MODERNISM

Modernists identified a crisis in their modern world.

1900’s-1960’s

For one thing, WWI had completely revolutionized warfare… for the worse.

Never had it been so easy to kill so many people so quickly.

Industrialism also required people to abide by “clock time.” Instead of waking

with the sun and sleeping when it became dark, they scheduled their days

around what time it was.

Modernists thought that the further we get

from our essential natures as beings making things we

need for ourselves, the more

alienated we become from ourselves and each other.

Question One

What are some causes of modernism?

Because of all these reasons, some modernists rebelled against the modern world by looking at things in new ways.

They were, in a sense, running away from reality.

They were deciding what wasn’t really “real.”

Modernism in architecture threw away the rules and insisted on new materials and new forms.

Modernists also threw away rules that had to do with language.

somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond any experience,your eyes have their silence: in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me, or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look easily will unclose me though i have closed myself as fingers, you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens (touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose

or if your wish be to close me, i and my life will shut very beautifully ,suddenly, as when the heart of this flower imagines the snow carefully everywhere descending;

Ugly or beautiful, they tried to recreate what was

“normal” in their world.

Questions Two and Three

•What is an example of modern art, architecture, or writing?• Please define modernism in

your own words.

By the time Postmodernism started, it seemed like

nobody believed in much of anything any more. Maybe

you can see this in your own world.

But also from the loss of reality that characterized

modernism emerged a new sense of PLAY.

Postmodernists are sometimes said to reject what is considered “real art.”

Postmodernism…• Is conceptual (interested in ideas as well as artistic value)• Is ambiguous or complex• Looks at multiple points of view (leading to the idea that

truth is relative, rather than there being only one TRUTH)• Draws attention to conventions• Is absurd (delights in things that are bizarre)• Feels comfortable not having any answers

Question Four: Come up with three guesses of movies, books, tv shows, musical acts, or visual art that might be considered postmodern.

Let’s look at some questions postmodern artists and critics like to ask.

Who is to be imitated?

Is there really anything new to say anymore?

Pastiche is a technique using tongue-in-cheek imitations of pop culture.

Question Five:

What is another tv show or movie that uses PASTICHE?

Another big question is…

Are postmodernists

celebrating fame/capitalism/ pop culture… or critiquing it?

Or playing with a little bit of both?

Postmodernists also askWho is a hero?

Whose point of view deserves to be heard?Again, they are playing with traditions.

Questions Six and Seven:• Name a tv show or movie

with an unconventional hero.• Name a tv show or movie

that gives multiple points of view, especially from characters who are from groups that were historically marginalized.

Likewise, if many have 1) stopped believing in grand narratives (like religion, marxism,

traditional storytelling…) and even2) buying into the story itself as being true,

how can postmodernists tell stories?Question Eight:Name another movie, story, or comic that tells a story in a new, non-traditional way.

In short, postmodernists are asking, What is really art?

And finally, postmodernism is about embracing the unexpected…

to varying results....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_l5MJDssGE

Last Question: Please define Postmodernism in your own words. I know this is a hard one! Bonus points available for creative answers!