Folks, we areso far past the Han Shot First Debate.

If popular culture are our myths, our collective cultural consciousness is (understandably) pessimisticor at least pragmatic.

We often represent youth as hopeful, naive, and unrealistically optimistic.

Its the difference between supernatural romance and dystopian being the most prominently-displayed subgenre in the YA section.

InHarry Potter, the system of government isnt at fault.

Its the corruption of the current politicians (meanwhile, Hermione is forming SPEW).

They are personal, not systemic.

had one of the three kill off another.

InTwilight, the central motivator is love an unhealthy, all-consuming infatuation with a monster.

With the world in such an uncertain, unequal state, why shouldnt pop culture reflect that?

For me, the popularity of stories likeThe Hunger GamesandThe 100arent cause for concern, but rather hope.

TakeThe 100, for example.

However,The 100doesnt give the Sky People moral superiority.

LikeBattlestar Galacticabefore it,The 100doesnt conflate humanity and the complexities of war with protagonist privilege.

What if youre wrong.

What if this is who we are now?

The world is much more complicated than that.

Accountability is much more complicated than us vs. themor at least it should be.

Given the state of political discourse in this countryi.e.

Female characters are allowed to be people; theyre allowed to be complicated, flawed humans.

Because women who are able to save themselves are still the exception to the rule.

So, why are female heroines so much more common in the Young Adult genre?

But it is more complicated than that… What teen girls find important has always been looked down upon, fanaticized, and mocked.

This stigma is frustrating, but perhaps it also opens up greater potential in the genre.

She was one of the most interesting characters!)

Sometimes, this lack of diversity is a failure inherent in the books.

Other times, the diversity of a novels world is lost in translation.

Of all of the on-screen franchises were discussing, none of them feature central protagonists of color.

The Hunger Gamesadaptations also disappointed in the way the films somehow skated over the hunger of the books.

In the books, District 12 is one partially defined by hunger.

Hollywood in general is ill-equipped to translate working class poor to screenit always has been.

This is a notable difference from the film adaptation that flopped in theaters in 2013.)

Again, any examples of breaking outside of most traditionally-depicted socioeconomic traits are exceptions to the rule.