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Obsession In Chris Hedges's Essay 'Nemesis'

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Obsession In Chris Hedges's Essay 'Nemesis'
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Chris Hedges begins his essay with a reference from Greek mythology. He makes mention of the Greek god of retribution, Nemesis, who is responsible for punishing those who put themselves on the same level as god; normally by death. “She exacted divine punishment on arrogant mortals who believed they could defy the gods, turn themselves into objects of worship and build ruthless systems of power to control the world around them.” The name Nemesis in the Greek means “ to give what is due” Hedges then warns his readers that our Nemesis is fast approaching, due to our wrong doings in society, which he believes is heavily influenced by the media.

In “Our Country Is Lost Believing In What It Sees on Screens, and We Are Going to Pay a Nasty Price
…show more content…
I feel a strong connection to the argument he posed about our society being “entranced by images” which is highlighted in paragraph 5 and 6. We live in a technological age where media is accessible. I believe over time many individuals have developed an obsession with social media causing them to have difficulty deciphering between reality and a fantasy.This has created false relations between the celebrities and their viewers and the comfort that the media seems to bring to …show more content…
Hedges states “look at the outpouring of grief at the death of princess Diana or Michael Jackson” I believe the reason these tragic deaths affected their fans to such extent, is due to the fact that they have injected themselves into these celebrities lives.Thus creating this illusion of knowing the depths of these individuals.However, in reality, they did not, in fact, know them. They knew “the manufactured image” the media wanted them to

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