For the Hunger Games Skeptics

I get it, "The Hunger Games" trilogy and new movie out on Friday isn't for everyone, but before you write this off as teen fiction,  check out this great New York Times review of the books . This trilogy has a lot more substance than Twilight, that's for sure. 

According to CNN, author Suzanne Collins came up with the idea for the plot while flipping channels between Iraq war coverage and a competition reality show and you can definitely see both of those influences in the final product.  

In the society of Panem, the privileged live in the Capitol and use the 13 districts that make up the rest of the country solely for resources, not caring about what it takes to get their fashion and gadgets produced, controlling the people by keeping them in poverty. Is that really very different from how our goods and raw materials are produced in the developing world today? 

In another vain entirely, it offers a great look at where reality TV might one day end up, from Survivor, to a very REAL version of it in the post-apocalyptic future. Hunger Games is 1984 for a different generation. 

Need more convincing?

Check out ABC News' Five Things You Need to Know. Comparing The Capitol to the 1% in America, speaking of the role model characteristics of the main character and more. 

The New Yorker has an interesting piece on why teens are into dystoptian societies.
An interview with past Survivor  contestant, comparing his experience to The Hunger Games. 

If you're a music fan, it looks like the soundtrack is going to be awesome, with songs by The Decemberists, Kid Cudi, Neko Case, The Arcade Fire, Taylor Swift and The Civil Wars.

Perhaps you just want to see a good movie. It's gotten great reviews from Entertainment Weekly, Rotten Tomatoes, E!, and The Washington Post has a collection from other reviewers.

(Image Murray Close/Lionsgate via E! Online)