My goodness, it was more prescient than it seemed at the time, including the stratification of wealth, the decadence of privilege, the abuse of power, and the complications of resistance. This series exists on many levels, but strikes me as one of the more revealing fictional stories that forecast the overlapping of material decadence, desperate poverty, and the use of fear as a propaganda device.

As a political allegory, it covers the same intellectual terrain as Aristotle's "Politics," Machiavelli's "The Prince," and de Jouvenel's "On Power," but in a way that is more penetrating for readers and viewers, and particularly relevant for our times.

The entire series deals with the greatest conflict in history, that between liberty and power. Those fortunate enough to live in District One, the center of the empire, and socialize with the best, eat well, dress in increasingly preposterous ways (hair dyed in unnatural colors), follow all the trends, go to the right parties, and try to keep with the social scene.

Each of the districts below perform their assigned economic function of keeping the center living in luxury. Borders between them are strictly enforced. Your place in the socio-political order is determined by accidents of birth with no broad economic mobility.

In order to maintain the order and keep rebellion at bay, the leaders in District One hold an annual extravaganza that combines fashion, violent games, and intense political messaging of the dangers of rebellion. Each district is required to send two randomly assigned tributes to the games where they face off in an arena in a battle for their lives with only one winner, as the people at the top watch with intense fascination.