Panem

Set in the far future, Panem is a dystopian nation that is strictly ruled by a regime of propaganda and oppression. The leader of the nation during the 74th Hunger Games time is President Snow, who is overthrown by the Second Rebellion to establish a democracy once again.

Location and Geography 

Panem is located in the continent of North America and covers the land that is currently occupied by the United States, parts of New Mexico, and Canada. However, it does not span the entire breadth of the continent, as plenty of lands (including several parts of the Gulf, Atlantic, and Pacific coastlines of North America, as well as the whole of Florida) has been submerged due to rising sea level or inundated by floods. The government or the administrative center of the nation, the Capitol, is situated in the Rocky Mountains while the 13 outlying districts are spread out across the rest of the continent. 

The geography of Panem is highly similar to that of the United States, given that it spans from the east to the west coast and reaches Southern Canada in the North and up to Central Mexico in the South.

The Capitol 

The Capitol forms the administrative center of the nation of Panem. It holds the seat of the President, who exercises his totalitarian regime from the Capitol to the outlying districts. Citizens at the Capitol live a life of luxury and decadence, with plenty of entertainment, the most popular of which is the Hunger Games.

The Districts 

The residents of the districts are denied the most luxuries and are mainly treated as a source of labor and resources to meet the growing needs of the nation. Each outlying district is responsible for the production of a particular industry. For instance, District 12, the home of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, was responsible for coal mining, while District 11’s primary industry is agriculture. The Districts also take part in the annual Hunger Games, where each year, 24 tributes are sent into a man-made arena, where they fight to the death. The Victors from each Hunger Games are rewarded with a year’s supply of grain and oil and are exempt from taking part in the Games ever again.

Government

For most of its history, Panem has been run by a totalitarian government, with a President who wields absolute power over every administrative affair in the nation. It is likely that the President was supported by a Cabinet of ministers who looked after various administrative and governmental areas. However, a legislature and judiciary presumably did not exist or were under the control of the government.

As far as one can conclude from the trilogy, a President served a term until their death. There are four known presidents – Ravenstill, Coriolanus Snow, Alma Coin, and Paylor.

Suzanne Collins named the country Panem in reminiscence of the Latin phrase “Panem et circenses”. Translated into English, this means “bread and circuses” or “food and entertainment”. This is the phrase that was used to describe the manner in which Roman Caesar suppressed discontent in the Roman Empire by providing people with plenty of food, and entertainment in the form of the Gladiatorial games.

Similarly, the citizens of the Capitol have waived all rights of self-governance in exchange for plenty of food and entertainment in the form of the Hunger Games. The citizens of the Capitol live a life of decadence while the outlying districts are largely removed from a life of luxury and forced to live in oppression and poverty. Each district has a Mayor appointed from amongst the citizens to execute the will of the President.

Liberty was not a concept for Panem’s citizens until the unrest that resulted in the Second Rebellion, after which the nation was established as a democracy with the leaders being elected into power. Panem thus became a constitutional Republic similar to its predecessor, the United States.

History

The history of Panem is mysterious in several ways. However, the known history dates back at least 74 years before the first Hunger Games novel. At an unspecified time, the earth was ravaged by an apocalyptic series of events, including climate change and a global nuclear war that nearly destroyed modern civilization. Further, nuclear winter was followed by a sequence of ecological disasters, including floods, droughts, and fire, which left behind a very small surviving population. 

The survivors rallied together to form a nation in the Rocky Mountains of North America. This nation came to be known as Panem. The nation gradually grew to expand to the majority of North America, mostly by annexing other nations that were formed after the apocalypse.

Panem then established itself as a sovereign nation and divided itself into the Capitol and 13 separate districts, each tasked with the responsibility of manufacturing the goods of a particular industry. The districts came under the oppressive regime of the government for several years, until dissent among the masses resulted in the First Rebellion. 

Also known as the “Dark Days”, the First Rebellion lasted approximately three years and was led by District 13. While both factions suffered heavy losses, it is popularly said that two rebels died for every Capitol citizen. The rebellion turned in favor of the Capitol, which doubled down in its oppressive regime. As punishment for the rebellion, the Capitol instituted several new regulations, one of which was the Hunger Games.

District 13 was said to be wiped out, which was the official statement propagated by the Capitol. However, the truth was that District 13 was allowed to secede from Panem as it threatened a self-assured mutual destruction with the Capitol, owing to the large arsenal of nuclear weaponry it possessed. The Capitol hoped that the district would die out on its own. However, the citizens of the District managed to survive the years, even surviving a couple of epidemics that wiped out a significant portion of the population, and finally rose to stage the Second Rebellion after the 75th Hunger Games.

Military

The military of Panem largely consisted of the “Peacekeepers”, a group of the police force that enforced law and order throughout the country. The President of Panem is presumably the commander-in-chief of the Peacekeepers, while there is a Head Peacekeeper appointed for each district. The headquarters of the Peacekeepers was originally in District 13, which was shifted to District 2, in particular a mountain dubbed “the Nut”, following the First Rebellion. As a result, most of the Peacekeepers were recruited from District 2. A significant number of them were also recruited from the Capitol, while a small number came from the other districts.

Peacekeepers possessed a wide array of weaponry, including a fleet of hovercrafts which they used to enforce true duties. The government also possessed a nuclear arsenal as well.

Flag

Panem has had two flags in its history. The first and original flag had a red banner with a golden eagle in the center. The eagle had four arrows in its claws, pointing to the left and right, and was surrounded by a golden barley laurel. This flag is reminiscent of ancient Rome, upon which Panem is heavily modeled upon.

After the establishment of Panem as a Constitutional Republic, the flag was changed to reflect the democratic nature of the nation. The new flag had a blue banner with the rising sun in the middle – most likely to depict the rise of a new dawn for Panem. The barley laurel was replaced by olive branches, which depict peace. The laurel is itself surrounded by fourteen stars, depicting the thirteen districts as well as the Capitol – now equal in footing, with no district/Capitol dominating the others.

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