On October 7th and 8th, a spectacle of a party was thrown in the sculpture garden of MusĂ©e Rodin in Paris, France with the theme of âElegance Is Authority: The Story, Style and Power of Panemâ (Colletier 2026). The party acted as a portal into the dystopian world of Panem and highlighted the costumes, set design and the stylistic details of the upcoming film Sunrise on the Reaping. In attendance, two notable stars in the upcoming film such as the ever-present actress McKenna Grace and donning the role of Haymitch Abernathy – Joseph Zada.Â
Although these actors stunned the red carpet at this event, I couldnât help but feel this event was slightly off-putting. I am a huge Hunger Games fan, I have read all the books, including the new one, and I have seen all the movies about a million times. I have written academic essays about the themes and the ultimate impact of this series and what it reveals about our society. These books and films to me feel deeper than the clothes or makeup of its characters – they highlight the economic discrepancies that plague this Earth. They show what happens when a powerful, egotistical government takes over a people and uses money as leverage against them. Having this background, when it was revealed that a âCapitol-themedâ party was occurring for the elite class – I felt it almost entirely erased the meaning of the stories.
Before I go deeper, I must offer that I do not believe that attending this party makes one a bad person. I do not believe that McKenna or Joseph should be shunned because they attended this party. They are young, talented and promoting their new film – this should be celebrated! However, the idea of a party having a theme of an abusive government system – fictional or not – should not be normalized.Â
The Capitol in all the films acts as the ultimate oppressor of its own people. It uses its own power and privilege to encourage submission from the poorer people. The Capitol specifically focuses on hair, makeup and other superficial aspects of life and entirely disregard the fact that their people are slowly starving to death in the Districts. So, throwing a party for a bunch of celebrities to walk around in their million dollar costumes while surrounded by propaganda for this exact government almost feels like a total disregard to the integrity of The Hunger Games franchise.Â
While scrolling through comments on posts of this party, I felt alone in these thoughts. Social media delivered the superficial thoughts that I wanted to avoid. Many were distracted by the elegance of the event and the beauty of McKennaâs dress that paid homage to the character of Katniss Everdeen. Although I do believe the costumes were pretty and the makeup was amazing and the set was incredible, I needed to know if anyone felt deeper about this event as well.
Turning to the Internet and away from social media, I found an article on flickdirect.com by Boris Colletier. Colletier notes that in the franchise, power and presentation have always been something to coexist. In the films, the citizens are reaped and then decorated with costumes, makeup and a whole new personality to the public in order to gain support and sponsors. This fact can make the exhibit more relevant because the physical appearance of the characters is one of the most important factors in the story. Colletier does a brilliant job at noting the depth of the franchise and seeing the exhibit as more than just an event for film promotion.Â
Ultimately, through my research and my own background knowledge on The Hunger Games I have found that this party can act as a powerful promotional tool for the film; but it also acts as a deeper revelation about society. This event shows that there is still obvious separation between the upper and lower classes and how they should be represented by the media – the exact thing that The Hunger Games itself confronts. Initially, I felt that this party discounted everything that the franchise represents. Now, I feel that although the event still may be slightly distasteful, it highlights the oppression that the reaped citizens had to go through by being put on display for the world’s entertainment.