Why has "The Hunger Games" struck such a powerful chord with audiences?

"The Hunger Games" is a cautionary tale about what human society could easily become, with the opportunity to reflect on the capacity for goodness in human beings," explains IUPUI professor George Dunn who is a co-editor of "The Hunger Games and Philosophy: A Critique of Pure Treason," a collection of essays that explore the wide range of philosophical issues raised in the "Hunger Games" trilogy.

Dunn's book "gives (readers) new insights into the 'Hunger Games' series and its key characters, plot lines and themes, including war, authenticity, social class, personal identity, altruism, gender, art, fashion and moral choice," according to the publisher's notes (The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series, Wiley, 2012).

Dunn says Collins' triology "depicts a world where children are slaughtered for entertainment, power is in the hands of nearly untouchable tyrants, and workers starve as the affluent look on and laugh." He adds that at the same time "it offers us an opportunity to reflect on the extraordinary capacity for goodness that dwells inside even the most seemingly ordinary human beings, such as the central protagonists of the tale, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark.

"What's captivating about the story is the way it combines the fantastic with the familiar, offering us strong and resourceful protagonists who are nonetheless deeply relatable and who must struggle to survive with their moral integrity intact in a post-apocalyptic world that bears a chilling resemblance to our own."

Dunn teaches philosophy in the School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI.

Another IU profressor, Brian McDonald, reflects that Collins has pushed "the entertainment envelope right over the cliff.'

What makes a movie set in a post-apocalyptic world make us say "ouch!" about our own world?

"Because it's, among other things, a ferocious satire on reality TV and all forms of the 'anything goes' art and entertainment popular today," McDonald said.

"Taking on the current assumption that it's always a good thing to 'push the envelope,' Collins pushes the entertainment envelope right over the cliff, creating an updated version of the Roman Coliseum, where children battle each other to death on live TV instead of voting each other off an island," McDonald continues. "In so doing, Collins raises the question of whether art and entertainment devoid of moral and sacred limits might become the incubator for a civilization like the one in her fantasy. The Latin names of all her Capitol characters -- as well as numerous other allusions to Rome -- remind readers and moviegoers that the fantastic horrors of her fictional world have ample and horrifying precedence in the real one."

McDonald is a senior lecturer in literature at IUPUI, where he has specialized in the development and teaching of online literature courses ranging from Shakespeare's plays to modern fiction.

He is also a contributor to "The Hunger Games and Philosophy: A Critique of Pure Treason." With an interest in the philosophical implications of literary works and popular culture, he is the author of "'The Final Word on Entertainment: Mimetic and Monstrous Art in 'The Hunger Games,'" the first chapter in the book.