The Hunger Games (film) formed an opinion about "The Hunger Games" as a parable of the Occupy Wall Street activity. "The Huffington Post" reported that Penn Badgley, a supporter of Occupy Wall Street, saw the film as a social commentary on the movement. Burnett also states that "Collins doesn't use the terms 1 percent and 99 percent, but it's clear that those in the Capitol are members of the 1 percent and everyone in the Panem districts is part of the 99 percent". Steven Zeitchik and Emily Rome, in the "Los Angeles Times" and the "Dallas Morning News" reported that, among other disparate interpretations,
The Hunger Games role as a source of popular entertainment. A contemporary source of inspiration was Collins' recent fascination with reality television programs. She says they are like "The Hunger Games" because the Games are not just entertainment but also a reminder to the districts of their rebellion. On a tired night, Collins says that while she was channel-surfing the television, she saw people competing for some prize and then saw footage of the Iraq War. She described how the two combined in an "unsettling way" to create her first ideas for the series. "The Hunger Games" is the first book in the