Growing up, I loved reading dystopian novels and watching their film adaptions, my favorite easily being The Hunger Games. If I had to guess, I would say that I’ve seen the movies probably 15 times, and read the books three or four times. One of my favorite things about the series is author Suzanne Collins’s social commentary, issues in the book that are dramatic reflections of our society today. I asked Chat-GPT how Suzanne Collins makes a social commentary in The Hunger Games, and I found that I agreed with its response, which was a list of seven themes throughout the series and the connections between them and modern society. Chat-GPT’s responses, while objectively “correct”, were rather vague and Wikipedia-like, basic connections that would be obvious to any series reader.
One of the most overt thematic elements in the series is the portrayal of income inequality and class division. When Chat-GPT discussed this idea, it stated that the “Capitol’s opulence stands in stark contrast to the district’s poverty…” and “serves as a commentary on the real-world disparities between the rich and the poor.” While I do agree with the chatbox’s observation, I personally think more could be said on the topic, specifically regarding the ways in which the Capitol’s suppression of the districts reflects the modern notion of the rich getting richer, while the poor get poorer. The wealth gap in Panem is continually perpetuated by the Capitol, those in the districts are never given the opportunity to achieve vertical mobility; they are prohibited from leaving their districts and are not taught skills other than those needed for the production of that district’s export, leaving most citizens to live in a state of poverty.
Chat-GPT also touched on Collins’s critique of modern media, stating that it can “trivialize suffering and turn it into a form of entertainment.” Again, while Chat-GPT is not incorrect, I think more can be said about the role that the media plays in the series. The Hunger Games themselves are a brutal reminder of the power of the Capitol, but the glamorization of the games, turning them into a spectator sport for Capitol citizens to watch, exemplifies the power of the media as well. The dehumanization of children, and the ability to enjoy such events, is only possible because of the sensationalization of the games.
Through asking Chat-GPT questions about Suzanne Collins’s social commentary in The Hunger Games, I’ve come to understand that Chat-GPT works well as a search engine; it can produce concise, easily digestible answers to questions, but it is unable to critically analyze issues. If I had been writing about the real-world application of Collins’s writing, I would have put more emphasis on issues that seem of more importance, and less on others, a skill I have not seen Chat-GPT do. As Sharon Aschaiek, author of “Promises and Pitfalls of Chat-GPT” put it, AI fails to “replicate the strategic, analytical and creative competencies of human communicators and marketers.” While Chat-GPT can source the internet for ideas, it does not have the ability to analyze the importance of those ideas in relation to each other, which is a crucial aspect of writing as a whole.
Works Cited
Aschaiek, Sharon. “Promises and Pitfalls of Chatgpt.” Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs, 31 Jan. 2023, www.insidehighered.com/opinion/blogs/call-action/2023/01/31/promises-and-pitfalls-chatgpt.