How will literature show the cultural effects of the digital revolution?
Sourced from Shutterstock on 20 October 2020.
I was reading one book from the “Cat Who….” Series (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cat_Who...)
the other night when I had a revelation. What occurred to me was that the dramatic social changes being wrought by the digital era are (eventually) going to show up in literature and the like. However, I’m not sure how future anthropologists and historians will piece things together, because the changes have been jagged and uneven across societies.
The book series itself was written between the 1960’s and the turn of the century by Lillian Jackson Braun, with a roughly 20-year hiatus between the 1960s and early 1980s. Why that’s interesting (and, for me, a large part of the appeal of the books) is because the series is essentially timeless. There are very few indications of technological change, and even fewer of broader political and social events.
In essence, the main character, James Qwilleran, his Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum, and the other characters in the books exist in the pre-digital world, frozen in time somewhere across a space of around 40 years. They go about their daily lives, the seasons change, and characters come and go from the settings, but the main characters don’t really seem to age much at all.
This all makes it fantastic escapist fiction when I’ve had a rough day. In these books, there is no social media, 24-hour news cycle, or hyper-partisan politics. There is no coronavirus, no 9/11, no cancel culture, no diversity issues, and no digital passwords required. And there is almost no mention of the wider world beyond the American Mid-West.
In short, I think the books tap into something in my subconscious about the type of world I grew up in. Maybe it’s as simple as a feeling of safety, of knowing how things worked, and the idea that the days, months and years would roll on with only gradual changes?
Now, the books are fiction, and of course, adult life had its challenges back then too. There was no shortage of racism, sexism, violence, economic hardship, and so on during the time frames the books were set in. But the world was slow enough, and disconnected enough, that the stories are credible within their time in history.
Which begs the question – would it be possible to write such a book series now? Could anyone live such a sheltered life and still actually be part of a community? And if such a book was published, would it make any sense, and sell?
I suspect not. For a start, many services are increasingly going online, and the shift is being accelerated by COVID19. Cities worldwide are changing dramatically, and many places are becoming much more culturally diverse. Small towns are often struggling, with falling populations. People still get together, but they don’t necessarily know their neighbours well.
It would be interesting to see what sort of reaction young adults would have towards the books. I would presume they might enjoy the stories, but find it all anachronistic, along the following lines:
· Why would anyone shop in the supermarket along with everyone else when you can have it delivered?
· Read the newspaper about what was going on locally? How quaint!
· Who would choose to stay in a town the size of Pickax (said to be modelled on Bad Axe, Michigan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Axe%2C_Michigan) when there are only poorly-paid service industry jobs available?
· If Qwilleran is able to move away at the end of 5 years with the Klingenschoen fortune, why doesn’t he do so? (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/TheCatWhoSeries)
· How are so many crimes possible in one little county 400 miles north of anywhere?
· And how is it possible for people to live in such a bubble without any reference to the wider world?
Now, to be fair, people live wherever they like for a number of reasons, and likewise, people will respond in a number of different ways. But I suspect some of the points suggested above would be asked, even as they recognize it as fiction.
The bigger question is, what does this gap in perception say about how things have changed – and how quickly? Now that so much is online, and virtually all audiences have splintered into niches, how will future historians get an idea of what the zeitgeist was? What will be considered “literature” from this era – or will the idea of literature itself be consigned to the history books?
Can you think of any other books that are clearly before or after the Web arrived? Or (even better) some books that show the impact of the transition between one era and the other? I’d love to read your thoughts in the comment field below.
