If you told me about how dystopian the world has become, I wouldn’t have believed you. The creation of artificial intelligence (AI) and its aid in the weakening of individual thinking, the burning and destruction of antique books for training said AI, the censoring of the press in the White House, and now the ignorance of the public reminiscent of the Capitol District of Panem. The fifth book of The Hunger Games series to be adapted into a movie has been highly anticipated. The movie is set to debut in theaters on Nov. 20, so its press tour is well under way. One of the recent stops of this press tour was Paris, France. On the night of the opening gala, while the press and media were attending the Capitol-themed gathering, thousands of students were in the streets of Paris protesting, being arrested, and facing police brutality in the name of better conditions, which many are saying will go down in French history. How ironic.
The irony behind the gala.
To understand the irony, we need to know why the students of Paris are protesting. What are they fighting for? Education — better quality education. There is a large gap between the education of the rich and poor families of France, and people are fighting for better quality education, nicer classrooms, more teachers, smaller class sizes, and more supplies for their schools. During an interview with BBC News, three 17-year-old girls who were protesting said that in the third district of Paris there are “holes in classroom walls, swelling class sizes, and a dearth of teaching staff.” In true French fashion, the students of Paris decided to begin protesting so their politicians would respond to the unfair conditions, only to be met with police brutality and violence. Stun grenades have since been banned from the protests, but many protestors are still being injured and arrested during these protests, with many of them being minors.Â
The Hunger Games is a dystopian book series written by Suzanne Collins following a young teenager, Katniss Everdeen, who fights against the elitist government forcing the people who live outside of its Capitol to live in fear and poverty. It is an incredible book about the tragedies of war, an unequal society, controlling public media, and letting one single power rule over the public. But it is also about people empowering others to fight against the evil of the world, the loyalty and love in found family, and how the message of just one person can change history. While the students of Paris were protesting against the inequality between the rich and the poor students of France, which is one of the biggest plot points in The Hunger Games, many of France’s media and press were attending the gala dedicated to the Capitol. The fact that the gala was in the style of the Capitol district — the theme being “Elegance Is Authority: The Story, Style and Power of Panem” — makes the situation incredibly ironic, as some people in the media are noting. Some even call the situation “thematic” or “tone-deaf” due to the hypocrisy of celebrating the very district that oppresses the people of the book.Â
The young students of Paris should be able to have the same quality education and stability that their parents received not so long ago. While the irony is not lost on me, I don’t believe there was a singular person or party in the wrong in regards to this situation. It is times like these where I believe it is important for people to take a step back, especially people who so dearly read these books and watch these movies, to understand that many of the dystopian societies beheld in books are not very far off from distant futures the world may succumb to. We should be using The Hunger Games as a comparison to the world we live in right now and to make sure we do not become the frivolous, ignorant society the Capitol District has created. Choosing to take a stand against inequality and discussing issues is the only way our society may not turn into the dystopian future that many fear to see it become.