Analyzing My Text's Cultural Setting

This blog post will address three questions one might ask when analyzing the cultural context of a text previously selected. It was written in April of 2015, and is mostly direct quoting from an interview (which is linked in the article). It was published concomitantly to the controversy, and before a decision was made about the books belonging on Russian shelves or not.

What values, ideas, norms, beliefs, or laws of the culture play a role in the text?

This text address the concepts of free speech, censorship, interpretation of law, and abidance to the law. It really regards two different forms of values.  It's a balance of two different cultures- Russia and it's freedom of choice, and an artist's argument about a censorship he sees as "arbitrary". It's about content versus illustration, and to what degree freedom of speech can be used against an enforced law.

Menezes, Tyler "The worst thing about censorship" June 27, 2008 via Flickr
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Does the text address these values directly, or indirectly?

Spiegelman addresses these values very directly. He directly challenges the bookstore's decision, and resorts to some (admittedly highbrow) name calling. Spiegelman discusses the history of his issues with the book's cover, discusses his opinion of the bookstore's decision, an expresses his concerns with historical context to back it up. He doesn't skirt around the issue or his values at all.

What is the relationship of the text to these values? Is it critical or supportive? Does it seek to modify these aspects of the culture in a certain way?

This text directly addresses the values. It's a current issue being actively discussed, and it's even a article that gives the direct opinions of the person arguably most affected. It's simultaneously critical and supportive. It's critical of a sort of over-censorship which follows a law to an almost unnecessary degree, while supportive of expressionism and illustration for the use of making a point. It's not about Nazism, because the graphic novel is clearly against fascism. It seeks to modify a culture of over censoring works for fear of being "nailed". It's against publishers who refuse to allow certain plays or books with certain cover art for fear of getting in trouble, despite some that could arguably be clear exceptions.