Social values do not find their way into texts by chance: they exist in texts because texts tend to reflect their society. Also, social values are not usually placed into a text deliberately by the author. However, authors are often conscious and aware of at least some of the social values in their texts; the film of To Kill a Mockingbird, examined later in this chapter, deliberately sets out to demonstrate certain social values. But even a ‘deliberate’ text will contain social values and discourses that the authors are unaware of—attitudes that to them seem simply ‘normal’ or ‘natural’. Often, it is only when looking back at a text that the social values and discourses surrounding it are clearly apparent. The social values in a text are essentially related to the time period in which the text was made, rather than the time period in which the story is set. Audiences expect texts to appear ‘realistic’, and this includes a (usually unconscious)expectation that the text will reflect contemporary social values. For a variety of reasons, a film such as Gladiator (2000) is unlikely to contain the real social values of ancient Rome. Not only are many social values of that time unknown, but many of the values that are known would be unacceptable to a contemporary audience’s expectations. A story that depicted slavery as natural and that portrayed revolting slaves as despicable criminals would not sit well with contemporary social values of freedom and equality. Perhaps the easiest way to think about social values in texts within non-contemporary settings is to consider a text set in the future, such as Aliens (1986). The social values of the far future are unknown, so any social values in the text must be those of the time and place in which it was made. The times in the text It is often useful to consider the major events that occurred around the time of a text’s production. These can give clues and cues to the social values and discourses that were current and that may be found in the text. The links between current events and a text might not be simple cause-and-effect, but they may still indicate important influences. For example, although To Kill a Mockingbird was based on events that occurred in 1936, the film (of 1962) was clearly influenced by the US Civil Rights movement of the 1950s–60s. By examining major social, political, economic and cultural events surrounding a text’s production, it can be seen how those events influenced the society that produced the text and therefore influenced the social values found in the text itself. A table can be a useful way of doing this:

Event	Effect on social values	Examples in texts
Cold War, 1940s–80s ‘USA vs USSR’	Fear of outsiders bringing destruction	Plague of foreign rats and illegal aliens bringing disease and undermining society, Panic in the Streets (1950)
Vietnam War*, 1960s–70s (Dominant social values)	Increased tolerance of the use of violence to eradicate ‘evil’	Violent hero struggles against crime, Bullitt (1968), Dirty Harry (1971)
Vietnam War*, 1960s–70s (Oppositional social values)	Decreased tolerance of violence	Pacifist heroes, Alice’s Restaurant (1969), MASH (film 1970, TV series 1972–83)
Environmental	Increased	Heroes are