Within the last year, The Hunger Games trilogy, written by Suzanne Collins, has skyrocketed to major success. After the worldwide triumph of The Hunger Games movie, fans are expecting the new Catching Fire film to be just as big of a hit as its prequel. Many die-hard fans bought tickets for the film’s theater premiere on November 22 as soon as they went on sale October 1.  This teenage phenomenon makes one wonder: what about the trilogy makes people’s eyes brighten and stomachs flutter with excitement? Is it the widespread popularity or the actual love of the books?

The series lit up social media, Tumblr and Twitter well before the movie came out and got really big.  The Hunger Games is not just your classic, boy-meets-girl book, where the boy is supposed to show the girl into his world and open up, causing them to fall in love. Here, the girl is the protagonist, and she is the strong one. She helps the guy, instead of the other way around.  Fans of the book also typically divide into “Team Gale “or “Team Peeta,” named for the books’ and movies’ male leads.  Peeta seems to be the more sensitive character, while Gale has a violent streak. In the first movie, when Katniss and Gale are talking before she leaves, Gale reassures her that, because she can hunt well, she should have no problem in the Hunger Games. Katniss reminds him that killing humans, rather than wild animals, will be a much different experience. Gale is heartless, merciless, while Peeta is caring and sweet. The different characters can also be seen to represent differing aspects of Katniss – or even the Hunger Games civilization.

If the movies had not been made, the series still would have been popular. Their twist on the typical teen romance makes it almost inevitable that these stories would become so well known.  Also, there is a parallel to entertainment in reality and The Hunger Games.  Take the show Ridiculousness for example. It’s basically a show full of clips of other people’s pain. It’s, for the lack of a better word, ridiculous how people can find joy in physical pain. Of course, The Hunger Games is more extreme than any sort of show in our world, but it’s still the same concept.  There’s a bigger picture, which definitely draws attention to the series.