Finally, a way for we commoners from the Districts to get a glimpse of the Capitol. Fans of The Hunger Games, the wildly successful dystopian young adult book trilogy with its fourth and final film adaptation headed to cinemas in November, can now live the experience without having to partake in any battles, uprisings or publicity tours.
Discovery Times Square is a midtown Manhattan event space whose exhibitions range from populist art and history (Terracotta Warriors, King Tut, the Dead Sea Scrolls) to tourist traps more shameful than 80s-era 42nd St porno theatres (CSI: The Experience). With The Hunger Games: The Exhibition, it has a winner on its hands. Like the Jennifer Lawrence-starring films — particularly the second one — this museum-like effort is more engaging and thought-provoking than might be expected from its origins. It’s a well-curated mix of props, sets, costumes, holograms and interactive displays. Yes, many obsessed teens may just want to shiver in front of Katniss Everdeen’s quiver, but visiting parents kicking themselves for not taking the kids to the Metropolitan Museum of Art during their New York trip are offered a number of enrichment checkpoints along the way.
Right from the introductory film (featuring Elizabeth Banks both in and out of her character, Effie Trinket) there’s a noble and noticeable effort made to tie the Hunger Games franchise into relevant worldly themes. In the District 12 section (Katniss’s impoverished Appalachian-like home) there’s some naturalist information on how to forage in a forest, as well as a shout-out to Greek mythology. One can read an essay on “Media and War” in the recreation of District 13’s “propo” (propaganda) soundstage (and insert yourself into one of the short Soviet-style films). The Gamemaker hub discusses the science behind mutations like Tracker jackers and Jabberjays. (The former are deadly, the latter, a real nuisance.) As we exit the Tribute Train there’s information about brutalism and the architecture of oppression before we gawk at the wild fashion from the Capitol. (Almost all the 1,000 props and 46 costumes are direct from the film production, though Cinna’s shoes are recreations, as no one wanted to ask Lenny Kravitz to give up his pair.)
“There are three through lines here,” says Justin Yu, Lionsgate Films’s manager of location-based entertainment. “There are behind-the-scenes from the film, there’s a discussion of the moral themes and then there’s in-world.” This last aspect is the one that will send dedicated fans into a tizzy. An audio guide (featuring a new character, historian Iris Bitterbridge) gives a history of Panem. Tech-savvy fans will be able to download a mobile app (which can shoot achievement badges out over social media) with various 3D enhancements at certain displays, like the Gamemaker table. They’ll get to play with the first official interactive map of Panem which, if they hit the right buttons, will “hack through” to a message from District 13. There are also a few peeks at highly anticipated props from the upcoming film, like Finnick (Sam Claflin)’s trident. Eagle-eyed guests may even spot Buttercup, the Everdeen cat.
The exhibit lets in about 40 people at a time, and most will walk through in about an hour. While the tickets are timed, Yu assures me that uber-fans that want to read every last word, or perhaps just gaze at Katniss’s Girl on Fire dress just a little longer, will not be scooted ahead by ushers. (An adult ticket is $29.50 — no wonder these films about an aggrieved proletariat resonate.) The final rooms include green-screen booths where you can insert yourself into a chariot scene, preceded by a hall of fan art. One exits through a gift shop where just about anything you could imagine has a Hunger Games logo on it, though some care has been taken to obscure the branding on many of the wares. Like the Mockingjay pin was a symbol to other rebels, some of the more subtle designs (like those representing the industries of the Districts) elevate the water bottles, mouse pads and beer koozies into something that proves your more tasteful fandom — something you could only get at a museum.
The Hunger Games: The Exhibition runs from July 1 through January 2 2016, then heads to San Francisco’s Palace of Fine Arts Exhibition Hall in February.
