Would anyone care to talk to a journalist about this? I'm swamped right now (and also have not seen/read the Hunger Games). Best to contact him directly if you're interested. best, Janet Begin forwarded message:
From: Jeremy Hsu <jhsu@livescience.com> Date: March 21, 2012 3:57:29 PM EDT To: "abbate@vt.edu" <abbate@vt.edu> Subject: MEDIA: Journalist interview request about technological progress and "The Hunger Games"
Dear Janet,
I'm writing an article about the sci-fi series "The Hunger Games" and its depiction of technological progress in a future dystopian North America, and I was hoping you might be willing to be interviewed on the subject of "uneven" technological progress. Your colleague, Barbara, recommended that I contact you about this.
For some background, "The Hunger Games" series depicts a society with futuristic technologies such as advanced bioengineered creatures, hovercraft and force fields, along with modern technologies such as nuclear weapons, automatic rifles and high-speed trains. But the same society is also still dependent upon familiar energy sources such as coal, and is missing some critical telecommunications innovations (notably the Internet). The story's dystopian society is ruled by a "Capitol" city that enjoys the latest technologies and luxuries, even as the surrounding "Districts" contain people living in fairly impoverished conditions (such as the coal miners of District 12).
Some "Hunger Games" fans have openly wondered about the apparently "uneven" technological development, even given the story's background of disruptive climate change and a past rebellion that was put down by force. At one point, a character laments the loss of certain past technologies - such as high-flying planes, military satellites, cell disintegrators, drones, and biological weapons with expiration dates - which seems a bit odd given that their society does have certain advanced technologies.
If that sounds interesting at all to you, just let me know when might be a good time to talk before the end of the week -- thanks in advance!
Just FYI, InnovationNewsDaily is a TechMediaNetwork website that looks at futuristic trends and technologies. We syndicate directly to news partners such as Yahoo! News and MSNBC, and also make our stories available to others such as Discovery News, Scientific American, Huffington Post and Fox News.
Jeremy Hsu | Senior Writer
InnovationNewsDaily | www.innovationnewsdaily.com jhsu@techmedianetwork.com| office: (212) 703-5860 | twitter: @ScienceHsu
150 Fifth Avenue, 9th floor, New York, NY 10011 InnovationNewsDaily is a TechMediaNetwork Inc. brand. ©2011 | www.techmedianetwork.com