The Hunger Games is a trilogy of young adult dystopian novels by American author Suzanne Collins. The series centers around Katniss Everdeen who is “reaped” for the Hunger Games after volunteering for her sister. By being reaped for the Hunger Games, Katniss is thrust into a world that is almost completely foreign to the one she lives in: the Capitol. The lifestyle of the Capitol parallels Katniss’ life in many ways. In the Capitol, Marks of age and being plump are considered as undesirable, meanwhile in Katniss’ homeland of District 12 both are considered signs of victory. It is a world filled with advanced technology, food that appears at a whim and heavily altered human beings.
The citizens of the Capitol are described as having artificially coloured skin and hair. Sometimes they even surgically alter their bodies so that they look like some sort of animal or embed jewels or other items onto or underneath their skin. They look so strange that the protagonist ,Katniss Everdeen, did not feel remotely self-conscious around her prep team ,who are Capitol citizens, and described them as “multicoloured birds”.
While the Hunger Games is indeed fiction it is starting to resemble our own world more and more. There are more options now in plastic surgery. Examples of plastic surgery procedures are botox,which is used to smooth wrinkles on the face; abdominoplasty or “tummy tuck”,which is used to reduce abdominal fat deposits; and even rhinoplasty, which is used to change how the nose looks or improve breathing. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Plastic surgery procedures have risen by 115% since 2000; While traditional facial procedures and breast reduction remain the most popular there is more diversity in the types of body parts that patients want to address. Examples of procedures that have risen since 2000 are breast lifts, buttock lifts, lower body lifts and upper arm lifts.
Currently, many people dye their skin in the form of tattoos. People are dyeing their hair and plastic surgery is on the rise. All the technology that can produce real-life Capitol citizens exists right here in the present. However will everyone use it? There is a real possibility of an increase in plastic surgery.
Body Dysmorphia Disorder is more prevalent in those seeking cosmetic surgery. Negative body image has been associated with increasing social media influence and screen time according to a study authored by Vivien Suchert and others titled “Screen time,weight status and the self concept of physical attractiveness in adolescents”. Social media has a growing influence upon our everyday lives. While it is a good thing that our society is becoming more and more connected, it does play a role in pushing others to surgically alter themselves. If we continue on our present path of increasing social media use, maybe we will see cities resembling the Capitol in the Hunger Games right down to its people.
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