I would change. I hope you enjoyed my answer!
***Jacqui*** I summed up what I felt about the ending of Mockingjay in this review I wrote back at the time of its release, so let me share that again as it still holds today. I would have liked to have seen Katniss own her place as the Mockingjay. I had expected her character to be more developed in the final book. I thought her internal struggle would be reflected in what was happening in Panem – that as the districts took back their power, so too would Katniss emerge as the master of her own destiny. Unfortunately it never really happens. It felt, to me, that her inner journey was never fully resolved. The ending was a little unsettling, which is definitely part of its strength and its beauty, but a part of me was left wishing for a just a little bit more.
***Hamilton*** I feel that the ending could have used more closure as well. Not only internally like Jacqui mentions, but with what was going on in the rest of Panem outside of the rebuilt District 12. We get very little in the way of glimpses into how the structure of the country had changed – hopefully for the better, but even for worse if that was the case. I would have liked to see more how the districts had come together and become a new nation of Panem. Do they still think of themselves as separate districts? Has it been harder for some to accept that the old power is gone? What kind of power do those in the Capitol have now? Those are all questions I would have liked to have seen explored a bit more. I don’t think I would have changed any plot elements, such as having certain characters not die. It was all rather hard to deal with, but ultimately the ending needed to be hard to deal with to get the point across.
***Audrey*** I feel like the ending was too rushed. There were many things that I wanted explained. I think I would have liked to see Katniss’ trial – and had that explained. The consequences and aftermath of the revolution and how daily life had changed. SOMETHING needed to happen with Gale. Personally, I’d rather have had him killed off than never heard from again. I just didn’t feel like enough things were resolved, but maybe that was the idea.
So there you have it..the opinions of the staff here at My Hunger Games..now it’s your turn…
The Hunger Games trilogy held down the top three spots for the month of January on both the physical bestseller list and the Kindle paid bestseller list for Jan 2012. The Hunger Games also appears on the U.S.A Today’s best seller.
The Hunger Games came in 1st place for Amazon and Kindle sales
Catching Fire came in 2nd on Amazon Top 10 and 3rd on Kindle Sales
Mockingjay came in 3rd on Amazon Top 10 and 2nd on Kindle Sales
This book series seems to be taking the world by storm. Congrats Suzanne Collins!
A question was recently brought up by my wife. She works in an elementary school library and lately (big surprise) a number of the older kids have been requesting The Hunger Games. Unfortunately for them, they are not approved for 5th grade. My question to you all is this: What books would you recommend to someone who wants to read The Hunger Games, but is not yet quite old enough to do so?
Here at My Hunger Games we love hearing back from our readers! So this week We are asking YOU for YOUR fan questions! Once a week we post an indepth question related to The Hunger Games Trilogy and get some AMAZING responses, but now we want your indepth questions. Just post your questions in our comments section and at 12 pm PST Feb 2nd I will chose a question and turn it into a post for the entire fandom to answer (even us). As always, BE CREATIVE. Make it interactive if you’d like. We can’t wait to see your questions!
Lionsgate and Funtactix have joined forces to create a new online social game as a companion to the franchise. The game will have players completing missions, all the while exploring the Districts and Capitol AND will reveal the FIRST OFFICIAL MAP OF PANEM!
Here’s the official press release:
NEW YORK, Feb 01, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Funtactix, a worldwide developer and publisher of social games based on the world’s premiere entertainment brands, in partnership with Lionsgate LGF +0.69% , a leading global entertainment company, today announced that THE HUNGER GAMES ADVENTURES will launch day and date with the highly anticipated film adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ runaway bestselling novel on March 23rd, 2012. The perfect companion for fans of the franchise, THE HUNGER GAMES ADVENTURES enhances the movie experience through an unprecedented journey into the fantastical world that has enthralled millions since the books first hit shelves.
THE HUNGER GAMES ADVENTURES is an adventure-based social game where fans can explore the world of Panem – the setting for The Hunger Games trilogy. Players will explore Panem and complete missions that will take them to each of the Districts and the Capitol where they will interact with the familiar characters from the book. With each mission they complete, they will advance their own storyline within the world. As the official game of the series, THE HUNGER GAMES ADVENTURES will be the first place fans can see the official map of Panem, and how the districts are laid out. Details for the Map of Panem will be rolled out in the game with a steady stream of chapter expansions as the game, and the world, reveals itself over time.
“As a company that wants to align itself with the most beloved entertainment properties and passionate fans in the world, joining forces with Lionsgate on The Hunger Games was a very easy decision,” said Sam Glassenberg, CEO of Funtactix. “Suzanne Collins’ amazing novel delivers an unbelievably detailed world that completely immerses the reader. Fans want to enter this world, interact with the characters and truly become a part of it. That is the magic that THE HUNGER GAMES ADVENTURES will provide to the millions of people who love the book series and watch the movie.”
“What makes fans of The Hunger Games so amazing is the level of personal investment they have in the characters and the story,” said Lionsgate’s Joe Drake. “We chose Funtactix to create this game because they bring the level of authenticity and quality to their movie-based social games that is crucial to fans of The Hunger Games.”
For more information about Funtactix and The Hunger Games Adventures, please visit www.TheHungerGamesAdventures.com
This link takes you to the Official Hunger Games Facebook page, so we’ll just have to wait and see what else is in store.
While working from an extremely popular series like The Hunger Games may seem like an easy way to create a popular game, Glassenberg says it also puts the developer in a delicate position. He stresses that The Hunger Games Adventures will not be an what he calls an advergame: “Our focus on creating games based on AAA films provides us with a great community to tap into, but also creates a tremendous responsibility for us to create an experience that is authentic to the worlds that fans love,” he explains. “If a game lacks authenticity, the fans realize it in a second.”
Although the source material for The Hunger Games Adventures is a series of young adult novels, Glassenberg is confident about game’s monetization and growth prospects. “When it comes to viral growth, our team has a great deal of experience tapping into an existing fanbase to drive growth,” he says. “The fans already congregate and share around the common interest of the books [and] film. The Hunger Games Adventures is designed to be a natural extension of that phenomenon.”
Fans of The Hunger Games will also be interested to note that official map of Panem will finally be unveiled in The Hunger Games Adventures, a responsibility that Glassenberg describes as “humbling and awesome.”
“We know that our primary responsibility is to create a version of Panem that fans can jump into and explore. When we make the hardcore fans happy we know we’ve succeeded,” he says.
So what do you guys think? Will you be involved with the game? Are you excited to see the first official Panem Map?
Harvard Lampoon have written a parody of The Hunger Games.
The Hunger Painswill be out on February 7, 2012 and apparently follows the inept heroine Kantkiss (Katpiss?) Neverclean, a young girl living in the telemarketing district of Peaceland, who is forced to compete in the violent annual Hunger Games.
They’ve also created a trailer of the movie spoof, featured on the EW site.
The trailer is hilarious and filled with a few celebrity appearances so make sure to keep your eyes open!
