Didn't I rant to at least one of you that this was my clearest takeaway from having seen the Hunger Games? See and read section II of this op-ed:

"Katniss is a cipher for what we become when we are saturated in social media, unable to escape the eyes of digital observers. ... And so the book version of The Hunger Games is a commentary on life-as-performance."

I think this is so astute, and this is also the only time I've ever heard someone agree with me about this. Coincidentally, the author is a professor and national security specialist... ha!

Does it matter that Katniss is being surveilled, rather than intentionally broadcasting? I think it does matter, but that maybe the difference is ever-shrinking.

"We, and Katniss, cannot have a solely private or personal moment." Not really. I don't know about you, or other people who might join this Branch, but I have gobs of "solely private moments" every day. It's becoming less and less true — so maybe Katniss isn't so much a reflection of ourselves as of our future. (Can't wait till everyone wears one of these!: kickstarter.com .) But still. Or maybe I'm nitpicking?