The best discussion to be found about the artistry and meaning of Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy is hiding in the archives of HogwartsProfessor.com, especially the posts written soon after the publication of Mockingjay. For the complete set of those posts just scroll down but the ‘Greatest Hits’ from that flood include:

• Unlocking Mockingjay: ‘The Spiritual Allegory’ On Katniss as a Soul Seeking Perfection and Iconological Reading
• ‘Unlocking Mockingjay: ‘The Literary Alchemy’ On Literary Alchemy and Peeta as Postmodern Christ
• ‘Unlocking Mockingjay: Katniss’ Apotheosis’ On the Alchemical Arena and Katniss’ Perfection in the Inner Sanctuary
• Katniss’ Meadow Song the musical embedded text of the series with ‘Hanging Tree’
• The Hanging Tree, the story about the story inside the story;
• The Hunger Games Formula, Collins’ literary scaffolding
• Real or Not Real, the last-word-decisive theme of Mockingjay

We hit another round of in-depth discussion around the release of the first films. For the round-up of 35 posts about the books and their adaptations, scroll down or check this out. The best from that lot, I think, are:

• Gamesmakers Hijack Story: Capitol Wins Hunger Games Again
• LA Times: Is Jennifer Lawrence A Real Life Katniss Everdeen?
• Literary Alchemy and The Hunger Games: Three Podcasts
• What You Missed Last Night at the Capitol’s Movie Premiere
• Psychological Types in Harry Potter, Hunger Games
• The 2010 Lev Grossman ‘Mockingjay’ Interview that Wasn’t
• Ladies and Gentlemen, Let the Countdown of Blogs begin! (EB-H)
• The Larger Ring of The Hunger Games Trilogy: The Meadow

There are many, many more Hunger Games posts in the archives that have gone up since the last films were released. Please search the site via the search engine on the Home Page! Here are seven of the more challenging:

• Louise Freeman’s three part post on PTSD and The Hunger Games: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
• MuggleNet Academia podcast with Lana Whited, editor of Critical Insights: The Hunger Games
• On the Use of Hunger Games Imagery in Thailand Democracy Protests: Art Depicts Life Imitates Art
• On the Tragi-Comedy of a Hunger Games Theme Park in Totalitarian China
• Elizabeth Baird-Hardy on Fashion Shows with Hunger Games themes (see also the Miss Universe Pageant!)
• A Response to a Critic Claiming ‘Hunger Games is Flawed to its Core’
• Unintended Consequences: Hunger Games Hurts Television?

The HogwartsProfessor Series on Mockingjay and the Series as a Whole (Summer 2010):

The first 30 Hunger Games discussion threads from the three weeks after Morningjay’s publication are listed below.  (nota Bene: The first ten threads were started the first morning post-publication and reflect a hurried first reading.)

• Mockingjay Discussion 1: Team Peeta?
• Mockingjay Discussion 2: District 13
• Mockingjay Discussion 3: War and Television
• Mockingjay Discussion 4: The Pearl Plot?
• Mockingjay Discussion 5: The Three Sure Things
• Mockingjay Discussion 6: Series Continuity
• Mockingjay Discussion 7: Gale Hawthorne
• Mockingjay Discussion 8: Blood and Roses
• Mockingjay Discussion 9: The Assassin
• Mockingjay Discussion 10: Predictions Scorecard
• Mockingjay Discussion 11: Review Revue
• Mockingjay Discussion 12: Real or Not Real?
• Mockingjay Discussion 13: President Hillary Coin?
• Mockingjay Discussion 14: The Hunger Games Formula
• Mockingjay Discussion 15: The Hanging Tree
• Mockingjay Discussion 16: Katniss’ Meadow Song
• Mockingjay Discussion 17: Books vs. Broadcast
• Mockingjay Discussion 18: Harry Potter’s Shadow
• Mockingjay Discussion 19: Shadows of Twilight
• Mockingjay Discussion 20: A Children’s Book?
• Mockingjay Discussion 21: What the Votes Tell Us
• Mockingjay Discussion 22: Ring and Mirror Composition
• Mockingjay Discussion 23: What Have I Unleashed on My Students?
• Mockingjay Discussion 24: So Whatever Happened to…?
• Mockingjay Discussion 25: A Week Later
• Mockingjay Discussion 26: Getting to the Ballad Roots of ‘Hanging Tree’
• Mockingjay Discussion 27: The Meaning of Prim’s Cat and Kat-niss
• Mockingjay Discussion 28: Was Peeta Right about the Revolution?
• Mockingjay Discussion 29: Is Mockingjay an NRA Advertisement?
• Mockingjay Discussion 30: Hunger Games and the Lord of the Rings
• ‘Unlocking Mockingjay: The Spiritual Allegory’ On Katniss as a Soul Seeking Perfection and Iconological Reading
• ‘Unlocking Mockingjay: ‘The Literary Alchemy’ On Literary Alchemy and Peeta as Postmodern Christ
• ‘Unlocking Mockingjay: Katniss’ Apotheosis’ On the Alchemical Arena and Katniss’ Perfection in the Inner Sanctuary

The First Month of Posts at the Release of the First Film (March, 2012):

Posts are in sequence of beginning to end of month and those of greater depth or which drew the greater number and quality of responses are highlighted:

• Psychological Types in Harry Potter, Hunger Games
• The 2010 Lev Grossman ‘Mockingjay’ Interview that Wasn’t
• Ladies and Gentlemen, Let the Countdown of Blogs begin! (EB-H)
• The Larger Ring of The Hunger Games Trilogy: The Meadow
• District 12 Hunger Games Movie Trailer: Capitol TV!
• Hunger Games Talk Tonight at Full Circle Books
• Katniss Everdeen Actress: “The Outfit That Saved My Life”
• Why Wait for the Lions Gate ‘Hunger Games’ Movie?
• Hunger Games Premium Trading Cards: Well, Why not?
• J. Robert Barth: ‘Romanticism and the Religious Tradition’
• Get Your Lionsgate Nail Polish For the Hunger Games Opening Ceremonies! Stylist Endorsed, It’s To Die For, Capitol-ites!
• Tim Parks: ‘The Writer’s Job’ in The New York Review of Books A Hogwarts Professor Conversation About the Literary Machine
• Flavorwire: Katniss and Hermione and Jane Eyre — but no Bella?
• WSJ: ‘Why the Hunger Games is Also the Gender Games’
• Scenes from District 12 and Great Tourism Opportunities (EB-H)
• Another ‘Hunger Games’ Media Contact: 14 Questions For You
• ET: Behind the Scenes of ‘Hunger Games’ Filming (Etc.!)
• Why Wait for the LionsGate Hunger Games Movie? Part 2
• The Mother Lode: 250 Hunger Games Products For Sale –
• Literary Alchemy and The Hunger Games: Three Podcasts
• What You Missed Last Night at the Capitol’s Movie Premiere
• You Want Hunger Games Movie News? Check It Out
• New Hunger Games Clip: The Sutherland-Ross Version of Snow Political Overreach and Misunderstanding of Books’ Meaning?
• Another Multi-Question Hunger Games Interview: Join Me!
• Letter from a Friend: What Does Suzanne Collins Believe?
• Are ‘The Hunger Games’ Books ‘Young Adult’ Literature?
• LA Times: Is Jennifer Lawrence A Real Life Katniss Everdeen?
• Books About Hunger Games Novels: Fourteen Out of the Gate!
• Shared Text: Hunger Games as Vehicle for Gospel Message?
• Hunger Games Film Reviews: The Ends of the Spectrum Are In
• Around the Blogosphere: Three ‘Games’ Writers Worth Reading
• So You’ve Seen the Hunger Games Film: What Do You Think?
• Lionsgate Hunger Games Film A Satisfactory Movie Experience; Cinema Treatment Leaves Serious Readers Hungry for More (EB-H)
• Gamesmakers Hijack Story: Capitol Wins Hunger Games Again
• What I Fear Is Coming (Has Come?) to Hunger Games Fandom

For historians curious about the conversation before we had the finale, here are those pre-Mockingjay speculative and interpretative posts.

The Lead-Up to Mockingjay’s Publication (2010)

Posts by John Granger:

• Who is the Mockingjay? The Hidden Key to The Hunger Games (2/13/2010)
• Who is the Mockingjay? Discussion 1 (2/16/2010)
• Who is the Mockingjay? Discussion 2 (2/17/2010)
• Who is the Mockingjay? Discussion 3 — Fan Site Feedback (2/17/2010)
• Unlocking the Hunger Games: The Four Layers of Meaning (2/22/2010)
• The Pearl Plot, Version 2.0 (3/1/2010)
• Alchemists Everywhere! A Hogs Head PubCast (3/25/2010)
• Hunger Games Strategy Board Game (8/1/2010)
• Suzanne Collins to be at Finale Release Party (8/10/2010)
• New Yorker: Hunger Games = High School (8/14/2010)
• Suzanne Collins: Writing “War Stories”? (8/15/2010)
• EW: Suzanne Collins on the Books She Loves (8/16/2010)
• Countdown to Mockingjay: The 13 District Blog Tour (8/17/2010)
• Mockingjay Rubedo: The Scent of Blood and Roses (8/18/2010)
• Mockingjay Predictions: Three ‘Sure Things’ (8/19/2010)
• Guest Post: The Capitol is Capitol Hill (8/20/2010)
• Mockingjay Predictions: The Death of Peeta (8/20/2010)
• Mockingjay Prediction: The Mystery of Cinna (8/21/2010)
• Ten Out-On-A-Limb Mockingjay Predictions (8/22/2010)

Posts by Elizabeth Baird Hardy:

• A Bird’s Eye View: Birds in The Hunger Games (3/22/2010)
  
• Don’t Go Down in the Hole: Coal Miner’s Life in District 12 and Appalachia (4/14/2010)
• Follow-Up Bird Thoughts: Ducks and Mockingjays (5/13/2010)
• Some Muse-ings About Inspiration in Twilight and Hunger Games (6/08/2010)
• Misery Loves Company: The New Yorker on YA Dystopian Fiction (6/13/2010)

Posts by Louise Freeman:

• On Female Victors and Probability (6/04/2010)
• On ‘Mark Evans’ and Hunger Games Names (6/04/2010)
• Peeta Mellark as Neville Longbottom Echo (6/07/2010)
• Hunger Games ‘Shipping Notes (6/14/2010)