Redemption In Pop Culture

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American popular culture hinges upon the concept of redemption — the idealized principle that the past can be forgotten and the future changed. Society embraces the concept because it forgives transgressions made before wisdom had caught up with action, and it soothes the wary soul, releasing it from the suffocating shackles of guilt. Ralph Waldo Emerson found himself upon this bandwagon as well, arguing that the past and future “pale in comparison to what lies inside of you,” implying that only the strength of an individual’s current character should hold any authority in their public perception. However, though this idea is echoed by the media, it fails to hold truth in life because, ultimately, our culture values reputation over redemption. …show more content…

For example, today’s parents and teachers speak with vocabularies filled with cautionary tales and phrases, and one of the most common ones is “the Internet is forever.” Today, the importance lies to only in not making bad decisions, but in not publicizing them when they are done. Only last year, a boy at my school was reprimanded for drug and alcohol use because of deleted photos he had posted on his Instagram weeks ago. Because he had deleted them, he had been under the impression that he had effectively erased them from his past, redeeming himself on his social media platform at the very least. Screenshots proved to be the bane of his existence, and his mother eventually learned about his substance abuse. Still, examples of the effects of past social media posts on the future do not hold importance only in monitoring behavior for paternal purposes. College admissions officers and potential employers reference social media posts to gain input about the type of person to hire, and a post implying the underage consumption of alcohol will diminish acceptance whether it was posted three days or three months

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