Lately in English class we have been focused on the religious group the Puritans. They are a part of the early settlers religious group. Their laws were basically followed after the bible. If you committed a sin, you broke a law. Then you were punished accordingly. But even though this groups beliefs were in existence so long ago, do these ideas of motives still exist today? Who are the modern Puritan under strict rules?
I believe celebrities in general are getting the punishments as a modern Puritans. For example I will use Miley Cyrus. Everyone knows how wild she has become, and many people do not agree with this new image she is portraying. Even though she seems to be free to do whatever, anytime she sticks out her tongue she is punished for the crime. People continuously call her a bad role model for her new acts. But this is only because of her past job, as being Disney channel's teen inspirational rock star. But last time I checked Miley is not a Puritan. She has gotten older now and I don't recall her asking to be a role model and constantly upholding this image. Why is she being harshly punished and criticized for being wild and outrageous? Because she is a public figure and that is the punishment for the modern Puritan.
Then let's relate it more to a Puritan issue, adultery. Or at least something close to it, an inappropriate relationship. Recently the mayor of Newark, New Jersey was found to be talking to a stripper via Twitter. Now everyone is in uproar because he talked to this stripper in his direct messages on Twitter. But let's take in consideration that he's single and it was a harmless reply to one of his fans. It was not hidden and he admitted to it out in the open. But it is almost to the point of him being branded with an A merely because of the fact she is a stripper. And it's even more blown out of proportion because he is a public figure. The punishments of the modern Puritans.
I completely agree, we actually wrote our posts with a similar argument about Miley Cyrus. We seem to be the modern puritans "punishing" celebrities like Miley Cyrus for their every wrongdoing.
ReplyDeleteI see your points as to why you used these arguments; growing up, watching Disney, I did watch Miley Cyrus on her show and thought she was pretty cool. I soon outgrew her and many of the shows on Disney, but I always kept the same image of her: sweet and innocent. I knew she was growing up, as everyone does and that was fine, but I personally can see why many people where outraged at her behavior, because so was I.
ReplyDeleteEveryone grows up, and it is accepted, but I feel that there are many ways to prove to the public that you are no longer a teenage sweetheart. In fact, she had played many roles after Hannah Montana, and her past hasn't always been completely clean, but this was something else. She was publicly performing certain things that shouldn't be shown to the young viewers she still has. I didn't see it as "punishing" her, but more of stating our opinion on the course she has decided to take for her career.
Punishing someone the way the puritans had, I feel, would take a lot more extremes, affecting her career. The puritans in The Scarlet Letter didn't just tell Hester they didn't approve of her actions, but publicly humiliated her and made her wear the scarlet A on her clothes.
This is just my opinion, and I can see how many different people can come to conclusions about certain events differently.
I really like your point of view because in today's society most people are seen as accepting and liberal to some point, so it's interesting and very true that our very accepting society is ridiculing people just because they are extremely different and out of what we define as "normal".
ReplyDeleteSo do you think that really, we're the same as the puritans? It's just that as time has progressed, our extremes are way more extreme than theirs were? I think the Puritans were a lot like Americans, searching for an ideal society, and that's how we all get caught up in the little mess ups.
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