In the world of The Hunger Games, District 12 is located in what we call Appalachia. The Appalachian Mountains run from as far north as New England down south to Alabama and Georgia. In our Appalachia lecture, we primarily focused on the culture of Southern Appalachia, particularly in Tennessee and Alabama.  The history of the area is deep and rich, with cultural influences from many different cultures. The people who live there are descendants of Scotts-Irish, Eastern, and Central European ancestors. This has heavily influenced their musical culture.

Their music consists mainly of ballads, which are songs that tell stories. Their stories are made of a few central themes. The first, and most important, is the theme of place. The people of Appalachia are very proud and independent and they value their heritage and tradition above all else. Another key theme is the movement from agrarian to industrial economy. They create music to reflect the destruction of their environment and the dangerous work in the coal mines. In all of their music, there is a dichotomy between the beautiful landscape and wilderness, and the ugliness that can be found there.

 

The culture of District 12 is based on that of Appalachia and you can see that in District 12’s music.  Their songs, such as Deep in the Meadow and The Hanging Tree, are ballads that tell stories. The Valley Song shows Districts 12’s pride in their tradition. Both cultures are extremely resilient to adversity and use their sense of place to come together to fight adversity. They all have a passion for their homes and traditions that is unlike any other seen in the world.