This list is far from exhaustive. Examples of social commentary may be found in any form of communication. Artistic works of all mediums are often defined by what they say about society. Despite being wordless, the memorable image of the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 may be considered one of the most profound commentaries of the power of the individual. Many recent scholars have characterised
African witchcraft as critical social commentary on
modernity and postcolonial
capitalism and violence.
Visual artwork Inspiration for some artists can come from issues that are present today. Deborah Silverman, Professor of History and Art History at the University of California in Los Angeles, states that the "Analysis of particular visual forms expands to an interpretation of art and artists as carriers of cultural history in the crucible of modernity." This notion has been present in art throughout time. An example is
Vincent Van Gogh's 1885 painting '
The Potato Eaters'. This picture depicts a group of poverty stricken people gathered in a small room around a table. Vincent Van Gogh created this piece of artwork in order to present a confronting time to the viewer. A modern example is
street art, also known as
graffiti. With an international reputation, artist and political activist
Banksy is known to produce street art that raises public issues such as slave Labour, loss of childhood and the effects of war.
Photography Social commentary photography's purpose is to "expose social issues on ethics, society, religious, the way of life, how people live and other similarities." Sometimes this includes the harsh reality of society such as homelessness, discrimination, war and defenceless children. "Social Commentary artists try their best to create artworks in order to convey messages to the community." the Somalia famine (1992) and the Jakarta Riots (1998) and the September 11 attacks in 2001.
Direct publication Public speaking Most
public speaking constitutes social commentary of some form. Many
sermons will describe the ills of society and offer religious solutions. Many politicians may speak in a similar fashion – in
Shakespeare's Julius Caesar one can see
Mark Antony's funeral speech as a commentary. The larger audience offered by radio and television has diminished the significance of public speaking as a means of social commentary. The
United Nations General Assembly is one of the biggest global organisations that focus of planet Earth and humans. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) strive to make the Earth a better place, however without the input of many passionate individuals the UNGA would not be able to achieve this. Influential public speakers such as
Pope Francis,
Malala Yousafzai,
President Barack Obama and
Queen Elizabeth II, comment of society's issues. This allows the UNGA to directly listen to the issues at hand and address them accordingly.
Fiction Allegorical
fictional works such as
Animal Farm clearly contain a social commentary and one can find some degree of social commentary in almost any novel.
To Kill a Mockingbird can be interpreted as a commentary on racial issues, especially given the date of its publication (1960). Another example of social commentary is
Thomas More's
Utopia in which he uses the Utopia to satirize the values of 16th century Britain. Social commentaries have been searched for even in
fantasy novels such as
The Lord of the Rings, though such connections often require much conjecture, or in modern satirical fables.
Non-fiction Directly speaking to a topic in the social discourse in writing by defining the audience, the bounds of the topic, and the presenting facts and opinions based on the primarily author and possibly on another's perspective.
Radio, television and film Fictional works in these mediums have a similar scope to that of their literary counterparts and documentaries to the non-fiction works described above. Television and films often use powerful images to enhance their message, for example,
Michael Moore's films utilise this to great effect in promoting his political beliefs. Some examples of films include
Food, Inc.,
The Story of Stuff featuring
Annie Leonard, and
Morgan Spurlock's
Super Size Me. And to a lesser degree, the prominent Italian
exploitation film Cannibal Holocaust uses graphic violence, shocking imagery, and underlying topics in anthropology to express
Ruggero Deodato's distaste for modern society – more importantly – what it has become. West Indian calypsonians participate annually in songwriting competitions with the common use of
double entendre, humour and metaphor as well as monikers to avoid legal complications (see
Calypso Music). The
slasher film The Texas Chain Saw Massacre also uses
animal rights social commentary, in the form of the movie being a
metaphor, the chainsaw victims being treated like animals in
slaughterhouses and then put into fridges,
tenderised, and hung on
meat hooks and in an interview,
Russel Simmons said: "The way that woman was screaming, ‘Aaaahhh,’ and she's running away—that's how every animal you eat is running for his or her life". The
shockumentary Mondo Cane also provided social commentary, as in one frame, there are
dogs being walked in
San Francisco and in the other, in
Papua New Guinea people are eating
dog meat, using cultures different from Western culture to shock the viewer and make them feel uncomfortable.
Mondo Cane was made to promote "
being civil", and uses language in the film such as "
savages". The video game series
Watch Dogs, in which the protagonists are
cyber vigilantes that rebel against an all-seeing government, uses social commentary against
mass surveillance. 1999 film
The Matrix and 1932 book
Brave New World provide commentary on the
Blissful ignorance effect, where in
The Matrix, the protagonist named Neo can choose the red pill, a dark truth, or the blue pill, a blissful lie to stay in the Matrix or to wake up in the real world and in
Brave New World the character has a choice whether or not to take
soma, a drug used by the
totalitarian government to keep the people happy and docile, both inspired by ''
Plato's Cave'' which some consider a
metaphor for life. In a similar situation, the
fascist government of video game
We Happy Few use drugs to keep people in a state of
mania, to forget a certain "incident" that occurred and
secret police are dispatched to kill people who remember the event or don't take the pills and the citizens are forced to wear masks that mold faces in permanent smiles. The main character is presented with a choice at the start of the game: to take the "happiness pill" or to abstain. If the player takes the pill, the game ends and the
credits roll, whereas if the player pick the latter, they begin the game.
George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four is also written as a critique of
totalitarianism.
Rap music A lot of
hip hop associated with
gangsta rap or
conscious rap uses sociopolitical commentary, such as
N.W.A's protest song "
Fuck Tha Police" or
Chamillionaire and
Krayzie Bone's "
Ridin", typically against
black racial profiling and
police brutality and music from gangsta rap artist
2Pac also speak of the poverty in
inner cities and
racism in the United States and 1991 2Pac song
Trapped discusses an incident in which 2Pac was assaulted by a police officer and talks about
police brutality in the United States. In a 1988 interview about societal perspective, rapper
2Pac said “More kids are being handed
crack than being handed diplomas.” and "Society is like that. They’ll let you go as far as you want, but as soon as you start asking too many questions and you’re ready to change, boom, that block will come". In the interview, he also states his opinions on government action, requesting
school classes on
drugs,
“real” sex education,
scams,
religious cults,
police brutality,
apartheid,
American racism,
poverty, and
food insecurity. Other
subjects such as
foreign languages, are written off by 2Pac, saying that he doesn't need to learn
German, he says he can hardly pay his rent, let alone book a flight to
Germany. == Monologists ==