Group 5
Group Members
Maya Adriana Kelly Elisa
Background
On January 5th, 2055, Keanu Reeves was walking his dog along Baldwin Street in Toronto. While talking on the phone, his dog had a bathroom break on the side of the sidewalk. Reeves, still on the phone, had not had a chance to clean up after the dog and a lady walking by slipped on the excrement, fell, and broke her tailbone. Reeves, having headphones in his ears, did not know the lady fell and was not quick to help her. As this was occurring, a fan across the street was videotaping the whole occurrence and stopped filming right before Keanu profusely apologized and helped the lady. The video went viral on social media with users saying things such as:
“I can’t believe that of all people, Keanu Reeves would do something like this. That poor lady did not deserve that treatment at all #keanureevesisoverparty”
“I thought Keanu Reeves was one of the good ones. Who can you even trust anymore?! #cancelkeanureeves”
Since then, the general public refused to forgive Reeves for what he had done and even after he tried to tell his side of the story, people had seen enough. Reeves was exiled from Hollywood and people have rarely seen him since.
This was the catalyst for a shift in society. North Americans felt that they did not know who to trust. If one of the most beloved public figures could do something like this, how could people trust anyone? The government had to step in during this time of uncertainty.
Eleanor Halewood, the MPP for the University-Rosedale area, where the incident occurred, began gathering ideas for how to combat this sudden distrust. Halewood proposed the idea of a separation society called “unforgivable.” On January 25th, 2055, Halewood spoke to reporters about her recommendation, marking it the first time the idea was tabled in the public space. Halewood initiated that any legal mistakes made be categorized as major offences and would classify people as “unforgivable.” Unforgivables would lose access to privileges within the city. This allowed for society to gain back their trust of each other because there were categorization systems that enabled people to know that who they were with were people who did not make mistakes.
Location and Geography
Major Figures
Culture
Similar to today's concept of cancel culture on social media, the residents of this futuristic Toronto do not forgive and forget. Mistakes made are unforgivable, with varying degrees of punishment. If the citizens of Toronto are 'perfect,' where do the 'imperfects' go?
Extrapolation This is a commentary on cancel culture on social media, as well as the judicial and prison system, and how people view rehabilitation and growth.