The very title “The Hunger Games” has become
a catchphrase for suffering and deadly
competition, inspiring such headlines as
“Trump’s $1 trillion (infrastructure) plan inspires
‘Hunger Games’ angst.”
Although she was actively involved with the
production of the “Hunger Games” films,
Collins appeared done with the novels after
the publication of “Mockingjay,” in 2010. She
had said little about her plans in recent years,
beyond telling a gathering at the 2013 BookExpo
publishing convention that she was working on
a new series. Her most recent book, of any kind,
came out in 2013: The picture story “Year of the
Jungle” was based on the time in Vietnam served
by Collins’ father, a career Air Force officer.
Collins has cited her father as a reason for
her lifelong studies of war, and cited both
contemporary and classical culture as inspirations
for “The Hunger Games.” She named the country
Panem as a reference to the Roman expression
“panem et circenses,” meaning bread and circuses,
diversions for the masses. In a 2010 interview
with The AP, she recalled watching television
one night, switching channels, and becoming
momentarily disoriented by going back and forth
between a reality program and the Iraq War.
“We have so much programming coming at us
all the time. Is it too much? Are we becoming
desensitized to the entire experience?” she said.
“Dystopian stories are places where you can
play out the scenarios in your head — your
anxieties — and see what might come of them.
And, hopefully, as a young person, with the
possibilities of the future waiting for you, you’re
thinking about how to head these things off.”