What the Met Gala and Hunger Games Share in Common
Described as one of the world’s best annual parties, the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit, or Met Gala, is certainly a famously swanky show, if nothing else.
For those who are unfamiliar with the gala, the pictures and storylines produced at the yearly New York event are enough to ensure that a person needs only one introduction — they are, in a word, unforgettable.
Do you remember Effie Trinket from The Hunger Games movies? Once simply a caricature created by author Suzanne Collins, she is brought to life on the red carpet each year for the event. Many-a-celebrity’s clothing and gaudy makeup is reminiscent of the flamboyantly made-up woman.
Effie was a symbol of the powerful and wealthy capitol which had kept the people in the outlying 13 districts downtrodden and impoverished. She was vain, superficial and quite ditzy.
Unfortunately, unlike The Hunger Games and Effie Trinket, there is nothing fictitious about the Met Gala, an ironically charitable event which only serves to highlight the socioeconomic disparity in the world.
While Effie and some of the celebrities attending the gala are a fairly easy comparison, at least physically, there are other less pronounced similarities between the movies and the real-life extravaganza.
Attending celebrities are in no way responsible for others’ misfortune or lack, but the gala reeks of overabundance, riches and vanity: It puts all three qualities on a pedestal for the world to admire.
And, somehow, this year’s “camp” theme, even though the orthodox definition was not intended, made the event even more insulting, in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way. To most people, camping carries the connotation of meagerness and scarcity, and many people live this way out of necessity, because they don’t have the means to improve their lifestyle. The definition was a point of confusion to several of the attending celebrities, as well.
In contrast to stereotypical camping, the Met Gala is a celebration of high-rise fashion that only certain people have the honor of attending.
You see, not just anybody can go to the Met Gala. You have to be on an official invite list, and, even then, a ticket costs $30,000.
New York Times writer Vanessa Friedman posed a pertinent question in an article about the Met Gala in 2018:
“O.K., You’re Saying I Can’t Go. So Why Should I Care?”
She answered:
“It’s reality TV at its most glamorous. See Tom and Gisele being much more perfect than any normal couple could hope to be! Check out Chelsea Clinton kissing Diane von Furstenberg! Watch Tom Ford try not to step on Sarah Jessica Parker’s train! Judge whether you approve of the outfits!”
Wow.
I actually agree with her, partially. You should care, just not about the celebrities or their clothes.
You should be concerned that an event like this continues to happen, year after year.
Unlike other entertainment options which elevate celebrities, such as the Oscars which is a celebration of talent, or sporting events which are amazing displays of human accomplishment and athleticism, the Met Gala is neither of these things, but instead a message to the rest of the world: We’re better than you.