Application
[series]: The Hunger Games series
[character]: Cinna
[character history / background]:
The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Cinna (notable for the descriptions of the dresses and the images they invoked)
While those are great for the world and stories of the games, they’re thin on Cinna in particular, so to expand:
Cinna is the designer responsible for making Katniss look like a star and for her image as the girl on fire. Her look help builds her myth and that is what earns her sponsorships for the games and later makes her the figurehead for rebellion. As a rookie, he has no pull and Katniss mistakenly assumes he was assigned to District Twelve as result. Truth was, he requested it. It was the perfect chance to take something that had been overlooked for years and turn it into a statement. Where the District’s coal mines had inspired endless boring iterations of mining gear and coal-black banality, Cinna brings the living flames the coal produces in a vision of a gown that actually burns with a cold fire.
From that statement on, every garment Katniss wears is another layer of persona. Gemstones that imitate flames, light gowns to invoke the innocence of the young love she and Peeta are meant to evoke, delicate make-up to accentuate her youth. And as he works on her they develop an easy relationship. Cinna becomes one of the people that she, if not trusts, at least enjoys to be around and he in turn develops an affection for her.
After the Games, the relationship continues as they talk on the phone, developing Katniss's "talent". In another tongue-in-cheek stroke of brilliance, they determine that she should become a clothing designer, his protege no less. Since she has no natural talent in that particular arena, he fakes it for her, a deception that hints at a much more devious mind than one might have guessed. When Katniss is forced back into the Games as an attempt to quell the growing unrest in Panem, Cinna is at her side, this time with a statement of his own to make. Instead of the brilliant fire of his first performance piece, there’s only embers left, dark, smoldering and absolutely unforgiving.
But as anyone knows, embers can easily be fanned into flame again.
But it’s his interview dress design that might have proven to be the nail in his coffin. By the President’s order, Katniss is to wear her wedding gown for the interview, but Cinna isn’t going to let that be the final word. With a few secret alterations, when Katniss raises her arms to spin, the outer layer burns away and Cinna’s final fire reveals the mockingjay dress, turning Katniss into the living embodiment of the call to rebellion. He eventually pays the price for his statement. As Katniss is about to enter the fray for the final time, her last sight is of Cinna being beaten and dragged away, presumably to his death.
[character abilities]:
Cinna’s an average human, albeit one with fantastic fashion design. He can use fabric and make-up to evoke fire, innocence, sullen fury and rebellion.
Tim Gunn wishes he could make it work this well.
[character personality]:
When compared to the Capitol and its citizens, Cinna is simple and restrained in his personal demeanor, eschewing the more radical fashions and alterations that are popular. In a way, looking relatively normal is his own way of standing out. Turning conventions on their heads is his passion, taking what everyone expects and making it new or re-inventing it is his genius. He’s dedicated to his craft, pouring everything he has into it. It’s everything to him... until he finds a new passion in revolution.
Despite that passion, he is cool confidence personified. His emotions are restrained, never giving a hint of what he really thinks or feels on the outside. He knows exactly what he wants and what he’s doing and he gives no hint that he’s anything but the image he portrays. He says it perfectly himself, “I always channel my emotions into my work. That way I don’t hurt anyone but myself.”
And those are the perfect words to describe his rebellion. Cinna’s not an orator. He can’t inspire with his voice or his actions, but his art is his outlet. Instead of yelling and rioting, he stitches and folds. And he has plenty of rebellion in him. As inspired as the districts by Katniss and Peeta, the Quarter Quell are his chance to voice his rebellion. He’s watched the Capitol’s excesses, their facades, the way they consume and devour and like many he’s reached his breaking point. He is embracing the zeitgeist and that final mockingjay dress is his call to arms. It is the emotion he can’t express with words and it is his downfall.
He doesn’t regret a single moment of it. In fact, he enjoys it with a wry smile and a teasing tone. He has genuine affection for Katniss and Peeta, having seen them through what was the worst time of their life and beyond. He may not be a mentor to Katniss’s talent, but he is a mentor all the same, giving her advice and support with loyalty unwavering. When the crying of her attendants disturbs her, it’s Cinna that gives the firm order for them to leave if they have to cry. When she’s on her way to the arena, it’s Cinna’s hands she holds and it’s his knowledge of fabrics and their uses that tries to anticipate what she’ll see on the ground. He knows he’ll be the last thing she sees before the bloodbath and he gives her all the strength he can.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]:
Catching Fire, chapter seventeen/eighteen after he’s taken his bow for the mockingjay dress.
[character]: Cinna
[character history / background]:
The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Cinna (notable for the descriptions of the dresses and the images they invoked)
While those are great for the world and stories of the games, they’re thin on Cinna in particular, so to expand:
Cinna is the designer responsible for making Katniss look like a star and for her image as the girl on fire. Her look help builds her myth and that is what earns her sponsorships for the games and later makes her the figurehead for rebellion. As a rookie, he has no pull and Katniss mistakenly assumes he was assigned to District Twelve as result. Truth was, he requested it. It was the perfect chance to take something that had been overlooked for years and turn it into a statement. Where the District’s coal mines had inspired endless boring iterations of mining gear and coal-black banality, Cinna brings the living flames the coal produces in a vision of a gown that actually burns with a cold fire.
From that statement on, every garment Katniss wears is another layer of persona. Gemstones that imitate flames, light gowns to invoke the innocence of the young love she and Peeta are meant to evoke, delicate make-up to accentuate her youth. And as he works on her they develop an easy relationship. Cinna becomes one of the people that she, if not trusts, at least enjoys to be around and he in turn develops an affection for her.
After the Games, the relationship continues as they talk on the phone, developing Katniss's "talent". In another tongue-in-cheek stroke of brilliance, they determine that she should become a clothing designer, his protege no less. Since she has no natural talent in that particular arena, he fakes it for her, a deception that hints at a much more devious mind than one might have guessed. When Katniss is forced back into the Games as an attempt to quell the growing unrest in Panem, Cinna is at her side, this time with a statement of his own to make. Instead of the brilliant fire of his first performance piece, there’s only embers left, dark, smoldering and absolutely unforgiving.
But as anyone knows, embers can easily be fanned into flame again.
But it’s his interview dress design that might have proven to be the nail in his coffin. By the President’s order, Katniss is to wear her wedding gown for the interview, but Cinna isn’t going to let that be the final word. With a few secret alterations, when Katniss raises her arms to spin, the outer layer burns away and Cinna’s final fire reveals the mockingjay dress, turning Katniss into the living embodiment of the call to rebellion. He eventually pays the price for his statement. As Katniss is about to enter the fray for the final time, her last sight is of Cinna being beaten and dragged away, presumably to his death.
[character abilities]:
Cinna’s an average human, albeit one with fantastic fashion design. He can use fabric and make-up to evoke fire, innocence, sullen fury and rebellion.
Tim Gunn wishes he could make it work this well.
[character personality]:
When compared to the Capitol and its citizens, Cinna is simple and restrained in his personal demeanor, eschewing the more radical fashions and alterations that are popular. In a way, looking relatively normal is his own way of standing out. Turning conventions on their heads is his passion, taking what everyone expects and making it new or re-inventing it is his genius. He’s dedicated to his craft, pouring everything he has into it. It’s everything to him... until he finds a new passion in revolution.
Despite that passion, he is cool confidence personified. His emotions are restrained, never giving a hint of what he really thinks or feels on the outside. He knows exactly what he wants and what he’s doing and he gives no hint that he’s anything but the image he portrays. He says it perfectly himself, “I always channel my emotions into my work. That way I don’t hurt anyone but myself.”
And those are the perfect words to describe his rebellion. Cinna’s not an orator. He can’t inspire with his voice or his actions, but his art is his outlet. Instead of yelling and rioting, he stitches and folds. And he has plenty of rebellion in him. As inspired as the districts by Katniss and Peeta, the Quarter Quell are his chance to voice his rebellion. He’s watched the Capitol’s excesses, their facades, the way they consume and devour and like many he’s reached his breaking point. He is embracing the zeitgeist and that final mockingjay dress is his call to arms. It is the emotion he can’t express with words and it is his downfall.
He doesn’t regret a single moment of it. In fact, he enjoys it with a wry smile and a teasing tone. He has genuine affection for Katniss and Peeta, having seen them through what was the worst time of their life and beyond. He may not be a mentor to Katniss’s talent, but he is a mentor all the same, giving her advice and support with loyalty unwavering. When the crying of her attendants disturbs her, it’s Cinna that gives the firm order for them to leave if they have to cry. When she’s on her way to the arena, it’s Cinna’s hands she holds and it’s his knowledge of fabrics and their uses that tries to anticipate what she’ll see on the ground. He knows he’ll be the last thing she sees before the bloodbath and he gives her all the strength he can.
[point in timeline you're picking your character from]:
Catching Fire, chapter seventeen/eighteen after he’s taken his bow for the mockingjay dress.