Suzanne Collins’ novel, The Hunger Games, is about a future
dystopia in which 24 children from 12 districts of varying levels of poverty
are forced to fight one another until only one person leaves the arena alive for
the promise of a lifetime of wealth; the shocking nature of the novel is how clearly
many aspects parallel with modern society in the world, especially the United
States. Throughout the novel, appearances are incredibly influential in a game
that every scenario is being watched closely for the entertainment of the more privileged
in the Capitol. It begins the second that Primrose Everdeen’s name was drawn
and read aloud at the reaping, and Katniss fought out to take her place,
screaming, ““I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute” (Collins). Katniss refuses to
cry, even when she says goodbye to her family and closest friends for what she
believes to be the last time she will ever see them, because she knows that the
cameras will see her puffy eyes and she will appear weak to her competitors. This
fight to maintain appearances in order to gain support inside the arena through
sponsors intensifies as the games go on: Katniss’ fights to be seen as
beautiful by allowing her designers to wax her entire body and literally lite
her on fire, she creates a façade in order to win over the spectators during
the onstage interview, and she even joins an on-camera romance with Peeta
regardless of her lack of feelings for him. Appearances are everything in the
novel and in the world today. The world is increasingly influenced by social
media platforms, which work hauntingly similar to the Hunger Games. Many users
feel forced to join the platforms in order to stay connected with others, then
are swept into a game of comparison and popularity. Social media has become
riddled with filters, photoshop, and editing so well done, that many believe their
false appearances like the people of the Capitol believed the false front that
Katniss presented at every turn. Ironically, there are even sponsors in real
life too. Sponsors through social media pay individuals to sell, market, and
show off their products/services. This parallels with the sponsors in the
Hunger Games that expect the tributes to act and perform a certain way in order
to gain their sponsorship. Overall, I think that the Hunger Games exaggerates
very real, toxic qualities that exist in the modern world in order to highlight
the truth behind them.
I really enjoy your parallels between the Hunger Games and social media in today’s society. People are entirely self-obsessed with maintaining the perfect social image on all forms of social media, and you rarely see a person’s true authentic self being shown. Influencers have built careers on appearances based on travel, money, and social clout. If the influencer stops portraying that same image, then their views will drop and they will lose their source of livelihood. This is very similar to Katniss in the games. Once she finds Peeta in the cave, she realizes that the people in the Capitol are the only people who can afford to save Peeta, and that Peeta’s confession of love and their now smoldering romance will draw enough attention to get people to donate. Katniss thinks back on what Haymitch says to her, “You’re supposed to be in love, sweetheart. The boy’s dying. Give me something I can work with” (Collins 261). Katniss has to portray herself to the viewers of the Capitol and of the districts to be in love with someone in order to save him, and also herself. She knows that keeping him alive increases their chances of winning. This parallel ties directly into social media influencers acting, or portraying themselves in a certain way that is not their authentic self. This false illusion that is put up in the games is being put up in people’s lives all over the world through their social media reach. The illusion of reality in the games is an illusion that exists in all of our lives today, and one that we as a society need to break through in order to gain more happiness and satisfaction from our daily lives.
ReplyDeleteI like how you connected the fixation on appearances in The Hunger Games to social media today. When I first read this book in middle school, I did not see how it could connect to my life. I enjoyed the fantasy of the book being set in a fictional dystopian society. However, rereading the book for a second and almost ten years later, I realized how many parallels exist between the book and the world we live in today. One of the most relatable comparisons made between our world and Panem is the emphasis placed on how one appears in front of others. As you mentioned above, I see a ton of this on social media. People use filters and editing to make themselves look better for their audience. But this isn’t only something that people do online. While you may reach a larger audience online, people constantly think about enhancing their appearance in front of others. Think about if you were going to a party. You want to try your best to make sure you have a great outfit and spend time doing your hair and makeup before going out. I typically don’t think of this as a something I do to try and appease others as Katniss does with her appearance in the Hunger Games. However, during this isolation period when we are all staying in our houses, I’ve realized that I don’t care to put on nice clothes or makeup anymore. I’m not going to see anyone, so why should I worry about what I look like. Given the current situation, I thought it was a cool extension of the theme of appearances in the book and what you already discussed about social media.
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