The Hunger Games and Ancient Rome

Spoiler Alert: contains key plot points from The Hunger Games Trilogy

http://www.jensc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/HG2.jpg

One of the things I noticed while reading The Hunger Games Trilogy was the numerous ways in which the Capitol resembles ancient Rome, probably the most obvious being the gladiatorial like games that they hold for both the punishment of the defeated and for their own entertainment.  However, the resemblance goes much deeper than this.
Something that struck me almost immediately was the first names of the Capitol's citizens: Cinna, Caesar, Plutarch, Flavius, Octavia, Venia, to name a few.  The first name of every person from the Capitol is a traditional Roman name.  I decided that the author, Suzanne Collins, was purposely trying to create a connection in the minds of her readers between the Capitol and ancient Rome, and so I began searching for more similarities.

http://thehungergames.wikia.com

I then realized that both ancient Rome and the Capitol had penchants for excessive wealth that they relied entirely on their providences/Districts to provide.  A very specific example occurs in Catching Fire when Katniss is disgusted by the Capitol practice of making oneself puke at a dinner party in order to make room for more food.  The Romans also indulged in this disgusting habit.  I later discovered in Mockingjay, that Plutarch directly compares the conditions in the Capitol to the 'Bread and Circuses' of Rome.
There is also an interesting correlation between President Coriolanus Snow and the emperors of ancient Rome.  In ancient Rome, the emperors often gained and held power by whatever means necessary.  In Mockingjay, Finnick Odair reveals the brutal tactics that Snow used in his ascension to power, including a Roman favorite, poison.  Readers are treated first hand to the threats, torture, and executions Snow uses to maintain his position.
There exist many more examples I could point out but instead I'll ask a question.  Why is Suzanne Collins making these comparisons between the Capitol and an ancient civilization from thousands of years ago?  In Mockingjay, Plutarch mentions that Panem had once been a republic, another quality it shares with Rome.  Now think of the implications when considering that in the first book, Katniss relates that Panem was once known as North America.

http://www.crystalinks.com/romerecreation.html

Carl Becker stated in Everyman his own Historian, "to be prepared for what is coming to us it is necessary not only to recall certain past events but to anticipate the future."  I think Suzanne Collins trying to use her vision of a dystopian future to warn us that we need to learn from the mistakes of the past.  This is why she ends The Hunger Games Trilogy with Plutarch's expression of hope that the people of Panem will learn from their recent history.

Starving Myself from The Hunger Games

The Midnight Premiere of The Hunger Games is officially only 23 hours away, and just like any other person who has read The Hunger Games I am dying to see the movie...so why am I going to wait?

Right now I am currently in the middle of the second book Catching Fire. This book is amazing and I envision all of the scenes as if I were there. I have images in my head for Katniss, Gale, Peeta, Haymitch, President Snow, the Capitol, District 12, Katniss' home, the rebellions...all of it! I am enjoying this book so much that I actually don't want it to end! However, I won't let myself see the movie until I am finished with the complete trilogy.

I love keeping the images I have in my head of everything Hunger Games related. When reading the books, I like to have my own vision of this atmosphere, which is not yet affected by any third-party visions of the same story. Therefore, I have been trying to steer clear of all Hunger Games related publicity including all trailers, magazine articles, and news-related stories. Trust me...this task has been very difficult. It really seems as if The Hunger Games talk is permeating and ever-present; discussion of this movie comes up on TV, on Facebook, on websites, and in conversations with my friends. However, no matter how difficult it may be, I am on a mission to avoid all images of this movie until I am absolutely finished with The Hunger Games trilogy. This may be a daunting challenge, but I won't let anything get in the way of my vision of Katniss and her world.

So while everyone is off seeing The Hunger Games, I will be off somewhere playing my own game...avoiding this movie at all costs!

What do you all think about this task? Do you like completing a book before you see a movie to keep your own personal visions of the story? Or instead do you not mind having the images of the movie mix with your own imaginations of the same story?