What is Modernism?

-

Modernism is a cultural movement during the late 19th century until the mid-20th century. It emerged as a response to significant changes in Western culture and society, such as industrialization, secularization, the growing influence of science, technological innovations, and the geopolitical shifts after World War I.

A Rejection of the Past

Modernism is characterized by a rejection of the past. Modernists believed that they were part of a new age and that traditional forms and conventions were outdated and irrelevant in the modern world. They therefore sought to create new and original forms that reflected the changing world, emphasizing experimentation, abstraction and subjective experience. This movement was evident in all areas of culture, including art, literature, and even architecture.

A. Modernist Art

In art, for example, modernist artists such as Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp rejected traditional artistic forms, such as those in realism and romanticism. They experimented with new forms and techniques, such as abstraction and surrealism, which challenged the viewer’s perception and understanding of the world and helped move art from being materialist to becoming more spiritualist.

B. Modernist Literature

While in literature, modernist writers such as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and T.S. Eliot rejected traditional narrative structures. They sought to create new ones, such as stream of consciousness narration and non-linear narratives, that reflected the fragmented and chaotic nature of the modern world.

In general, modernist art—painting, literature, music, etc.—reflected the deracinated experience of life in which tradition, community, and faith were eroding.

Focus on the Individual

Modernism is also characterized by a focus on the individual. Modernists believe that the individual is a key to social and cultural progress. As such, they emphasized the importance of personal autonomy and freedom in both thought and action, which contributed to the growing sense of individualism and relativism during the time. Such emphasis is evident in all areas of modernist culture, especially in art and philosophy.

Scientific and Technological Optimism

Lastly, modernism is characterized by a belief in the potential of science and technology to improve the human condition. Modernists saw science and technology as a key to progress and the creation of a better world. This belief, however, was disillusioned by the mechanized mass slaughter of the First World War, which fueled modernist distrust in reason and doubt in the progress and moral improvement of human society.

Criticisms

Despite its many contributions to culture and society, modernism was viewed as a threat to traditional values and social structures. Some thinkers feared that it would lead to the breakdown of social order and the loss of moral values.

Others, on the other hand, saw modernism as a source of alienation, as individuals became increasingly isolated and disconnected from one another in the modern urban environment. 

Still others viewed modernism as closely tied to colonialism, as European powers used the idea of progress and modernization to justify their colonial projects in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. This had a profound impact on the cultures and societies of these regions, as traditional ways of life were disrupted and replaced by new forms of social, economic, and political organization.

Popular posts from this blog

What is Postmodernism?

-
Image
Postmodernism is an intellectual, cultural, and artistic movement that emerged in the mid-20th century. It is characterized by a rejection of the grand narratives of modernism, an emphasis on pluralism, fragmentation, and the deconstruction of established social and cultural structures, as well as an interest in popular culture, pastiche, and irony. At its core, postmodernism is a response to the failures of modernism, which sought to impose a single, universal truth or ideology on society. Modernism (late 19th–early 20th century) emphasized rationality, progress, and the enlightenment project. It was rooted in the belief that human beings could create a better world through the use of reason and technology. But the devastating impact of the Holocaust and World War II, as well as other social and political upheavals, revealed the limitations of modernism’s utopian vision. Postmodernism emerged as a reaction to this disillusionment. It offered a more skeptical, critical, and complex vie...
Read more

What is Structuralism?

-
Image
Structuralism is a theoretical framework in psychology, anthropology, linguistics, and philosophy, among others, that emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is concerned with the analysis of the underlying structures that shape human thought, behavior, and culture. Principles The central principle of structuralism is that everything in human experience can be broken down into basic structures or elements . These structures are the building blocks of human experience, and their analysis is the key to understanding how human experience is constructed. Structuralists believe that these underlying structures are universal , and that they can be analyzed using rigorous scientific methods. Moreover, they argue that the relationships between different elements of human experience are as important as the elements themselves , as these can be used to uncover the underlying structures of human experience. Specifically, structuralists are interested in the way that these structure...
Read more

What is Media Literacy?

-
Image
Media literacy education first began in the United States and United Kingdom. It was a direct result of war propaganda in the 1930s and the rise of advertising in the 1960s. During that time, media was used to manipulate people’s perspective. Thus, there was a need to educate people on how to detect the biases, falsehoods, and half-truths depicted in print, radio, and television (Boyd, 2014). Media literacy is the ability to identify different types of media from a wide array of sources and understand the messages they bring (Hobbs, 1997). In its simplest form, media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media. As such, it performs an important role in education, development, and innovation. Now that information comes through an interwoven system of media technologies, being media literate has become an essential skill in the 21st century. And schools, teachers, and students are constantly confronted with a challenge—the challenge of being media literate. Wh...
Read more