Youth+Movements,+Music,+Role+Models

By Jesse Fallon

Jesse Fallon Chapter 37 Project

Role Models Most of the Reagan campaign revolved around a group set up that called themselves as the “New Right.” This group pushed for a complete renewal of American morality and more of a focus on religion. This movement was a major wakeup call to all American citizens and with the movement. Ronald Reagan won the election in a landslide. After the election, the majority of the average Americans responded very well to this “New Right,” and the overall conscientious of the country had risen. During this time, many public figures called on fathers and mothers to become good role models toward their children. The public figures, such as athletes and movie stars, where also given the same message as the parents. During President William Clinton’s eight-year term, most people would accredit this time period for the fall of role models. The Internet became a large, popular device where celebrities where closely followed. Around 2008 is where the highly observed celebrities took a turn for the worst (Stanley-Banker). During the next few years, the celebrities struggled to stay out of trouble and act morally correct. At a point, it seemed as though any good looking actress or incredible athlete were caught doing what society thought was the wrong thing. Michael Phelps had just successfully completed what is considered to be the highest accomplishment in all of sports history, wining eight gold medals at the Olympics. Soon after the feat was complete, a picture of Phelps was posted of him using an illegal drug. Phelps was not the only superstar athlete that was accused of breaking a law. Michael Vick, the highest paid professional football player, was found guilty of running a dog fighting business. Plaxico Burress, another football player, was also accused of handling unregistered handguns and sent to jail. The biggest story of role models was the story of Tiger Woods. Not only was he the best golfer in the world, he was also the highest paid athlete in history. Woods was caught cheating on this wife with many different women. This scandal that he was involved in took the major spotlight in all news. After an extended leave from the sport of golf, Woods offered an apology to the entire public. Within his address he continually stated that he was sorry and had done the wrong thing. After this, many people argued that he was actually not sorry and was making that statement in order for the public to respect him. His real incentives will never be known. It is safe to say that, starting from 2008, celebrities and athletes have become people who are not role models. They have acted against the law and done things that society would consider immoral. What will come of society, we cannot tell. However, the guiding and modeling from public figures will not have the positive influence it once had. Music Music has become a way of life. Music has become the most popular way for an artist to express their ideas via lyrics. The genre of rap has completely exploded, becoming extremely popular to the youth of America. Rappers have been able to use their lyrics to write about topics that are important to them. Many new stars have been introduced and become very popular because of the technology that has been introduced. Since the iPod has been created, the average salary for a mainstream artist has increased nearly twofold. The Internet and the use of “YouTube” has also brought many little known people to fame. Justin Bieber was just a middle-school student living a normal life. His mother posted a few videos of him at a talent show on the internet, only to show his relatives. Soon after, more and more strangers started watching. The videos of Bieber were being shared so quickly it was truly remark able. It is a fair assumption that one of the most successful artist would not be close to the place he is in without the internet (Revere). Beiber was not the only person to benefit from the internet. Kayne West was able to use the internet to aid his self image. When most rappers were wearing baggy clothes and bragging how many time they were shot, Kayne sported skinny jeans and bragged about how awesome he thought he was. These opposite interests that West had would not have been popular without the Internet. West was a major supporter of the application “Twitter”. He spoke whatever was on his mind, and his followers loved it (Mazur). Youth Movements Since the America’s wealth is now what the culture's spotlight, the environment was pushed to the back burner. New cars were produced that were complete “gas guzzlers,” private jets became the celebrities’ new fad, and the American culture supported many other environment damaging activities. This occurred during the years from 2002-2009, relentlessly, with no limits or endpoints in sight. Then, a few people realized a need for this to end. The Grassroots organization, which was created in 1906 under President Theodore Roosevelt, understood that destruction was near. They made an a outroar to the American culture so that they too will comprehend the danger that was closing in (Phillips).  From this Grassroots program came another style of environmental lovers. They functioned under the belief of Radical Environmentalism. Christopher Manes took the lead on this movement and quickly changed the name of the organization to Greenpeace. He said “Greenpeace represents an organization with a radical approach, but has contributed in serious ways towards understanding of critical issues, and has a science-oriented core with radicalism as a means to media exposure.” Manes clearly wanted what every other environmental fanatic wants, however he knew that extreme measures must be taken in order to grasp the public’s attention (Goslin). 

Works Cited Eaton, David. “Influence of Music on Self and Society.” //www.tpartents.org//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. . Mazur, Kevin. “How Twitter Helped Resurrect Kayne West.” //Time Magazine//: n. pag. //www.time.com//. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. <http://www.time.com/‌time/‌magazine/‌article/‌0,9171,2011939,00.html>. Revere, Gabrielle. “How the Internet Made Justin Bieber a Star .” //Time Magazine//: n. pag. //www.times.com//. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. <http://www.time.com/‌time/‌magazine/‌article/‌0,9171,1987603,00.html>. Stanely-Baker, Jenna. “Importance of Role Models.” //www.mhhe.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. <http://www.mhhe.com/‌mayfieldpub/‌lawhead/‌chapter5/‌the_importance_of_role_models.htm>.