"The whole idea that entertainment can be used as a means of political control is fascinating." It's not an idea at all - it's the reality and Gary Ross must know this and is just being coy. Politics is downstream from pop-culture. Even the VP admitted this when praising Will and Grace for doing more for the LGBT community than any politician ever could. Thank goodness the whole system has been blown open before it morphed from benevolent informer to manipulative dictator. This is why The Hunger Games connects so deeply. It brings to the surface what we're all feeling about the collective entertainment experience and how it effects us personally and society as a whole. When Katniss and Peeta nearly eat the poison berries at the end but are stopped by an urgent voice from the announcer -- it displayed perfectly what entertainment keeps well hidden - true, sacrificial love. Sacrificial love is kryptonite to the forces of pseudo love as displayed by the residents of The Capitol.