Dystopia Now: Why ‘The Hunger Games’ Still Speaks Volumes About Teens, War, Propaganda, and More

The Hunger Games is the century ’s most successful teen franchise.

The books have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.

The new sequel, Sunrise on the Reaping , moved 1.2 million copies in the US on its first week off the block in March .

The series is about war, as well as politics, propaganda, media manipulation, and power in most of its manifestations.

The Hunger Games has resonated so profoundly and lucratively with young audiences, but in another era might have made a few ripples as a provocation when dropped into the pond but otherwise sunk quickly to cult exploitation movie status.

What’s wrong with us? 9/11 , the Great Recession , the degradations of online culture, climate change, the rise of right-wing populism and nationalism around the globe.

Jean Twenge : Even driving, a symbol of adolescent freedom, has lost its appeal for today ’s teens.

Study after study asserts that teenagers are more depressed than ever before.

CDC : 42 percent of all high school students reported “feeling so sad or hopeless that they could not engage in their regular activities for at least two weeks during the previous year ”.