Literature? Light of Thy Countenance

From the very beginning of the quarter, one of our goals has been to figure out what is literature.  How do we define something as being literary?  Personally, I believe that literature can be any written (or spoken) piece of work that represents a language or culture.  Therefore, based off this definition, I would definitely argue that Alan Moore’s Light of Thy Countenance is an example of literature—a truly unique form, but literature nonetheless.

What makes Light of Thy Countenance so unique is its format.  Told in the form of a comic book, it still would not be considered normal for that type of media.  Told in first person point of view, I also found the beginning horribly confusing, because I could not tell who was narrating the story.  Right from the beginning, the narrator appears to transition for being a god, to this particular woman with a troubled past, to an actress playing the role of that first woman, then back to some god?  It was not until a couple pages after that, that I realized that the narrator was actually a personified version of the television.  From that point, I started being able to understand more of what it was talking about and I could follow the points that Moore was trying to make via that television.

The points made about television in Moore’s work really portrayed American culture very well over the last few decades.  At first when television describes its first few decades, we can see that it truly played a different role in our culture back then than it does now.  Before, it acted as a way to inform people of news and what was going on in the world.  But after World War II, Moore points out that the television really became more about consumerism and gaining a profit.  Moore references Frankenstein a few times in this section to maybe suggest that the transformation of the television may have been for the worse, rather than better.  He even compares the television to the idea of religion and gods because he plays with the idea that our culture began worshiping the television more than they worshiped religion.

Because of the points and statements that Moore makes, I truly believe that it contributes to the argument of his work being literature.  While it is presented in an unusual way, its still literary to me.

Differences Between the East and the West

M Butterfly by Davis Henry Hwang really distinguishes some of the strongest differences between the nations of the east and the nations of the west.  Throughout the whole play, he uses this theme of nations and nationality to portray these significant breaches.

One of the strongest differences between the two was the difference in the way that the women were portrayed.   Even in Act One, Hwang writes that Cio-Cio-San (also known as Butterfly) was “not like American girls.  It’s true what they say about Oriental girls.  They want to be treated bad!” (Act 1, Scene 3, p.6).  There is already this description of Oriental and Eastern women being different and wanting different things than the Western women. 

Later on in Act One, Song Liling is talking with Rene Gallimard about her (his) role in Butterfly.  Gallimard was thoroughly impressed and was talking to her about his Western experience with the play.   But once he brings up that his problem was with the unattractive Western woman who played the part, Song responds by saying, “Bad makeup is not unique to the West” (Act 1, Scene 6, p.16).  Here again, Hwang casually suggests another difference between Eastern and Western women, and he continues on in that scene as he writes about their conversation.  Gallimard is simply more convinced by Song’s performance, and Song blames it all on Gallimard’s Western background.

At the end of the play, he writes, “The West think of itself as masculine—big guns, big industry, big money—so the East is feminine—weak, delicate, poor… but good at art, and full of inscrutable wisdom—the feminine mystique” (Act 3, Scene 1, p.83).  Hwang also portrays that very idea of the Western nations being more “masculine” and the Eastern nations as being more “feminine” throughout the whole play, and not just as the end.

In both Acts One and Two, Hwang uses Toulon’s character to defend that very point.  Starting in Act One, in Scene 12, Toulon says in conversation with Gallimard, “It’s embarrassing that we lost Indochina” (p.37).  Toulon’s arrogance really stands out and represents a lot of the Western mentality that felt that they were so much bigger and stronger than those in the East.  In Scene 3, Toulon also says to Gallimard, “I don’t see how the Vietnamese can stand up to American firepower” (p.46).   Here again, Toulon simply believes that Americans and the Western world should not struggle at all in taking down the Vietnamese and Eastern countries in the war they are fighting.

Internet and the Prospects of Online Social Networks

William Gibson develops the concept of the Internet and idea of the social network in a monumental way in his novel, Pattern Recognition.  Today’s culture is very dependent on these ideas, but when this novel is set and written, the role of online social network sites and the Internet in general, is much less important.  Regardless, Gibson uses his creative rights to increase the novel’s dependence on these topics, especially in Cayce’s situation.

For example, what is Cayce’s main mission throughout the majority of the novel?  She is trying to find the source of those video clips on the F:F:F blog.  For the majority of the novel, she is mildly unsuccessful, but then finally in chapter 32, Cayce is able to contact the “maker” through her e-mail address.   And while this did not include and actual online social network, Gibson definitely presents the potential of that very idea.  Cayce is finally able to talk and meet with the “maker,” Stella, and she would not have been able to do that without the creation of the Internet.  The social relationship that is created between Stella and Cayce thanks to their e-mails also shows the importance of e-mail and Internet in their relationship.

Without the social relationship on the Internet, Cayce’s job would not have even been completed, because she would not have been successful.  In fact her ability to find out Stella’s e-mail address is what set her apart from all the other people looking for the same video makers.  Cayce’s life is even threatened later in the novel because of that valuable piece of knowledge.  Through the Internet e-mails, Cayce really was able to create this relationship that Stella was able to trust.  Then Stella allowed Cayce to really understand and find out more than she could have ever imagined about her coveted video clips.