On Tyrants & Tributes : Real World Lessons From The Hunger Games discussion

Why are the “tributes” given stylists and dressed so
elaborately for the opening ceremony? Does this
ceremony remind you of events in our world, either
past or present? Compare those ceremonies in real
life to the one in the story

I think that the Tributes are given stylist and dressed elaborately so that the Capital citizens, who are the ones supporting the president and are the "children", don't see the games for what they really are. So that they see it as an event to discuss fashion, to wonder how the stylist did the outfits, to gossip, not as an event where the Capital is sending people to battle to the death. So basically it's a way to further propagandize the Capital citizens. Or maybe the Capital does it so that the Tributes want to be Tributes, so that they volunteer as Tribute, and see it as an honor instead of what it really is. And that would appear to only work with the career districts since they train for it even though that's not allowed.
The only event that kind of reminds me of the hunger games is the way actors dress up for award ceremonies... Except they don't battle to the death afterwards.

I think that the emphasis on fashion is due to the Capitol citizen's obsession with appearances.
It kind of reminds me of the makeovers that people on reality shows get. In fact it's eerily similar.
It also echoes the imagery of "fattening" an animal up before being slaughtered. The animal is brought to it's physical peak before it is killed.
Another echo is modern fascination with what celebrities wear.
The tributes and victors are celebrities in a way and the Capitol citizens use them as a sort of placeholder for their fashion whims and trends. Think about how Katniss' mockingjay becomes a fashion trend in the Capitol (while being a symbol of the rebellion in the districts.)

I think however that Cinna uses fashion to send a message - he's the one after all that allows Katniss to be the "girl on fire." He also tells Peeta and Katniss to hold hands in the tribute parade, which is a big change as the tributes are supposed to see each other has rivals, not teammates. Later he uses what Katniss is wearing to try to sway the public image of her. When that fails he changes course and totally supports who Katniss is becoming, giving her the wardrobe she needs to fit the role.
*spoilers for CF and MJ*
Of course there is her Mockingjay dress and later her Mockingjay suit, which shows that Cinna is one of the first and most influential of the rebels, he just uses a different medium to express himself.
It's fascinating to ponder what he knew and when.

Overall I think Suzanne Collins' use of style and fashion is really quite fascinating. She doesn't condemn it wholesale but definitely shows us many different facets (both good and bad) and the power of appearances.

I agree with the commenters and want to point out that on some other thread, someone talked on how the chariot rides reminded them of a scene from Ben-Hur - the gladiators rode chariots around the arena much like in the Hunger Games books and movies.

Kelli wrote: "I think that the emphasis on fashion is due to the Capitol citizen's obsession with appearances.
It kind of reminds me of the makeovers that people on reality shows get. In fact it's eerily simila..."

I really agree with you! Wow.
Reality TV show's do this. Image is a big thing, say when it comes to record companies and how the artist look. Is it your true essence or what they are making you out to be? That is the question.
Thank you for warning of the spoilers.

Kelli wrote: "Cinna is one of the first and most influential of the rebels, he just uses a different medium to express himself."
Watching Cinna in Catching Fire reminded me of Andrew Breitbart's philosophy of politics being downstream from culture. Cinna created an icon in Katniss. The books show this in the popularity of her mockingjay pin. I like that the film took this a step further with the revelation that the Capitol children wear their hair like Katniss.

Kelli wrote: "Cinna is one of the first and most influential of the rebels, he just uses a different medium to express himself ..."

I think one of the quotes that best states this in the books is: "It crosses my mind that Cinna's calm and normal demeanor masks a complete mad man."
Because, in a way you have to be a complete mad man to be one of the first and most influential rebel, especially if your one of the rebels in the Capital. Cinna is my favorite character in the trilogy. I think the reason why is because he takes something that the capital uses to 'fatten' the tributes, as Kelli put it, and he turns it against them in a way they didn't think of. Cinna lit Katniss on fire, which in turn started the rebellion.

Famous people in general, is what this reminds me of. Before anyone hits the red carpet, they have to go through a series of stylists to make sure they look just right for the people engrossed in the events taking place that night. Like this, the tributes have to look great so they will have hopes of receiving sponsors that could possibly help them survive in the games. The "famous" people of today need to look right so they will have fans to buy their albums or movies or whatever it is that they are out there for.