I volunteer as tribute to shed a light on some truth that is so glaringly obvious, but no one is doing anything about it. If you haven’t seen the film adaptation of Hunger Games, or if you just want me to refresh your memory, there is a fictional world which demonstrates an exaggerated view of the class divide in society–but how fictional does it feel now?
When I was younger and watched these films based around the fictional world of Panem, I thought ‘wow, this is crazy and would never happen in real life’– little did I know, that innocent old me might get the shock of her life…
The unthinkable costumes that you think would appear in this fictitious narrative are becoming more and more normal in our society. Before, seeing extravagant dresses with diamonds, glitz and glamour was the epitome of wealth and the upper class. However, we are now seeing celebs sporting the wildest (quite literally) outfits. Recently, Kylie Jenner was seen at Schiaparelli’s Paris Fashion Week Show earlier this year on January 23rd but let me tell you this was not your usual standard of clothing. In case you did not see, she wore a figure-hugging black bodycon dress but the utterly jaw-dropping feature (and not really in a good way) was the lion’s head on the front of it.
If you do not think that this could be pulled straight out of the world of Hunger Games, then I think society has brainwashed you to believe this is normal. As of recent, I have seen more people talking about the cost-of-living crisis, however, there has not been a concern coming from the direction of the wealthy who fly across continents to attend a fashion show that lasts a grand total of a few hours. A TikTok video brought this idea forward to me, I was aimlessly scrolling through my feed when I stumbled across this video montaging all the different videos of the filthy rich and the poorer part of society. The direct comparison of the clear divide in society got me thinking…how much more can we take?
The TikTok video reminded me that we are heading towards implementing a society that I thought we were trying to avoid. How can we keep idolising celebrities who have no regard for the people that make them famous? We are not really batting an eyelid at these despicably awful outfits that are just teasing us with the idea of wealth and success. Since when did wealth become stapled to this idea of absurdity?
Not only is the common link between our world and the fictional world of Hunger Games the costumes, but the idea of the battle for survival is also prominent now in society. As mentioned previously, the TikTok video showed how celebrities were being compared to normal civilians who are in the middle of a crisis directly linked to money. Why does a fictional and dystopian novel feel like it is coming to life? People nowadays are fighting over food banks and food vouchers, they are just trying to survive, and the rich are posting their 30ft tall Christmas trees (yes, I’m looking at you, Kylie Jenner).
The power difference between mega-billionaire celebrities and us in normal society is starting to become scary. When will it become too much?