-
Sigmund Freud, Karl Marx, and Charles Darwin Influence
The ideas of these thinkers influenced Modernism in a large way. Darwin contributed with the theory of evolution, Marx gave the theory of class struggles and different economic systems, and Freud gave a new take on the human brain with psychology. Since modernism was a movement to break away from old ideas into new ones, and all of these great thinkers helped to provide the new ideas for artist of all types to interpret and produce. -
Period: to
Modernism
Modernism was a movement to break away from 19th century traditions and the eras before it. They wanted to change the way art was made and make more "modern," as the name implies. Many of the important events in this time impacted how this happened, such as the industrial revolution, World War II, and even the Great Depression. There were many different movements that happened during Modernism that contributed to it in significant ways. Futurism and Dada are just a couple of these movements. -
Expressionism
Expressionism in theatre was a very dark form of plays. I showed many emotions in each play, mostly because the play was more focused on ideas and feelings of the playwriter. The actors were not the focus, as they were only there to enhance the feeling and ideas of the play. The play "Machinal" is an example of an expressionism play. This play is about a woman killing her husband and being sent to the electric chair. This play shows the sense of confinement that the writer felt. -
Futurism
The artist of futurism wanted to change from "traditional" versions of theater and other arts in order to produce a more modern version. Futurism began in Italy and was aimed at expressing the more modern way of life. This included cars, trains, and all the more efficient ways things were being done. It celebrated all of the new technology. -
Dada Play- "The Gas Heart"
"The Gas Heart" was a play written by "Dada mastermind," Tristan Tzara. This play is composed of characters that are named after body parts. They interact with each other and things around them in "complete incoherence." These character repeat incoherent phrases. This play is meant to create a world where there are no rules and there is no understanding that there is a lack of them. This supports dada culture that the world is meaningless. -
Dada
Dadaism was important in this time period. Among their "non-arts" was performance arts. These "non-" artist aimed to "challenge nationalism, rationalism, materialism, and any other -ism that they felt had contributed to a senseless war." Dadaist had a very absurd since of art. They wanted to use and explore older forms of art while they put emphasis on found art aspects. The public and others were not encouraging of this, which gave the Dadaist fuel to continue. It was an "art of protest." -
Surrealism
Surrealism contained elements from symbolism and non-realism in the theatre. These plays were "often met with hostility and proved to be anything but mainstream entertainment." Surrealism itself can be translated into "beyond realism." Surrealism in theatre was based mainly in Paris in the 1920s. It evolved from Dada, and it was more successful in cinema than in drama. -
Theatre of Cruelty
The Theatre of Cruelty was created by Antonin Artaud. The cruelty in the theatre was sensory. Artaud wanted to "shock" the audience through "gesture, image, sound, and lighting." He wanted the audience to not only feel emotions with the play, but to also "wake up the nerves and the heart." The use of facial expressions was also very important in his plays. Some even had little to no dialogue. His plays had a large influence in 20th century theatre. His plays were written in the early 1920s. -
Women's Suffrage Movement
While this was not a form of art, it was important to modernism. This movement helped in supporting the idea that pre-war ideas should be changed. The movement may not have impacted the art directly, but it did support the overall movement and was an important event for Modernism. On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified, which was the first time that women were said to have equal rights as men and allow them to vote. -
Expressionism Play- "Machinal"
The play "Machinal" was a play written by Sophie Treadwell. It was an expressionism play inspired by a real-life case of the murderer Ruth Snyder. The play is overall an "examination of the ways society can provoke a woman’s self-destruction." The women is pressured into marrying a man, and fights with haring him. An affair causes her to realize what she is missing in her marriage and causes her to murder her husband. -
Surrealism Play- "The Seashell and the Clergyman"
"The Seashell and the Clergyman" was directed by Germaine Dulac, though it was written by Antonin Artuad. This film, like many others, was met with unrest. There was a small riot over this film and it was not considered "mainstream entertainment." This film shows how easily things can fade into one another. -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression had a large impact on Modernism. With the collapse of the economy and many Americans left searching for jobs, it created a disoriented version of "The American Dream." This fueled modernism as people questioned their way of life and "traditional" ways of doing things. -
The Federal Theatre Project
The Federal Theatre Project was the first time that the government financially supported the theatre. This was done during the Great Depression, which gave jobs to many unemployed professionals, such as directors, actors, and even stage technicians, and many more. This gave people free and uncensored theatre. -
Bureau of Motion Picture Affairs
The Bureau of Motion Picture Affairs was created during the time of Modernism and during World War II. It was created to coordinate with Hollywood filmmakers to promote America and demote other countries that were against them. An example of a movie that was made is "The Devil with Hitler," which was a movie to show him working with the Devil. America used film to promote themselves in the war. -
The Theatre of the Absurd
This movement was given the name in 1960 by Martin Esslin in an "attempt to clarify and define" the movement. This movement included many distinguished plays, which were called "anti-plays." These plays were created to show that the world was "meaningless." Many highlighted the question of why people existed at all, many times with no answer. This movement lasted from about 1940-1960. The movement followed the collapse of many structures in the world such as religion and politics. -
Post Modernism
After modernism itself occurred, there was a more general acceptance of new forms of art. One of the important ideas in post-modernism was that there was more meaning behind how the art was made rather than the art itself. The belief that anything could be used to make art and that it could take any form was also important during this time after modernism.
