“The odds are ever in Katniss's favor: she is the primary character with whom audiences identify. This is not inherently problematic, as part of the work of literature is to provide mirrors, windows, and doors into other people's experiences. The problem occurs when contemporary literature and media for young people include characters of color who are supposed to provide someone for every reader or viewer to identify with--and yet at the same time construct protagonists who are the only characters worth rooting for. Although the initial authorial intent may have been noble, stories constructed in such a fashion have the pernicious effect of normalizing our existing social hierarchies--including hierarchies of race.” Speculative FictionThe Hunger GamesRacialized MirrorsSocial Hierarchies Book:The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games Source: The Dark Fantastic: Race and the Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games