Revolutionary Fashion in the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins

In my previous post, I discussed the article, "Teaching That Sticks"(2010) by Dan and Chip Heath as well as the article "If Ideas Were Fashion" (2008) by E. D. Wong and D. Henriksen.

This post focuses on the current "buzz" in the movie world--The Hunger Games, based on the book by Suzanne Collins. In this dystopian movie and book series, the main character, Katniss, becomes a "lightning rod" for the forces of revolution. Katniss is "fashioned" into this symbolic head of the revolution by her stylist, Cinna. To increase her odds of surviving the Hunger Games, Cinna designs outfits that "brand" Katniss as the "girl on fire" and the "Mockingjay" in order to attract sponsors. (Spoiler alert....don't read further if you want to maintain the suspense of the second book, Catching Fire....) Ultimately, Cinna is killed for his role in "branding" Katniss as a leader of the rebellion. I hope that the young people who are reading this series and watching The Hunger Games will reflect on this revolutionary aspect of fashion and style. "Fashion" is sometimes regarded as synonymous with the superficial, ephemeral, inconsequential aspects of our culture. However, there is a way in which identity can be fashioned in a way that transforms our world. One real-world example of this would be the transformation of Mahatma Gandhi from an expatriate lawyer in South Africa to the iconic representation of the non-violent revolution for Indian independence. In his transformed state, Mahatma Gandhi embodied his fight for independence, his frame whittled down by his hunger strikes and wrapped in home-spun cloth. I hope to have discussions with my teenaged sons and their friends about their thoughts about fashioning a deeper identity, such as in Gandhi's life, and the potential for "fashion" to incite revolution, as in The Hunger Games.