The Politics of The Hunger Games

I really may need to see this movie, and maybe even buy the books. Who doesn't enjoy a good old-fashioned political dystopia story?

And as the Hollywood Reporter points out, the best part is that everyone can read their own ideology into this future North America where the government maintains order by forcing children to fight to the death:

Occupy-Wall-Street liberals are loving the way the film portrays an extraordinary gap between the rich and poor as simply an innate evil. ... There’s plenty in Hunger Games for right-wingers, too. The most obvious message being that government overreach can lead to tyranny.

Here's my favourite, of course:

Writing for the Frederick Douglass Foundation, Mack Rights argues that there’s not only a powerful conservative message in Hunger Games but a Christian one, as well, since the story takes place after "liberals have succeeded in erasing God and Christ from the culture completely by successfully creating their own utopia – which is really a dystopian nightmare for anyone not in the liberal ruling class."

Throw in Lionsgate's blatant effort to cause fandom drama by comparing The Hunger Games to Twilight and you've got a lovely bit of political geek escapism.