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MODERNISM
What is it and how it started
The Word Modern
• According to Dictionary.com:
Origin:
1490–1500; < Middle French moderne < Late
Latin modernus, equivalent to Latin mod ( o ),
mod ( ō ) lately, just now (orig. ablative
singular of modus mode1 ) + -ernus adj. suffix
of time.
>In this class, Modern will be used to refer to
the genre of literature pertaining to the 20th
Century. The word CAN simply mean
“nowadays.”
What is Modernism?
• Modernism is a genre of literature, art, and music
characterized by the following:
– Rejection of traditional beliefs and values; the old ways
are dead.
– Doubts about the authority of government/religion:
“Who put ___ in charge?”
– A focus on trying to figure out what determines a
person’s place in society.
– Disillusionment in human nature and the way people
treat each other.
– Embracing new ways, new technologies, new ideas.
THE TIME CALLED MODERN
• MAJOR MODERN EVENTS:
– Darwin’s Evolution Theories: 1859+
– Freud’s Psychoanalysis & Social Darwinism
– World War I: 1914-1918
– Prohibition: 1920-1933
– The Birth of Jazz: 1920’s
– Nazis, Fascism, World War II: 1930’s until 1945.
– Beatniks, Communism, and Vietnam: 1950’s – 1970’s.
WWI
World War I
1914-1918
The countries involved:
– The German Empire,
– The Austria-Hungarian Empire
– The Ottoman Empire
– Britain
– France
– Italy
– United States (who got involved late)
The Gist of It
• European countries and the USA as well formed
Empires, colonize and ‘civilize’ countries in Africa,
Asia, and in the Pacific.
• These empires eventually began competing over
territory. A turf war.
• The empires made treaties with each other and
began to gang up. They got their posse together.
• A Yugoslavian nationalist assassinated Archduke
Franz Ferdinand of Austria on June 28, 1914. This
is considered the moment that triggered World
War I. It could also be the moment that started
modernism.
THE GREAT WAR
• World War I
introduced horrifying
new technologies:
–The machine gun.
–The tank.
–Mustard gas attacks.
–Trench Warfare, War
of Attrition, etc.
The Economic Aftermath
• Europe was decimated. The war had
destroyed cities and farms. The Great
Depression was getting started there.
• Meanwhile, America (who supported Europe
and helped rebuild) went into the ROARING
TWENTIES!
• The Great Depression had been postponed for
about 10 years.
The Social Aftermath
• People came back wondering why the war
happened. If Imperialism had done this, then we
should not be Imperialists any more.
• We are no longer interested in meddling in the
politics of other places.
• Maybe we should try doing things differently from
now on.
• People wanted to party and enjoy life.
So, THE ROARING 20’s began
MOVEMENTS IN MODERNISM
• FEMINISM: Women’s rights and equality.
• CIVIL RIGHTS: Rights and equality for all races and
religions and creeds.
• MARXISM: The idea (among others) that people
should not have to want for anything.
• IMAGISM: Trying to capture, artistically, a brief
moment and display its beauty.
• SURREALISM: Art trying to represent the emotions,
thoughts, and feelings of the world.
END OF PART 1
Modernism and
Scientific Thought
Charles Darwin
Carl Jung
Sigmund Freud
Charles Darwin
• Writes On The Origin of the Species in 1859.
• Suggests idea of natural selection, which
states:
– The strong survive; the weak die out.
– The healthy reproduce; the unhealthy don’t well.
– Creatures living in a place thrive because they are
best adapted. They’ve earned their place.
• This theory leads to a logical fallacy called
Social Darwinism.
The Fallacy of Social Darwinism
• A fallacy is an illogical conclusion (an idea that
doesn’t actually work logically).
• Social Darwinism: Natural selection actually
determines your place in society.
– Basically: “You’re poor because you have something
wrong with you or your family; I’m rich because I deserve
to be.” OR
– “Your race is inferior, and deserve to be oppressed or kept
down because of it.” OR
– “Women should stay at home and raise the kids because
of ‘motherly instincts’ or ‘emotional imbalance.’”
Arguments Against Social
Darwinism:
Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalysis
• Sigmund Freud theorizes: Humans’ actions are the result of
the interplay between features of every human brain,
rather than supernatural elements like spirits, demons,
gods, etc.
– ID: Instinct, animal desires, needs, and wishes.
“I WANT IT!”
– EGO: Tries to get what the id wants, but through realistic means.
“You can have this, but there’re ways to get it.”
– SUPEREGO: The “referee” of the ego’s attempts to appease the id.
“You can do this, but don’t do that, because you’ll get into trouble
or feel bad.”
Here’s a Map of Freud’s Model of
the Human Psyche:
Freud and Religion
• Basically, both Freud and Darwin draw into
question God’s existence and participation in
human lives.
– Therefore, they also question religion-based
morals, ethics, and values.
– They argue that God and religion are humanmade things (constructs of the mind, rather than
actual realities).
Carl Jung continues Freud’s Work
• Carl Jung divides the mind into:
– The Consciousness: What you think about on purpose.
– The Personal Unconscious: Your personal experiences,
and deep inner thoughts.
– The Collective Unconscious: The things in every human’s
mind, because we’re human.
• He also introduces the concepts of Archetypes:
Powerful and universal symbols that have meaning
to all humans.
Examples of Archetypes:
• The Persona: What you present to society. The mask.
• The Shadow: Your dark-side, your inner being, your
sexual and survival instincts.
• The Anima and Animus: the male and female gender
roles you espouse, or what we believe those roles
should be.
• Other Archetypes: Anything strongly and almost
universally symbolic:
– A Skull:
– Butterflies:
– Fire:
How does this affect Modernism?
• Modernist Writers espouse the following themes:
– Humans act according to natural/biological/evolutionary forces
rather than according to a divine will. People have choice.
– Writing begins to reflect and analyze taboos: like divorce, adultery,
ennui, disillusionment, etc.
– Social Evolution: Certain people are supposedly “more evolved”
than other groups of people. Scientific racism, sexism, elitism, etc.
– Art becomes abstract, reflecting the inner person.
– Art and writing should challenge and question traditionally held
expectations/beliefs.
– Reality is defined by perspective rather than objective Truth.
– Technology is both helpful and harmful to humanity.
– Society’s expectations should not dictate how people live.
SOME VERY IMPORTANT CONCEPTS
• Meta-narrative: The idea that life follows a predetermined path or plan or humanity has a
“DESTINY” to reach. Things that happen are
“supposed” to happen.
• Ideology: A particular set of beliefs held by a group
of people. Features of a culture.
• Expatriate: A person who leaves their homeland
because they do not believe in its ideologies
anymore.
Modernist thinkers are trying to escape from the idea
that people are “destined” or that ideologies control
our way of life.
MARXISM
• Please go to the following website to read more
about MARXISM
https://socialsciences.arts.unsw.edu.au/tsw/Marx.html
The Gist of Marxism
• Written about in The Communist Manifesto by Karl
Marx.
• Marx proposes it is unfair that the PROLETERIAT
(the working class) does not get more for what they
do. They should get a cut of production.
• The capitalists (the rich and powerful who own the
means of production) don’t work as hard, why
should they have all the money?
• Marx proposes that all of history is the struggle
between the dominant class and a suppressed class
(Class Struggle).
Marxism Continued
• Marx proposes that the proletariat should rise up
and take what’s theirs in a Communist Revolution.
• We should NOT have classes in society. Everybody
should be equal, with equal share in the wealth.
• Basically: Communism proposes: everyone gets
paid according to a pre-set pay grade.
• You get paid simply to exist, not because you work
more. “Work according to your ability; get paid
according to your needs.”
The Problem?
• IT DOESN’T FRIGGIN’ WORK!
• It created, basically, a welfare state where people
had no money or property.
• People had no incentive to work harder, because
harder work did not necessarily earn you more pay.
• It would be like having everyone in school
automatically earning a D no matter what they did.
Some kids would benefit; some kids would NOT.
ART DECO and ABSTRACT ART
ART DECO: Painting and Artwork 1
Art Deco: Painting and Artwork 2
Art Deco: Painting and Artwork 3
ART DECO: Building Facades:
Art Deco: Building Design