Scientific Proof That the Hunger Games is a Realistic Representation of Teenage Emotion by Jonathan Russell

The Hunger Games has received criticism galore. Especially at the more prestigious academy-esque end of the movie critique spectrum, one stumbles across a lot of negative speculation about the realism of the Hunger Games. The somewhat rash decision has been made that in such a dangerous and challenging environment, romance would be the last thing on any of these teen’s minds. I’m here to scientifically prove these accusations wrong. Let me paint you a picture:

Neurologically speaking, the part of the human brain that controls the majority of human emotions is quite small. The Amygdala is a tiny, almond-sized portion of the brain that controls emotions from fear, anger, terror, sadness, to yes, even love. This being the case, we come across a very realistic possibility: a probable neurological miscommunication. 

These teens are placed in an emotionally draining situation. Their lives are being threatened by their peers. What could be more terrifying? The brain can only cope with so much emotion. An overload of mental stimuli could result in complete mental breakdown, let alone a small mistranslation of data. Because of the overwhelming response the brain is getting from this deadly scenario, it would be easy for the amygdala to get confused. Thus, the person would believe themselves to be in love. This is clearly what happened with Katniss and Peeta in that cave.

Oh, but... by the way... I hate the Hunger Games.