The Rise, the Fall, and the Resurgence of Dystopia

Parnia Raghibizadeh Culture & Entertainment From Divergent to The Hunger Games, dystopian novels took the teen fiction industry by storm in the 2000s. Dystopia captivated young readers with riveting characters, tyrannical governments, and striking romantic prospects. The genre made reading accessible by providing teenage girls with female narrators to relate to and look up to. The industry, having discovered this new, powerful, and previously untapped demographic of readers, continued to produce dozens of dystopias specifically marketed toward teenage girls. Many of these novels went on to become bestsellers, regardless of quality. The teenage girls wanted dystopia and dystopia they were given. Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games was first released in 2008 amidst the post-Twilight supernatural romance mania — it became an instant hit. It was a novel narrated by a teenage girl, focused on a teenage girl, and written for teenage girls. However, it had something Twilight didn’t: a strong female lead. The story, despite having romance spread sporadically throughout, follows a nuanced female character, Katniss, who has goals and aspirations beyond her dating life. Lore-dense dystopias with strong leads battling seemingly undefeatable, sometimes supernatural, forces became the new trend. The Hunger Games was the catalyst for dystopia’s chokehold on pop culture. It was taught in classrooms, plastered across Tumblr feeds, and topped bestseller charts. “What District do you Belong in?” quizzes became the pinnacle of sleepover entertainment. Dystopia was synonymous with pop culture, and its presence was nearly unavoidable to young readers. Unfortunately, the dystopian genre fell out of the spotlight almost as quickly as it came into it. With the popularisation of TikTok, the trend cycle was expedited to the point where authors and publishers could not keep up. This eradicated the possibility of a clear, stable trend in young adult literature. Although the occasional dystopian novels like Shadow & Bone and The Cruel Prince were still popular, the overarching trend of dystopia in young adult novels had become nearly obsolete.

With the release of The Hunger Games’ prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, many have reverted back to the dystopia craze of the 2010s. It has begun a “renaissance” for The Hunger Games, bringing the young adult dystopian genre back to the forefront of pop culture. It sparked what is arguably the largest surge in dystopia-related content since the release of the original trilogy. From YouTube video essays to 2014 Josh Hutcherson whistle edits, the influence of dystopia has once again seeped its way into the young adult literature mainstream. The Hunger Games series, for the second time, has sparked a substantial change in the industry, reintroducing young readers to dystopia. Whether or not this second peak of dystopian teen novels will last as long as the first is uncertain. However, the impact The Hunger Games, and dystopia as a whole, has had on young readers is undeniable.