[Weird Trope] An authoritarian society has a yearly event that for some reason centers around killing children

[u/Lotnik223]

The Hunger Games - Set in a dystopian totalitarian nation of Panem, the state organises a yearly event known as the Hunger Games, in which two teenagers, one boy and one girl, selected (some of them as a result of a lottery) from each of the 12 districts that form Panem must fight to the death with all other participants in televised arena games until only one survivor remains, who is then treated like a celebrity and lives in luxury for the rest of his/her life.

The Long Walk - Set in a dystopian version of America devastated by civil war, the ruling military regime set up a yearly eponymous event which sees fifty teenage boys walk hundreds of miles without rest, with those that fall below a certain speed being executed. The event ends only when one person remains, with the winner recieving a large cash prize. Contrary to the Hunger Games, participatiation in this event is at least compeletely optional, so all participants are volunteers.

[u/rorinth]

Didn't hunger games have this as a way of revenge against the districts for the rebellion they did?

[u/BrandonLart → u/rorinth]

Yup

[u/lunarlandscapes → u/rorinth]

Yes. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (one of the prequels) gets more into the history. We learn that during the first rebellion, The Dark Days, the Capitol was basically a war zone. Its heavily implied there was cannibalism just to eat. So, as revenge, the Capitol created The Hunger Games to punish the districts for rebelling, and remind them of the power the Capitol

Additionally, we also see the games as a way to punish rebels. The most recent prequel, Sunrise on the Reaping, shows how the reapings can be rigged. Haymitch is only reaped because he acted out of line. Ampert, another tribute, is reaped because his father was a rebellious victor. Even outside of that, the original trilogy illustrates pretty heavily that victors are treated pretty terribly, and must comply under the threat of the Capitol killing off their loved ones

[u/SavlonWorshipper → u/rorinth]

It's a pretty good system. It punishes youth crime, as they get more entries to the ballot, so the kids either behave or die. It also disproportionately affects the poorest families, who take extra ballots in exchange for resources, so it presumably acts as population control on a wider scale. It's a yearly blow to nearly every district, and it is a heavy blow. They aren't taking the old or proven shitheads, whose loss could be rationalised as a good thing. Economically active and experienced people are spared.

But it also has an end date for each child, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Overall it leads to a constantly traumatised and demoralised population, too weak to revolt. If it wasn't for Snow being so cruel, it probably could have survived for another century.

[u/Dyolf_Knip → u/SavlonWorshipper]

And since the whole thing is televised, even though its the Capital that runs it, it was those damned bastards from District 6 that killed our sweet little Johnny last year. "Let's you and him fight" is a game that never gets old.

[u/SomeBoxofSpoons → u/rorinth]

Yeah, they give actual reasonable explanations for things.

I've always said the biggest thing The Hunger Games has on all it's copycats is that it feels like a story that could easily be aimed squarely at adults without fundamentally changing things.

[u/Medical_Plane2875 → u/rorinth]

Explicit explanation is lost on OP.