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I find it interesting that you brought up the point about how the educational value of the Hunger Games can be found by 'digging deeper' into the book, and that technology and Hollywood kind of masks those deeper reflections on corruption and social justice. I think this is true because movie trailers tend to only emphasize the 'action' in the film, because that's what people get excited about. 

We can also find a connection to this 'masking' of reality that media hype causes in the Hunger Games by examining how technology exists within the narrative. 

When Katniss becomes a tribute she's "taken to the Capitol and given a glamorous makeover and a wardrobe custom-designed for her by her own personal fashion maestro. She’s cheered by crowds, fêted at galas, interviewed on national television, fed sumptuous meals, and housed in a suite filled with wondrous devices. She’s forced to live every teen-age girl’s dream." I always find it bizarre how the citizens of Panem can turn a blind eye to the this sadistic televised violence of people passively watching their children being slaugthered for entertainment. I think the book touches on some of the effects of emotional desensitization towards violence technology can bring about. These are possible consequences of a being apart of a visual culture that is heavily image-saturated.  

You can read more about the article here: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2010/06/14/100614crat_atlarge_miller?currentPage=2

Another article I found that was interesting is from the New York Times magazine. It talks about Suzanne Collin's personal background and her own connections to War:

Here is the link to that article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/magazine/mag-10collins-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

"Her grandfather was gassed in World War I, and her uncle sustained shrapnel wounds in World War II. Some of Collins’s earliest memories are of young men in uniform drilling at West Point, where her father, who later made lieutenant colonel, was on loan from the Air Force, teaching military history.

In 1968 the family moved to Indiana. It was the year Collins turned 6. It was also the year her father left to serve in Vietnam. War was a favorite topic for her father; and war, "

Collins makes an explicit statement of her intentions for the book, “I don’t write about adolescence,” she said. “I write about war. For adolescents.”In both articles, critics have described the Hunger Games as dystopian literature. It presents us with a society that is government by authoritarianism, and where humanity is reduced to subsistence farming. The Hunger Games has also been described as similair to other 20th century dystopian fiction such as "Brave New World" and George Orwell's "1984." It would be really interesting if teachers could do a compare/contrast of these dystopian fiction novels and draw a connection to current events such as the current politcal debate on Syria.

I feel like the movie for the Hunger Games doesn't stimulate as much critical thinking than a book would, and instead makes us tune out of reality and become consumed by the cinematic spectacle. Webecome engrossed with the story as a form of entertainment.

Therefore I agree with you that we should incorportate Hunger Games into classroom teaching and focus on doing critical analysis with the book, if we wish educational merit from it.