Catching Fire, the latest in The Hunger Games series, was released on Friday November 22nd. I have been a fan of the series since the release of the first book in 2008 and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. I enjoy the book and movie for various reasons but very much so for it’s political and social satire. I think we should not forget that The Hunger Games series is full of criticism for things like the media, celebrity culture, fashion, upper class, ruling class, and several other important concepts. Though some have forgotten or maybe just chose to ignore the critical roots of the Hunger Games series. Some like CoverGirl and Net-A-Porter have used the satirical exaggerations of the Hunger Games to campaign their products.
This is Capitol Couture:
Campaigns by CoverGirl and Net-A-Porter that completely miss the point of The Hunger Games.
Let’s talk about something very critical to The Hunger Games. Its criticism of class inequality and the superficial values of the upper class. Now first of all neither Suzanne Collins or the movie openly show their criticisms. The reader/viewer must be paying attention in order to pick up on them but it’s not very hard. The most obvious is the fashion of the Capitol society. Take Effie for example:
Effie is the embodiment of Capitol society. Take a look at her fashion. Her hair is always stiff, exaggerated, and ornate. Her skin tone is always paper white and her make up detailed, colorful, and made to match her outfit. The clothes are alway exaggerated, stiff, colorful, and never repeated. Her upper class status is so obvious. She has never been expected to do any difficult work therefore has the ability to wear stiff and ornate clothes that practically speaking are not for those who work. The detail in makeup, ornate decoration, and matching shows how easy and void of work her life is. The same with her light skin. It is probably fashionable to have pale skin to show others how little they have to work out in the sun.
Cough *boy does that look familiar, covergirl* cough
Now look at the decadence of the wealthy. If you have seen the movie you might recall the party scene at the presidential palace. In one instance Peeta is offered food from some people of the capitol, he responds by saying he has had enough and they offer him a liquid bottle that makes him vomit. Peeta is surprised and asks them why he would want to vomit. They respond with something along the lines of how else could you try everything. Decadence is so important in Capitol society that no one is allowed to have enough. There is no limit or satisfaction to the consumption of the wealthy.
Contrast these details with the lives of the people of the districts. In the GIF of Effie, above, you can see the practical, plain, and worn out clothes of the people from the districts. These are the clothes of working people. These are working people who starve. Katniss for example has had to hunt for game to feed her family and keep them alive. The ability to submit your name multiple times for the reaping in order to get meager amounts of extra food, or the tesserae, is further proof of the poverty that the districts live in. There exist a wide gap between the wealthy capitol and the districts yet it is one country. These two pictures of wealth and poverty are clear criticism of class inequality.
These satirical exaggerations are a serious critique of poverty and social inequality yet CoverGirl and Net-A-Porter have completely ignored that. Instead of taking the critiques seriously they make campaigns for their clothes and makeup. What exactly does that tell us about the extreme nature of the fashion industry? Surely there is a problem with our society if the satire of the Hunger Games is being brought to reality.
Critical thoughts of a Fanboy. 