The post-apocalyptic The Hunger Games franchise explains the dangerous games as a purposeful publicity device for The Capitol, yet imagine a scenario in which Panem is using the games to secretly rank each district’s warriors. The games themselves took up most of the runtime for both The Hunger Games and Catching Fire while Mocking Jay – Part 1 and Mockingjay – Part 2 narrative what happens after the Quarter Quell and the fall of The Capitol. The series is a variation of the youthful grown-up original set of three of the same name, written by Suzanne Collins. While some events do transform based on what’s chronicled in the books, the characters and the games themselves are an almost amazing representation.
One theory proposed on Reddit is that the Hunger Games are really an apparatus secretly used by The Capitol to rank warriors from each district. After the First Rebellion of District 13, President Snow’s main occupation as a despot is to keep his kin from an uprising. The Hunger Games are an ideal cover for this, as casualties don’t actually make any difference to the public authority and the warriors are in an incredibly controlled climate. It’s possible that Snow rounds up a small sample from each District during The Reaping to watch out for his kin while trying to assess any threats there might be. For instance, assuming someone performs well in the Games then that most likely means they’re receiving some sort of battle training. Hunger Games’ Districts 1 and 2 will more often than not have the best warriors because they’re very much treated by the public authority, yet that might be because Snow realizes that those Districts would be the biggest danger in an insurgence as they’re the closest topographically, as well as the wealthiest. So, he keeps them cheerful. By handpicking the Hunger Games champions and putting them in a controlled climate, President Snow is ready to see which Districts battle well, how huge of a danger they are, and what countermeasures to set up.
There are a couple of things that this theory runs up against, however, generally the ramifications of how the games are arranged out and the arbitrary sampling aspect. In Catching Fire, Plutarch mentions to Katniss that the arenas are assembled years early, while the more nuanced elements are plotted out by the Gamemakers several months ahead of time. So while the climate is controlled it’s not actually obliged show anything specifically. Second, the chances of finding out any information from such a small sample size are implausible. Those desperate for food can enter their names on various occasions in The Reaping for certain benefits, highlighting that the starving are probably going to join a revolutionary local army. However, it seems more like the additional entries are just another way for The Capitol to take advantage of its kin, rather than to test out any theories about another insubordination.
