The Hunger Games takes place in a fictional dystopia. The protagonists respects the Capitol and the only time theytry to impress them is when their lives depend upon it. To call that war propaganda may be a stretch. Perhaps you are going after hollywood a little to skeptically on this one. After all, it wasn’t written by someone from hollywood and the fanbase was too huge to change too much.
Rather, I think the existance and popularity of this series reflects a realization by people in the Western wolrd that we are the Capitol and that we are on top of the world for reasons that may not be too pretty to look at. It shows a society where wealth and prosperity is not furthered by a peaceful market but by force.
A major theme in the Hunger Games is the depiction of the Capitol as a “Bread and Circuses” society. In fact the country Panem is named for the phrase “panem et circenses” used by Roman poet Juvenal to describe how his people had surrender power to the Empire. The fact that people giggled every time someone was slaughtered only reinforces what the book is capturing; that we live in the Capitol where vulgar entertainment and misinformation keeps the people at bay; that too many things are controlled by a nefarious government; that the wealth and success of that government exist largely through theft and hegemony; and so much more. It really reflects that people understand that the way we live off of others is wrong, but we don’t know how to change it. So pop culture reflects societies feelings. Sometimes popcult is full of propaganda, but this, I think, is much more a reflection of our understanding that things are just fucked up.
I think these will bemore than your common serial novels turned movies. They will be, as literature should, a reflection of what society is experiencing. Right now we’re expeirencing the fact that we done fucked up the world just like the Capitol did in The Hunger Games.