Following the release of the new Hunger Games book, Sunrise on the Reaping, I was one of the many people itching to get their hands on it. If you know Suzanne Collins then you know that she doesn’t release a book without it having a deeper meaning. She often touches on gender, race, and political issues without outright saying it and that’s why she’s such an effective writer. She also has made a point of making her villain, President Snow, a real villain, one that you can’t sympathize with. With her release of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, we saw an infatuation with President Snow due to the casting of an objectively attractive man, Tom Blyth.
Photo from ScreenRant
This isn’t the first time that terrible men have been fawned over in TV shows and movies simply because they are played by attractive actors. People online went crazy over Zac Efron as Ted Bundy, and Evan Peters, as Jeffery Dahmer. Honestly I don’t understand why we constantly put loveable actors as evil men because clearly the general public can’t help but love them. These men are clear examples of pretty privilege in action and how easy it is for these characters to get away with things just because of the way they look. Seeing that this is a theme in the media it’s safe to say that people may be swayed to believe certain things just based on how a person looks. Unfortunately, a study conducted by PsyPost in 2020 revealed that people are more likely to vote for U.S. House of Representatives if they are attractive. Not only is this a dangerous way to vote, but it shows just how prevalent pretty privilege is and how it affects day to day life.
Photo from Medium
Like I mentioned before, Suzanne Collins thoughtfully crafts each character, even the villains. In the original series I HATED President Snow with every bone in my body, reading about him genuinely made me angry. Even in a book written from his perspective, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, I still hated him. What was interesting was that when the movie came out, I even fell victim to loving the actor who played President Snow. There were all these edits on TikTok and I was immediately following him on instagram. Now of course he was playing a fictional character, but I somehow forgot all about how much I hated this man in the books.
Photo from Entertainment Weekly
After reading the newest book, I was reminded of how just much I hated Snow, although I think what helped was that I wasn’t able to see Tom Blyth when reading the book. Suzanne Collins made a point to make Snow extra horrible in this book to remind readers why we are supposed to hate him and let me tell you, it worked. I don’t want to spoil anything but I was just about ready to jump into the book and take care of him myself. This book really made me realize just how easily I fell victim to pretty privilege. It was so easy for me to forget all about the things Snow did just because they casted someone I found attractive. It’s embarrassing to say that even I fell victim to his beauty, even after reading about his villainous behavior. Again, I know this is a fictional story and President Snow didn’t actually do any of these things, but it just made me think about real life. I sincerely hope I never fall victim to pretty privilege in real life and I pray I haven’t already. It says a lot about Suzanne Collins writing that I’m sitting here thinking about real life after reading something fictional and I urge all of you to pick up her books and try to apply it to your own life.
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