In J.G. Ballard's 1962 story "The Garden of Time", a count and his wife reside within the walls of an extravagant villa, surrounded by flower-laden groves. Their verdant home appears to be an oasis from the outside world, but the couple is waiting with bated breath as a vast mob approaches this refuge. The prestige of the house, and their own lofty social status, then crumbles as this sea of people sweep through the villa and destroy it.
Ballard’s story served as the theme and dress code for the 2024 Met Gala, which fell again on the first Monday of May and welcomed a throng of celebrities to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The event took place at a volatile and harrowing moment in history, bringing into question, for many, the significance of both the gala and its chosen theme: a dystopian story symbolizing a dystopian time.
That's why, perhaps, many people online have drawn parallels between this year's Met Gala and The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins' YA franchise that famously examines class divide, privilege, and the revolutionary fight for survival. It seems that social media users have harnessed, increasingly, the gist of The Hunger Games to capture the dystopian state of the world.
After all, facets of the series are not far from the reality in question. In the series' core republic of Panem, fashion functions as a socio-political weapon, used by the wealthy Capitol to distinguish itself from the state's oppressed, heavily surveilled, and poorer districts. Powerful people wear extravagant outfits that intentionally eclipse the more modest clothing worn by the masses. But this facade of glitz and glamour is also used to mask government-mandated brutality. In one instance, Katniss Everdeen, the story's heroine, is made to wear a flaming gown in a public parade before the titular Hunger Games, where she'll fight young people from other districts to the death. Here, pure spectacle mutes reality.
The Met Gala drew comparisons to The Hunger Games quickly online on Sunday. As social media flooded with reactions to the spectacle of the red carpet, others were acutely aware of the scenes unravelling outside the prestige of the gala. Just about a mile away from the Met, hundreds of pro-Palestine activists demonstrated in protest of the war, with many blocked from entering the gala itself. And miles away, Israeli armed forces carried out an assault on the city of Rafah, resulting in dozens of casualties and injuries.
Simultaneously, the student movement across college campuses in the U.S. has resulted in thousands of arrests and cancelled commencements, as university goers protest in solidarity with Palestine, despite efforts to suppress their demonstrations.
The circumstances surrounding both the Met Gala and the ongoing devastation of violence in Gaza, and the subsequent link with between Ballard's story and the protests outside the event, was almost too clear. The Met Gala itself has not changed: it is always a chance for extravagance, an overt display of opulence, and a moment for the cult of celebrity. But the timing, this year, has raised different questions.
It's less surprising then, that users on X (formally Twitter), turned to The Hunger Games as an apt metaphor. The line between fiction and dystopian reality, say these users, has been blurred.
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It's unclear whether the Met Gala's organizers and attendees recognize the irony in this year's choice of theme, and in the lack of expression towards a harrowing humanitarian crisis. But it would be hard not to.
Topics X/Twitter Celebrities
