I'd Come up with a Witty Title, but this Blog is All Over the Place

     The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne has seen it's share of movie revamps. Of these, there are 9 based solely on the book, and 10 if you're to count the 2010 film Easy A. Yet, the conflict of the film seems so dated. This day in age premarital sex is not only acceptable to be happening, it's expected. Even extramarital sex isn't really going to cause a frenzy in the village. Cheaters still make headlines, but no one is slapping an A on Angelina Jolie's all-black wardrobe. Having a child out of wedlock is no longer a rarity, in fact in 2010 over 50% of babies born to women under 30 were babies born out of wedlock. In it's own crazy way Hester's life is rather similar to that of Kim Kardashian's. Both Hester and Kim had a baby out of wedlock; Hester with Dimsdale (the minister), and Kim with Kanye (who identifies himself as a god). While Hester was still married to Chillingsworth, Kim was still legally married to Kris Humphries at the time of baby North's conception-yet, both of the men were out of the picture with the ladies got knocked up. Yet, aside from the occasional jokes, Kim isn't publicly shunned. If anything, she's praised as a public figure. She endorses products, has her own product lines, and is put on the covers of magazines, and as all these items sell. Love her or hate her, she proves to hold some power over the general public.
     So how could a story that feels so irrelevant still be taught in schools today? What is the purpose of reading about a society that publicly shuns Hester when no such thing would happen today? Not only is it taught in schools, it's referenced in pop culture. 2010's Easy A was loosely based on the book, Taylor Swift's 2008 hit love story references 'a Scarlet Letter', and the 2008 novel (and 2012 movie) Silver Linings Playbook in which Pat mentions how he likes that Hester believes in silver linings. The Scarlet Letter isn't just about Hester being shunned for adultery, it's about the morals behind her actions as opposed to Dimsdale's. The relevance of the story is how each of them deal with sin. Hester 'pays' for her actions up front and dies a saint, whereas Dimsdale appears to die as a result of keeping his sin hidden. The sin consumes him. It goes with the Puritan beliefs of the afterlife being more important than life on earth. Hester is in this sense alike to John Proctor, both confess early on and are able to die in good standing with society, and more importantly god.
    Despite what it seems the lessons of The Scarlet Letter hold up in today's beliefs. Owning up to mistakes proves to be a hard choice, but one that garners respect from society. Yet, people in power tend to hid their missteps (alike Bill Clinton or Richard Nixon). Though some of the stigmas Hester faced have lessened, double standards exist (the slut shaming Miley got for her VMA performance, while Robin Thicke was forgotten). Society has changed, but we still have a long way to go.