Literature is a difficult term to define, as everyone has their own definition of it. To me, literature is a piece of written work that delivers a message and holds artistic value. Therefore, in my opinion, Alan Moore’s Light of Thy Countenance qualifies as a piece of literature. Many might believe that only well-known and frequently studied works are considered literature, such as Oliver Twist, 1984, and The Awakening. However, literature can also include poems, short stories, and even graphic novels and comics.
Light of Thy Countenance serves as an eye-opener to present-day society, showing how TV oversaturates our lives. So much communication is done via TV—many learn of national and international news by watching it on TV, children are influenced by cartoons on TV, and people of all ages are appealed to through well-marketed product commercials on TV. In Light of Thy Countenance, TV is the narrator and has a seemingly god-like character, because of its omnipresence and essentiality in our daily lives. Even though I already knew it, it was shocking to see how much TV influences our lives, from going to church to making love to simply watching TV for leisure. The last scene in the book is a white glow, which looks like a star but is actually the flash that appears on an old TV set when it is turned on and off. This white glow has a fetus in its center, and there are sperm swimming in the “universe”, trying to fertilize the egg, which in this case, is the TV’s white glow. Although a bit extreme, Moore creatively shows just how much our society depends on TV.
I believe that Light of Thy Countenance is a work of literature, because it does convey an important message about our use of TV through illustrations and well-worded captions. I enjoyed reading it, although I did not understand it the first time through. It really shows us how much humans depend on TV and other technology and motivates us to act and stop before it is too late.
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