Mayday Mayday
The annual Met Gala is feeling more and more dystopian these days so here’s a roundup of looks and their ~Capitol~ counterparts.
The news cycle these days is an exercise in whiplash. Genocide, racism, rap beefs, poor leadership, looming elections, Taylor Swift memes. And then there is the Met Gala.
The theme this year was so on the nose I don’t know whether to laugh or take offense. General reports highlight the exhibition theme, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.” But that was not the dress code. The dress code was actually “The Garden of Time” which is based on a short story by JG Ballard that tells the tale of aristocrats living in a utopic private estate overlooking a “rabble” of furious plebes. Each night, they pluck a rose to turn back time and get a few more days of blissful beauty while the peasants below scream for their demise.
Talk about dramatic irony.
Protests rage across the country. A genocidal assault leaves blood on all our hands. Children are being arrested. Leadership is arguing about the right way to protest while promising it doesn’t matter anyways. Frivolity at constant odds with growing discontent. And while referencing The Hunger Games can feel trite at this point, the first Monday in May rolls around and it suddenly seems like the only apt metaphor.
It’s giving Panem. It’s giving the 76th Hunger Games. It’s giving capitol parties as children are dying. Literally.
As the world goes on—the rich gotta rich, the pretty gotta pretty—I vacillate between anger and numbness and wonder. And isn’t that what The Hunger Games is all about?
So here is a roundup of looks and their capitol counterparts. Because if the shoe theme fits….
This isn’t me saying it’s immoral to admire a pretty dress, a pretty person. After all, that’s part of The Hunger Games—the spectacle, the design, the impressive style teams. I thought the green carpet was gorgeous. Gigi looked great. I love watching nobodies in suits lift Tyla up the steps. And did I mention Zendaya had an outfit change?
Still. How are we supposed to process this?
The thing I find most striking about The Hunger Games is that Suzanne Collins wasn’t imagining some far away dystopia; really, it was inspired by what she was witnessing in real life. War coverage, reality shows, all presented as entertainment blended together to numb an audience. In the Capitol—this garden of time—they got to eat, drink, and be merry, refusing culpability, allowing themselves to feel pity but never change.
And it’s how it felt this Monday. It is frivolity and it is fun. A quick mental break to put off the menty b. But it cannot be the most important thing we witness. It cannot be the dreamy goal post we measure ourselves again. “Let’s turn back time to preserve this garden,” they say. But the rabble pushes forward because we know all of us deserve better.
May the odds be ever in our favor!
Dang it’s like they watched the movies for inspiration!