Essay on The New Idea of Modernism

"I hope she 'll be a fool — that 's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool . . . You see, I think everything 's terrible anyhow . . . And I know. I 've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything." (The Great Gatsby, pg. 20) There was a loss of innocence, disillusionment and lack of faith in the American Dream. This became the movement known as Modernism. WWI was the first “total war” in which modern weapons spared no one. The casualties suffered by the participants in World War I dwarfed those of previous wars. The armed forces continued to use old tactics, but had modern weaponry that of which caused a major number of casualties. This war left American’s with a scar on their hearts, and in their minds. WWI changed the game completely, and after the massacres that occurred during the war, and the complete and utter destruction that was left behind, caused uproar in American values and principles. This was the start and basis for the Modernist movement.

Igor Stravinsky makes for a first-class example of differences and similarities between neoclassicism and modernism. Modernism is defined as “A term used in music to denote a multi-faceted but distinct and continuous tradition within 20th-century composition”1, while neoclassicism may be defined as “A movement of style in the works of certain 20th-century composers, who, particularly during the period between the two world wars, revived the balanced forms and clearly perceptible thematic processes of earlier styles to replace what were, to them, the increasingly exaggerated gestures and formlessness of late Romanticism”2 By not only comparing his works to others but within his own body of work the two movements can be better

Modernism in all is a movement that lead to various changes be it music, art, literature, architecture ext. It gave people a different form of living. It also lead to religious growth and change in people’s thinking. it didn’t only modernise the creative and artistic work but also the thought process of the people. in one sense modernism is a struggle towards a better future of autistic world with no religious

After the war occurred, the women were no longer seen as housewives, the society began seeing them as strong and independent. They were seen this way as they survived a

At the opening of the twentieth century, World War I shifted the previously progressive mentality of society as a result of the newfound levels of human potential of destruction.

Modernism rose to prominence in the early years of the twentieth century with the “horrors of World War I” being the “catalyst” to the reformation in beliefs (Rahn, “Modernism”; Lorcher

Modernism is a term that refers to the way artists moved away from traditional representations of reality during the early 1900s. It refers to changes that came with abstraction, leading to distortion or excessive exaggeration of colour, shape, and space for expressive purposes. It changed the way artists saw and how their audience saw the works or images they created. It had occurred because the world in which we lived began to change dramatically. In this essay, it will discuss the cultural influences such as the world war 1, the industrial revolution and world war two that the world had in the movement of modernism and the art movements.

Modernism was the movement that took place in Europe during the turn of the twentieth century, where the effects of industrialization, mass politics and other developments in society caused a change in the way people thought. One of the best ways to look at the changes in society is through the society 's culture because people’s work, whether they were scientists, psychologists, philosophers, or artists, show these themes and changes. Some of the major changes seen through these works during modernization include a movement away from Enlightenment ideas, a development of self-expression, a focus on irrationality, and a growing importance of technology and scientific ideas, and a great example to look towards for these changes are Vincent van Gogh and his art work.

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.’’ Everyone has their own personal fears but despite the differences in what we fear, we all collectively share one thing. The fear. The dread. And the uncertainty. Even long after the great war was long ended, there was always a sense of uncertainty amongst the people. Doubt and distrust of what is to come feeling betrayed by the governments that overpowered them. This lead to the Modernism Movement, a movement entirely powered by the fear of a next war, driven by the innermost feeling of uncertainty and doubt. The Modernist movement, occurring between the 1920’s and 1960’s, attempted to change existing perceptions of reality as well as undermine and disregard grand narratives such as religion

People were searching for restoration in the aftershock of World War II. The modernists in this period were trying to find a way to resuscitate themselves in a tragic environment. There was a viewpoint that the individual had to discover a new style of connecting to humanity in a different way.

By analyzing various articles that provides various viewpoint on the phenomenon of Modernism and its relationship to modernist architectures during the 1920s and 1930s, linkages, similarities and differences between how each author define modern architecture can be observed. These varying viewpoints encourages not only the identification of ‘Traditional’ and ‘Art Deco’ movements but also the critical understanding of modern architecture’s evolution and its relation to the societal beliefs, authority, resource and function during the Interwar Period.

Throughout time, the changes in society have been represented in art, literature, and music. These works have been organized into movements to better see the development of society and how different events have affected it. One of the most prominent movements that displayed the drastic changes in society was Modernism. Modernism was a break from tradition and exemplified the unique changes in societal views. Beginning after multiple cultural shocks, especially World War I, this movement was characterized by the alienation of the individual and preoccupation with one’s inner-self.

The many aspects of the modern period, political, social, and others, were all very different and yet connected in one trait: change. Some major things were happening in America, and no part was left untouched. World War 1 had come and gone, and had left its mark on the culture and economy of the country. Wars cost money, and America had spent a lot, not just in money but in lives. That war was the deadliest in history at that point, and a lot of men were killed, and those who survived had to have endured brutal conditions and horrifying experiences. Desperate to leave those dark days behind, those that returned soon pushed social life to a whole new level.

What further contributed to the rise of modernism was the First World War, which shell-shocked many. People lost their sense of certainty and it made them change their points of views. It made modernists question civilisation. This is seen in T.S Eliot’s poem “The Wasteland” which questions

Modernism, in literature, can be seen as a shift in focus to the unassociated introspective reflection of characters in such texts as Go Tell It On The Mountain, by James Baldwin, Miss Lonelyhearts, by Nathanael West and The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger. This is a revision from the previous focal point of exterior events and places in correlation with the character’s reflections. Emphasis is placed on review upon feelings and thoughts, and even conversations with oneself, as opposed to the more directly event-driven reflections in texts of the pre-modernist era.