Is Literature the Best Social Marker of Social Change?

 

Throughout history, literature has been used as a vessel to express cultural views: to warn, to promote, to explore. It has allowed writers from all backgrounds and eras to discuss their own values and beliefs. Now, modern-day readers have the ability to look back over centuries of written comments, in order to gain a holistic understanding of how society has changed since the beginning of time. However, to state that literature is the ‘only’ marker of how our communities have evolved discredits other important indicators – including art, music, and even online movements – which have also been linked with recording societal change.

On the one hand, literature is extremely important in allowing us to recognise the ways that society has changed. For millennia, we have recorded our thoughts and experiences through writing, meaning that literature now serves as a primary guide for reflection upon society’s changes.

Firstly, literary works can provide insight into the historical context in which they were written. For example, ‘A Christmas Carol’, a novella by Charles Dickens, (Dickens, 1843) comments on the social injustices of Victorian England. Dickens uses characters such as Bob Cratchit as a representation of the ‘deserving’ poor. Through the development of these characters, the reader explores the experiences of the working class in Victorian England, including the experiences of poverty, sickness and hunger. Overall, literature can help us to gain an understanding of historical periods, and so, by reviewing a variety of literary works from various eras, we can learn how life has changed over time.

 Furthermore, literature reflects the values of the writer, as well as the society that shaped them. Early European literature commonly plays into derogatory language and stereotypes, which highlight the prejudiced opinions of people of the time. However, the modern literature that has blossomed in the late 20th and 21st centuries captures the shift in societal values and expectations. For example, Scarlett Curtis’s ‘Feminists Don’t Wear Pink’ (Curtis, 2018) recognises the recent revolutionary gender-equality movements. The collection of essays challenges traditional gender roles and advocates for women’s rights, representing the changing values of society. Overall, literature explores the cultural beliefs of the time, and so gives researchers a helpful indication as to how society’s beliefs have changed.

 Beyond reflecting cultural change, written works can also contribute to it. Authors are able to reflect on society’s faults and promote new ideas. For example, George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ (Orwell, 1949) criticises power systems and totalitarian regimes. The book prompts readers to question their own morals and has incited various activism movements concerning free speech, surveillance and censorship. These works are still continuously used to justify modern ideologies, with Sarah Newman, political fiction writer and journalist, noticing that “Orwell’s dystopian classic [speaks] so powerfully to our current moment” (Newman, 2023). These works evidently fuel society’s ideas for change, highlighting our main concerns, and representing our evolving beliefs about the world.

 On the other hand, whilst extremely helpful, literature is not the only marker of cultural change. Other forms of societal expression are also used to explore our changing culture, for example: art, music and online movements.

 Firstly, visual art is often used to reflect cultural shifts. For instance, the ‘Pop Art’ movement challenged society’s attitude towards mass-production. It used bright colors and bold shapes to celebrate individuality and confidence, and set a precedent for a new era of creativity. Furthermore, ‘Political Pop Art’ evolved in China, around three decades after the start of ‘Pop Art’ in the United Kingdom. Pieces such as Wang Guangyi’s ‘Great Criticism’(Guangyi, 1992) express workers’ disillusionment with established ideas, capturing the societal change that the country continues to experience. Visual art movements offer an alternative lens for understanding cultural change, one that also transcends language barriers, unlike literature.

 Furthermore, music is a powerful instrument for cultural expression. Originating in the United States of America in the 1860s, ‘blues’ music gave many marginalised African-American people the ability to voice the injustices that they experienced. The genre cemented a sense of community for many. In more recent years, genres such as punk-rock and hip-hop have also emerged as forms of rebellion against societal pressures. Moreover, songs can capture social movements. Songs such as ‘Girl on Fire’ by Alicia Keys (Keys, 2012) celebrated the start of the fourth-wave feminism movement. Additionally, choral arrangements such as ‘What Happens When a Woman’ by Alexandra Olsavsky of Artemisia (Olsavsky, 2017) allow communities to come together to celebrate shifting cultural attitudes. ‘What Happens When a Woman’ features powerful, meaningful lyrics, and it is so seminal that choirs let singers access these strong messages. Overall, music serves as an important marker of cultural change, connecting communities and celebrating social movements.

 In recent years, technology has given us new ways to recognise cultural change. Social media platforms have become crucial in mobilising social movements, with campaigns such as the ‘#BlackLivesMatter’ and the ‘#MeToo’ movements gaining a lot of popularity online. According to a Pew Research Center study, (Pew Research Center, 2023) the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag was used over 44 million times on Twitter in a 10-year recording period. This demonstrates how essential technology has been for allowing the rapid spread of activist movements, records we can then analyse to discover how society has changed. We can review social media trends to then discover how society has changed.

 Through prose, poetry and plays, writers have come together to explore their struggles and hopes for society. Literature is crucial in shaping cultural landscapes; however, it cannot be described as the ‘only’ marker of change, as it exists within a broader culture of indicators, including visual art, music, and social media movements. Other factors are definitely still needed, and are equally as important. Indications such as visual art and music surpass language barriers, making movements more accessible. Similarly, online campaigns are easier to understand than lengthy literary works, which may mean that they are easier to share or to learn from. Overall, whilst it is undeniably an important marker, we need more than just literature to observe cultural change.

(Please note that whilst this essay has not been formerly published elsewhere, it was written by me for other purposes on 27th January 2025).

Sources:

Curtis, S. (2018) Feminists don’t wear pink (and other lies). London: Penguin Books Ltd.

Dickens, C. (1843) A Christmas Carol. London: Chapman & Hall

Guangyi, W. (1992) Great Criticism. [Oil paint on canvas]. Tate Modern Gallery, London.

Keys, A. (2012) Girl on Fire [Song] Available at: https://open.spotify.com/track/4esOae7i4rqTbAu9o5Pxco?si=taQTCrA3RYyq9Bc2sz99Xw 

Newham, S. (2023) ‘Orwellian nightmares: What I learned about today’s rage culture from rewriting 1984’, The Guardian, 7 October. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/oct/07/orwellian-nightmares-george-orwell-rage-culture-rewriting-1984 

Olsavsky, A. (2017) What Happens When a Woman [Song] Available at: https://open.spotify.com/album/24L903iYq7YZTgm4VW1ovi?si=151MmdA4RqSmaYVEAticPA

Orwell, G. (1949) Nineteen Eighty-Four. London: Secker & Warburg

Pew Research Center (2023) ‘#BlackLivesMatter Turns 10’. Available at: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/06/29/ten-years-of-blacklivesmatter-on-twitter/#The-most-common-hashtags-used-in-BlackLivesMatter-tweets (Accessed 24 January 2025)

Bio:

Sophia McHardy

Student, England

“I’m a proud feminist and passionate about social change and justice.”

Sophia McHardy is a London-based student and activist. She is a passionate volunteer, and assists many initiatives, including TED Translate and 7 Cups mental health services. Recently, she has founded her own gender equality initiative, The Gender Jotter, which focuses on rewriting the narrative and facilitating conversations about gender-based issues. In her free time, you can find Sophia playing field hockey, listening to music or walking her crazy cockapoo, Max.

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