Change in society is seen as inevitable as well as beneficial. Without change technology would not have advanced as greatly as it has and we would not have the ameliorations in medicine and healthcare that we have today. Our world would be in tumult, and many more deaths would occur, if we still followed the same medical practices of that of our medieval ascendants. Also, our political world would not be the same. How would we advance in our associations with other countries, if not for the effects of change? Our government, our laws, our beliefs would not have changed from those of our early ancestors. Hence, it is visible that without change our society would be ‘stuck in a rut’ – with no way to advance and improve.
Roland Barthes was interested in the way that signifiers - words which are derived of meaning unless associated with an image or object - were related to each other (intertextuality) and the way they reflect the context and culture from which they came. He believed that no text can stand alone as an isolated work. Rather they echo and reflect each other. Thus, he said, we should never do author centered studies and wrote of the “Death of the Author”. Rather, he stated that we should look at a text in its relation to other texts. Barthes ideas led to Post structuralism.
Structuralists believed that meaning in literature could be determined by studying the language structures - the signs or signifiers - which represented ideas within a particular culture e.g. white as a sign or symbol of purity or innocence. Post Structuralists, however, argued that meaning can never be fully understood because the cultural ideas represented by those “signs” are themselves constructed by a society rather than by absolute truths. What we call meaning, they argue, is simply the process of understanding a text within that one moment, that single context. As soon as context changes, they said, meaning changes. Thus, for Post Structuralists, meaning is a shifting, ever changing, ever evolving continuum – i.e. the present moment. Tomorrow the cultural “truths” on which that meaning is built may change.
Different perspectives also bring additional meanings to a text. For example, a Feminist’s opinions may differ to that of a Marxist’s. Culture, also, has a major impingement on an individual’s understanding of a text. An elderly person of a Middle Eastern background may bring an entirely different interpretation of the pop-culture movie ‘Not Another Teen Movie”, for example, than a teenage modern American. Therefore, the meaning of a text is ever changing as each persons understanding and opinions are brought forward.
In conclusion, a great deal evolves and advances in our everyday lives. Medical practices and medication have changed dramatically since those of our ancestors and our political world continues to change. Post Structuralism theorists have showed that the meaning of a text is perpetually changing as culture and perspective continue to influence an individual’s representation of a text. Changes in society and texts are not an illusion.
