Plagiarism However You Wanna Look At It

Rating: Null/10 (25 September 2012)

I had no interest in this movie, never read the books but I took my niece to the movie and within the first 30 min I had the feeling I've seen or read it somewhere before. Took me a while but I found the connection.
Shirley Jackson wrote a short story called the "The Lottery" in 1948. There are but a few minor difference but the story line (coal-mining town, lottery, sacrifice) is the same.
The Lottery / Hunger Games
Coal-mining town / Coal-mining District
Villages can communicate with other villages / Districts are isolated/restricted under Marshal Law
No reason is provided about why lottery and sacrifice must take place / A reason is provided
All participate in the lottery (very old and very young) / Age limit is set 12-18
An old ritual hand salute is mentioned but not performed / The old ritual hand salute is performed for Katniss
Each village actually carries out the lottery and sacrifice / A Capitol Representative conducts the lottery and the actual sacrificing takes place among the "tributes" in another location – allowing one winner.
By creating a reason why the Lottery and sacrificing must take place, Suzanne Collins has simply expanded on an already existing story. Yes it is rather creative and entertaining but she should give credit where credit is due. I'm just surprised no one else has caught on to it!