Katniss Shrugged:
Coldplay, The Hunger Games, and Sacrifice for the Greater Good

Rock band Coldplay recently announced a new song titled “Atlas” that will be included on the soundtrack to the upcoming movie “Hunger Games: Catching Fire.”

Unbeknownst to most fans, "The Hunger Games" novels by Susan Collins actually share a common theme with Ayn Rand’s often misunderstood "Atlas Shrugged." And, if Coldplay’s “Atlas” is indicative of how “Catching Fire” has been adapted, then the meaning of Collin’s novel may be as dramatically misunderstood as the meaning of Rand’s.

Coldplay tweeted the lyrics for “Atlas” alongside a hand drawn rendition of the iconic Atlas holding up the world to underscore that the song’s theme is the celebration of the giant’s sacrifice ( https://twitter.com/coldplay/status/3658... ):

“Carry your world/I’ll carry your word/Carry your world and all your hurt”

What these lyrics don’t acknowledge is that "The Hunger Games" series isn’t a morality tale about the importance of sacrifice when fighting injustice, it’s a story about the tragedy of forced sacrifice in violent conflict brought about by an oppressive government.

Those who’ve read "Atlas Shrugged" already understand how strikingly similar this theme is to Rand’s. Both novels are dystopian, defined by oppressive governments that survive off the backs of hardworking citizens while expecting those same citizens to happily accept their lot in life.

In "The Hunger Games," Collins’ villains in the Capitol attempt to appease their Districts through an annual violent tournament pitting teenagers against one another in a deadly spectator sport where the sole surviving victor and her home district gets the spoils.

In "Atlas Shrugged," Rand’s villains take the form of crony capitalists and corrupt government officials, “looters” and “moochers”, who attempt to gain the upper hand on the most productive members of society through coercion and guilt. These bureaucrats have no understanding of or appreciation for the heroes’ inventiveness, dedication to hard work, and desire to create the best work (and world) possible.

As the title of "Atlas Shrugged" suggests, in Rand’s fictional world, those heroes reject the notion that they should feel guilty for their success and “shrug,” leave, disappear.

In “Catching Fire”, Katniss Everdeen, the protagonist of "The Hunger Games," and the other victors of past tournaments take a similar journey.

What makes Collins’ series so popular is its first-person portrayal of Katniss, an intelligent young woman attempting to fight for her life in a violent political context she is just awakening to. Katniss is a talented hunter -- a skill she acquired for no other purpose than to save her family from starvation -- who must come to understand, and ultimately survive, the world she lives in or face death in the Capitol’s games.

The indomitable Dagny Taggart, the protagonist of "Atlas Shrugged" and one of the strongest female heroes in literary history, is a talented, smart, and dedicated entrepreneur who learns the nature of the sacrifice that is demanded of her and spurns it. Over the course of "The Hunger Games," Katniss does the same, and “Catching Fire”, the second novel in a three-part series, is a decisive turning point in her journey.

The myth of Atlas is the basis for the crucial and enduring metaphor in Rand’s story. Coldplay’s undertsanding of Atlas seems to be the conventional mindset that Atlas has sacrificed his life by carrying the world on his back, and therefore, is noble. This understanding dangerously contradicts the core of Katniss’ journey in "The Hunger Games" as well as the important and revolutionary meaning that it echoes from "Atlas Shrugged:"

There is no victory in staggering beneath the weight of the world. When you do, the odds are never in your favor.

Hunger Games hits theaters later this year. Atlas Shrugged Part 3 is scheduled for theatrical release in late 2014.