In search of values. Reading The Hunger Games in an African context

Abstract

“We have lost our moral compass” is a frequently uttered lament among the ranks of the veteran members of the African National Congress. The refusal  to shame a comrade-in-arms is the real discordant note in South African politics. In attempting to give shape to the present situation, this article takes up  two quite different studies of shame and honour. Brown’s (2016) study of honour in the USA provides the lens for a shame and honour reading of Suzanne Collins’ (2008-2010) The hunger games trilogy. Brown and Collins, in different ways, point out the dark side of an honour-based society: the  neglect of women and children, and the problem of male violence. The hero of the trilogy, Katniss Everdeen, experiences the pull of the Empire’s values of  honour and empire, and yet finds space to push back against its more brutal aspects. In the space-between, like the Jesus of the Gospels, she creates an empathetic and altruistic zone that fosters the dignity of voiceless servants and people such as Rue, a vulnerable teenager.