Propaganda and Possibilities in “Sunrise on the Reaping”

by Angelica WerthArt & CultureApr 23, 2025

When we meet Haymitch Abernathy early in The Hunger Games, he is stumbling drunkenly onstage to mentor Katniss and Peeta, convinced he is about to watch them both die despite his best efforts to prevent that outcome. Throughout the original trilogy, we meet many victors who have developed substance abuse problems while trying to cope with their Games-related trauma; Haymitch is not unique in this. Essentially, Sunrise on the Reaping shows us specifically why Haymitch became a drunk—and why he became a rebel.

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Sunrise on the Reaping and the Causality Confusion

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Kiyah looks at how a tool once used to call out bad behavior got twisted into a shield—protecting harmful ideologies under the banner of “free speech.”