Maybe “Hunger Games” was right. It touches on the idea that power inevitably becomes a cruel, self-perpetuating system. Since the beginning of time, all across the world, people have moved from dictatorship to dictatorship or have simply chosen dictatorship over the messiness of democracy. Time and time again, we see the rise of an extreme rebel group gain support, and then once it takes hold of the previous power, it now becomes another form of that same oppression. This vicious cycle of rebellion throning a new tyrant is the tragic plot of history.
Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire provided the framework for this tragic pattern in his 1968 work, “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”. Freire argued that the greatest obstacle to true freedom is the cycle in which the oppressed, fighting for liberation, often “tend themselves to become oppressors.” This phenomenon occurs because power, once acquired, carries with it the internalized tyrant’s behaviors and mindset. For the previously oppressed, success is mistakenly seen as the ability to control power, rather than the ability to liberate all. Freire stated that until the oppressed free their own “consciousness” from the “shadow of their former oppressor,” revolutions will inevitably repeat the very injustice they sought to destroy.
The Nazi Regime
While this can be seen all over the world, a very well-known archetype is Nazi Germany. When a country is struggling greatly, it is very easy for its citizens to get swept away by a figure promising solutions. That is what happened in Germany in the 1930s; that is what the people chose, and that was the beginning of the end. After suffering the consequences of WW1 and the Great Depression, Adolf Hitler made radical solutions appealing to millions of desperate Germans. The Treaty of Versailles humiliated Germany by demanding unrealistic reparations, territorial losses, and harsh military restrictions, leading to widespread economic crisis and an unimaginably strong rage building up in the people, with no form of relief. Amongst other things, this created an environment where the previous Weimar Republic was perceived as weak and not extreme enough to change the climate in Germany. Hitler’s strong eloquence, heavy use of propaganda, dehumanization, and promises of a new great Germany were enough to gain the public’s support. The rise of this extremist group is what led to the slaughter of 6 million Jewish people, 15,000 homosexuals, 300,000 disabled people, and over 45 million civilians.
The French Revolution and the Reign of Terror
The French Revolution had already faced this same fate. Beginning in 1789, this revolution was fueled by the people’s disgust with the monarchy ruling France. France’s support in the American Revolution, along with King Louis XVI’s costly spending, drove the country into heavy debt. But France had an interesting system, divided into three estates: the Third Estate (commoners), Second Estate (nobility), and First Estate (clergy). Although the Third Estate made up 98% of the population, they only owned 40% of the land and still paid the majority of the taxes. The wealth gap was so severe that the top 10% held approximately 90% of the wealth. This, mixed with the fact that France had the highest population in Europe, bad harvests causing food shortages, increased bread prices, an unfair tax system, the spread of Enlightenment ideas, and the gluttony the monarchy continued to show, sparked the revolution. On July 14th, people stormed the Bastille; this event was successful and became the catalyst for the French revolt against tyranny. Fighting against years of exploitation, peasants burned the houses of elites and tax collectors.
Revolutionary leaders continued to battle and add to the widespread hysteria, but eventually, after signing the death certificates of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, a new form of chaos ensued. The Reign of Terror was a 10 month period, under the leadership of Maximilien Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety, the government executed tens of thousands of people across France, targeting those deemed “enemies of the revolution.” The unorganized and ever-changing climate of this revolution caused even more financial debt, a divided nation, and political corruption. The instability enabled the quick rise of a powerful military figure. Napoleon Bonaparte seized control through a coup d’état, proclaiming himself emperor and launching numerous military campaigns across Europe and Africa. Napoleon established an authoritarian government, censored the media, spread propaganda, and used secret police to keep the crown on his head, silencing the revolution’s original ideals of liberty.
Media: “The Hunger Games”
Even in the dystopian world, this cycle continues to repeat. The Hunger Games themselves, created after the districts lost the “Dark Days” uprising, served as President Snow’s means of instilling fear and punishment. As a true tyrant, Snow ruled not just with force, but through the calculated silencing of his subjects. The final revolt led by Katniss Everdeen was meant to shatter this system, yet under Commander Coin, the movement gradually became identical to the oppression it fought. The revolutionary cause soon morphed into an act of violent revenge. This moral corruption was solidified by the death of Katniss’s sister, Prim, who was murdered by a rebel bomb. Prim’s death proved that innocent people were still dying at the hands of those in power, even when the revolution claimed to represent justice.
The symmetry between the old and new regimes became obvious when Coin proposed establishing a copycat Hunger Games for the Capitol’s children. By advocating for the same degrading system that had defined Snow’s rule, Coin officially became a tyrant. Recognizing this trap, Katniss’s final choice was not to kill Snow, the oppressor who caused her trauma, but to execute Coin. This ultimate act of defiance demonstrated that the true enemy was not any single individual, but the very system of unchecked, absolute power.
The narrative across history and Freire’s warning are testimony to the idea that the hope in revolution is lost the moment the new rulers adopt the blinding rage and paranoia of the tyrants they overthrew.
