The
Hunger Games is an interesting example of resistance to the male gaze
since Katniss is rarely objectified in the films – except when she is expected
to become a spectacle for the fans in the Capitol. Ironically, CoverGirl launched an ad campaign
for young women to transform themselves into the very spectacles Katniss
resents. Click on the link and describe
the campaign, then summarize the response to the marketing from The Guardian.
CoverGirl’s campaign is geared toward inspiring people (specifically young females) to recreate looks inspired by “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” using their makeup line. To give people a push to want to purchase the makeup collection, the artists at CoverGirl created twelve individual looks using different pieces of clothing and their Capitol Collection. Each look is artistically inspired to reflect each fictional district’s dominant occupation. The collection was meant to attract the attention of fans who want to further immerse themselves in the world of Katniss and the Districts, without thought of the true meaning behind what they were emulating.
ReplyDeleteLong from “The Guardian”, however, realized what the CoverGirl campaign was ignoring. She points out how the campaign focuses on the superficial elements of the books and movies, and that in doing so they’ve unwittingly touched on a symbolically loaded subject. She points out how the Capitol represents the mindlessness of this society that has been divided by class for so long that it has become numb to the situations outside their districts. The Capitol focuses on its lifestyle as a way of deflecting the horror of the world outside the inner district, and this allows them to treat twelve children murdering each other as a sporting event. Long then points out how this is merely the tip of the iceberg, with other companies marketing superficial aspects of the series as well, with “fiery” flavors of food and toy weapons specifically “for girls”. She laments over how rather than capitalize on the positive aspects of the series, such as how the purpose of the series was to inspire young adults to get more involved in politics, they choose to capitalize on the negative themes in the story, or completely misinterpret the positive aspects of the story altogether. While it wouldn’t be easy for Subway to create a successful marketing campaign on politics or CoverGirl to sell mascara while critiquing classicism, it becomes a problem when those themes are pushed to the background in favor of glorifying aspects of the horrific Capitol or erasing the power of the women in the franchise by marketing toy weapons painted pink to girls.
Caitlyn B
Covergirl's “Capitol Collection” aims to inspire its viewers to transform into glamourous capitol figures. Covergirl claims this collection is inspired by the Hunger Games and its 12 districts. There are 12 looks featured, based on the districts and their specialties. They include flamboyant styles of dress and hair in addition to the costume like make up. This trilogy does such an excellent job at having a female protagonist that is not objectified in every scene. Katniss is a symbol of hope, strength and solidarity among the 12 districts who fight against the great evil of the capitol. However, Covergirl has chosen to flip the script and encourage young women to embrace the superficial ideals of the capital through their collection. Heather Long in her article “Total misfire: brands like CoverGirl and Subway miss point of Hunger Games” points out; The capitol represents everything that is wrong with society, why would anyone aim to look that way? The people of the capitol are so wrapped up in their pretty things that they are able to watch children murder each other and laugh about it. Is this the message we want to send to young girls? That despite what may be going on in the world; as long as you have pretty things everything will be okay. Covergirl is encouraging these values through their collection and what it represents. This is in sharp contrast to Katniss’ character who would much rather be out in nature and live a simple life. I think Long does a wonderful job at calling attention to the brand and how it encourages the wrong set of values. She even goes into other advertising for the movie such as subway and Hasbro toys. Long makes a comical statement “Yes, someone honestly thought that a story about food shortages and massive inequalities between the capitol and the rest of nation would make good inspiration to advertise new lunch sandwich flavors.” This just shows us how desensitized we have become to advertisements and what they truly promote. Her last example was the heartbreaker pink bow promoted by Hasbro toys. She quoted how many reviews stated how happy moms were that their daughters could now play with their males siblings, but why couldn’t they before? Has the color now made it acceptable for girls to play with these sorts of toys?
ReplyDeleteElexus T.
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ReplyDeleteCoverGirl’s campaign, “Capitol Beauty Collection” is inspired by “The Hunger Games,” which exhibits 12 glamourous make up ideas. Those 12 looks are based on the 12 districts from the show, and have a themed look, ranging from luxury to mining. This campaign is aimed toward young women or any viewers who want to fully express themselves into their favorite district. The makeup looks involve very vibrant colors and unique designs that bring out the different styles that apparently, complement the different districts.
ReplyDeleteIn response to this campaign, there was an article posted on “The Guardian,” by Heather Long. Long, expressed her feelings about this camping saying that “we’re supposed to be horrified” by the Hunger Games trilogy, not wanting to aspire to become what this camping is advertising. In the trilogy, the capitol, as Long describes, loves getting all glammed up and do not put much thought into why they are making children kill each other and get enjoyment out of it. The looks that CoverGirl has created, only expresses how the capitol would love to dress up as the districts, not the districts themselves. For example, Katniss would never want to be dolled up like the district 12 look CoverGirl created, instead she would be seen wearing neutral colors because all she wants is to “have a simple life,” as Long says. It is even said that toy and food companies have taken the advertising out of control. For Hasbro toys, a bright pink bow was advertised, as if saying young girls can now become Katniss. When Katniss would never pick up a pink bow and would probably like a darker colored bow so she could blend in. Long then goes off to say how she has heard stories of mothers who love the idea of the pink bow for their daughter’s because now they play with their other siblings, often males. Advertisement doesn’t always follow the true story behind things, they will always try to pull towards a certain crowd.
Kaitlyn A.
As a fan of the books, I am appalled. Allow me to pick up my jaw from the ground. The people behind the CoverGirl and Subway ads very obviously did not read the books. Even reading just the letter from the author at the end of the third book would have made them stop and think about what an appropriate reaction to these stories would have been. Certainly, it is not about makeup and spicy sandwiches! The make-up ad shows each district tribute in ridiculous Capitol makeup, just like the primping and priming that happens to them before they are slaughtered for sport in the games. Only this time, it is to be taken seriously in our society as a trendy makeup look. The sandwich ad shows spicy sauces inspired by the phrase “Catching Fire,” which is really about how revolutions start and evolve like fire. Over-the-top obsession of makeup, fashion, parties, and overeating juxtaposed to the majority of people living in poverty and starving is a sobering thing, and one of the main points of the series. After seeing these movies in air-conditioned, fluffy movie recliners, some people may have had the nerve to see themselves in Katniss, or people in the districts. The haunting revelation is that we, in the United States, are the Capitol! I am not wealthy. My husband supports our household of 4 on a single income. Yet, we have everything we need. We have a safe, warm home and always have access to clean water and food. My husband and I attend college and our children go to private school, which are huge privileges! And I still say we are more like the people in the Capitol than the people in the districts. These ads prove my point in a frightening way. Most people do not see these ads as shockingly like The Guardian writer. Most people see these ads, maybe buy the makeup or sandwich, and go about their life without considering that they are as ridiculous as the people in the Capitol. Author Collins and the filmmakers dramaticized the hair and makeup of the Capitol people, but it is hardly far from reality now. This is real. Reading the books and seeing the films rise to popular culture’s awareness made me feel hopeful that people’s eyes were being opened to it all. And then this happened. I even remember hearing Katniss’s haunting song hijacked by dub beats and blasted on KIIS FM. The Guardian was right: these ads are massive and horribly problematic misfires. People have completely missed the whole point.
ReplyDeleteCoverGirl’s campaign, “Capitol Beauty Collection” has twelve different looks using all sorts of cosmetics that encourage women to be extravagant so they can be a spectacle. CoverGirl is trying to capture the women that want to stand out and be spectacles. Even though Katniss resents these spectacles in the movie, CoverGirl knows that there are women out there that love The Hunger Games and want to be a part of that world. There are unique beauty looks for each of the twelve districts, representing what each district is known for. CoverGirl has created beauty looks so extravagant that any woman that likes The Hunger Games will want to take advantage of it. These looks are unique and different, and CoverGirl knows that women want to be a part of it so they can be “beautiful” and stand out.
ReplyDeleteThe Guardian points out that CoverGirl has completely missed the point of the capitol. The capitol is not something that should be glorified and women should not want to look like that since it represents the bad side of society. The capitol is too blind with their life and beauty to realize that they are participating in a horrific act by watching children kill each other. They cheer on these children like they would teams at the Super Bowl. The capitol is fixated on their looks alone. They are superficial and The Guardian points out that it is horrible that CoverGirl is worshipping this trend. CoverGirl is glamorizing the wrongness of society and encouraging women to be a part of it, as opposed to Katniss, who despises what is wrong with society. She sees right through the glamour, and ad campaigns completely miss that. There have even been new types of sandwiches released by Subway to represent The Hunger Games. The Subway ad campaigns were created because of the lack of food in the districts. This ad has again missed the whole point of the capitol and what it is and it is horrifying that they have made these ads and sandwiches based on the starving districts. There have also been toys created by Hasbro. They have once again stereotyped girls and made bright pink bows and arrows. Katniss uses the real deal bow and arrows, she would never use a bright pink bow and arrow. The names given to each set of bows is stereotypical and again misses the point of who Katniss is. She is who she wants to be, not what society wants her to be.
Christine H.
The make up company Covergirl launch a new beauty in 2013 campaign titled “Capitol Beauty.” It was a campaign inspired by the “Hunger Games” trilogy. It was created to inspire people to recreated their own looks inspired by the trilogy. The make up collection comes with different bright and flamboyant colors that represent the different districts of the world. In Heather Long’s article she talks about Covergirls total misfire.The article starts of with Long saying “I can’t wait to see The Hunger Games-Catching Fire, but spare me from the misinformed brand ads.” She states that Katniss the main character of the book is a very strong role model for young woman. She was portrayed as a woman with power, she was fearless and cared for the ones she loved. When Long saw the Facebook ads she said that she thought there was something wrong with her facebook feed. All the ads were of young women with bring color lipstick and heavy makeup. The ads basically horrified her, why shouldn’t they she states “who would aspire to look like that.” The “beauty campaign” according to Long represents all that’s wrong with the hunger games society. She goes on to talk about how the author Suzanne Collins was inspired by the coverage of the Iraq war she watched one late night.The beauty campaign “Capital Beauty” is based on the capitals superficial lifestyle. The capital is basically the bad guy throughout the series under the command of president Snow. They live a lavish life in the capital watching the children of other capitals fight to the death. “That’s what the Covergirl is worshipping.” Covergirl is telling young girls to dress up, which is the exact opposite of what Katniss Everdeen is supposed to be. Towards the end of the article Longs talks about Subway's sandwich campaign, and how ridiculous it was for them to make sandwiches inspired by districts who are basically starving. You can basically see that none of the people in charge of these campaigns read the actual books. They are just interested in making money of people. Longs response to this campaign made me think a lot, I am a fan of the books and the movies, I saw this campaign ad, but thought nothing of it. But now it's interesting and a bit terrifying to see what people will do for money. These companies and desensitized, they are basically standing with the bad guys, with all the superficiality. It makes me think that there’s no such thing as moral and values when it comes to selling your products. We are conditioned into thinking that what's outside is what matters, that it is the only thing people look at when they see us.
ReplyDeleteMary C.
The Hunger Games series is one of the few franchises that stars a woman as the hero and she is independent, questions authority, and fights the patriarchy. Not only that, she is strong, creative, and nurturing that allows her to win and eventually defeat a never-ending “dictatorship-like” government. The 2013 Covergirl Capitol Collection is everything that is wrong with the beauty industry and marketing for young women. They took a role model for girls and women everywhere to have to try and achieve a look like someone from the capitol. In the book, the capitol is everything that Katniss detests and wants nothing to do with, so that fact that Covergirl has twelve looks for you to attempt this atrocious makeup is just appalling. In the guardian it states, “There's just one massive problem with this "beauty campaign": the capitol represents everything wrong with society in the Hunger Games trilogy. No one in their right mind should aspire to look like that. We're supposed to be horrified by it.” This relates back to the idea that brands will literally do anything to make money. Most girls that read the series were about 10-16 which is quite young to be wearing makeup, so the fact that Covergirl is already telling ten year olds its time to look like Katniss (in the capitol) is saddening. Jennifer Lawrence’s character challenges authority and loves to be in nature which is ideally bared faced and natural. Not that there is anything wrong with wanting to doll up and wear makeup, but when a brand is targeting such a young audience, that is when you know it’s corrupt. They are setting the clock back fifty years with this never-ending stigma that girls should wear makeup, and not be outdoorsy because it is not what girls do. Times are thankfully changing and I hope that the “girl on fire” inspired women to just be themselves, not what Covergirl endorsed.
ReplyDelete-Skylar A
My first gut reaction upon seeing CoverGirl’s ad campaign for The Hunger Games themed makeup, without having read the guardians article was one of surprise and interest. As a guy, I don’t normally look at makeup advertisements, so my initial view might be different than someone who does use makeup. I appreciated the artistic aspect of the advertisements, where each ad different ad tries to capture its own district. I saw it more as a photographic piece than an advertisement piece. Though I did remember how the flashiness of the makeup was something that was generally embraced by the more villainous characters of the series, which made me second guess the ads a little bit.
ReplyDeleteUpon reading the article on the guardian however, by little bit of second guessing grew into full on doubt about the ads. The article reminded me that the flamboyance present in the ads was a symbol in the books for superficiality, objectification and denial. The article talks about how CoverGirl completely missed the point of the whole series and is, in fact, advertising themselves as the people who we were supposed to hate in the book. The irony of it would actually be funny if it weren’t so harmful on its own. The makeup is even called the “capitol collection”. The capital was where everything bad in the series came from, but make sure you buy the makeup to represent these guys!
Overall, my initial reaction was one of artistic interest, but was changed by the new perspective of the guardian article to one of irony and distrust. While well the ads are fairly visually stunning on their own, when they are put into the context of the hunger games, the ad campaign missed the point of the hunger games stories, which told the story of a strong female character, and instead advertised in favor of the things she was working against.
- Ben Galisky
The CoverGirl Capitol Beauty campaign sets out to empower women and girls by means of the role of make-up in representing varying districts portrayed in the Hunger Games trilogy. Although a commendable attempt, the sheer necessity of make-up used to express these fascinations goes against the consistent underlying meaning of The Hunger Games series.
ReplyDeleteThe Capitol represents all of what Katniss is glad she is not. She finds strength in knowing she is nothing like those who live superficial lives dictated by the opinions of others and although I see CoverGirl's goal in creating this collection, it does not ring true to the inspiration behind it.
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a sequel to the first movie... Giving creative directors even more of an opportunity to understand Katniss Everdeen's story before creating campaigns completely off the mark. CoverGirl uses all female models, perhaps trying to highlight Everdeen's strong female role, to derive inspiration from the twelve regions represented in the books and films. Done correctly by CoverGirl, each district does have a specific export that drives its economy but that does not necessarily mean each one is all glitz and glamour. Take grain and mining, for example... Once the representatives of the districts are in the arena competing for their lives, it doesn't matter whether those tributes' nails are silver, red, or unpainted.
The Hunger Games trilogy is a universally empowering story whether you are female or not. Why dampen its message? Creators should have instead highlighted the importance of staying true to who you are and your values while knowing for what you believe in.
Katniss Everdeen represents the strength that we all desire but the depth and gravity was robbed from the story she was so beautifully telling. Let Capitol Beauty campaign be a cautionary tale for others.
Alyssa W.
The Covergirl ad campaign is inspired by wealthy and materialistic people of the Capital in Panam in the book and film trilogy, “The Hunger Games.” While in the stories the message is that it doesn’t matter what you look like or where you come from, being a good person is more important. Katniss fights the manipulation of these people throughout the story and exposes the brainwashing and greed of these people by becoming a leader and symbol for change. Covergirl tries to appeal to the fans of the stories by imitating the ceremony in which they force contestants of The Hunger Games to dress up in ridiculous outfits and put on too much make up to represent their district in which they come from. The pictures in the Covergirl advertisement shows young women with unreasonable amounts of makeup, each with a different theme according to the district they represent. Next to these pictures are the products the consumer can buy in order to look like their favorite district members.
ReplyDeleteThe Guardian criticized this advertisement strategy saying that these looks go completely contrary to what the films were trying to promote. Author, Susan Collins, explained that her intention for the story was to express how fed up she was with reality television and to criticize how Hollywood tries to create an unattainable model for the average young women. Instead of changing advertising, they have used the films to add fuel to the fire of pressure on young girls to be beautiful using makeup. Other companies including Subway used the movie franchise to promote their products like, new spicy sandwiches by naming the sandwiches after the Catching Fire movie titled. Subway uses the starvation and fiery death of the poor characters in the stories to sell the company’s food. Lastly there were a rise in Nerf bow and arrow products promoted to little girls by making them bright pink. These toys were never made in these colors, but now that young girls were thought to be interested in the product, the color was changed into a “girl” color in order to sell to them. The intention of The Hunger Games was to teach kids to stand up for what is right and advertisers twisted the story to promote the same societal pressures.
-Amelia M.