How Modernism Has Shaped Society

Throughout history mankind has changed greatly. One way we can see this change is through Modernism. Modernism changed mankind’s general thoughts and can be seen through the changes in art and music, and the theories of Sigmund Freud and Charles Darwin. Modernism is a character or quality of thought, expression or a technique that goes against the classical or traditional norms.

One example of how Modernism changed mankind is seen in the changes in art and music during the modern era. Music was very cheerful and energetic before Modernism took over. For example, the song Antonio Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons Movement I:Spring (1725) which is very cheerful and springy was written before Modernism. In rebellion to this, music became more dramatic and harsh to the ears, though people liked that it was harsh and thought it was good. One of the songs that exemplifies Modernism is George Crumb’s Black Angels (1971). This song is very dramatic and expressive and arguably hard to listen to.

Another example is seen in the change in Art. At the very beginning of the modern era, art was all about the detail and the background and how realistic it could be. One of the paintings at the beginning of Modernism was the Louis XIV of France by Hyacinthe Rigaud (1854). This painting has a lot of detail and very bold colors and looks almost like a photograph because of the detail. After a while, many painters wanted to be different and make their paintings more organic and abstract. One painter was Edvard Munch. One of his paintings called The Scream (1893) has very free and organic lines and even looks like something someone would paint in fourth grade. His painting has a very different touch and feeling to it visually, which has made it very famous. Throughout the modern era mankind changed their opinion of what is good art and music.

In addition, Sigmund Freud changed the way mankind thought through the modern era. Before Modernism, mankind was prim and proper and never discussed inappropriate or deeply emotional things. Freud however, brought new ideas during the modern era that were interesting and logical. One of his ideas, or conspiracy theories, was that when we are lilttle that we are sextually attracted to our parents. He says that because they are our primary source of love, that we become attracted to them. He also said that we are only attracted to one of our parents and not to the other one, so that is why we love one more the other one. That was called the anal phase. Another thought or conspiracy was that because of the way we see our parents love each other, it affects how we see the world and love people who come into our life, as well as how we love other people.

Not only did Sigmund Freud bring new ideas but another thinker, Charles Darwin, brought new ideas during the modern era. He changed the way mankind believed in the beginning of life. People previously believed the Bible and that God created man. After Darwin’s theory of evolution, people began to change their mind. Then they applied his ideas to all parts of life (political, social, economical) and began having problems. For instance, humanity used their power to justify political, social or economic views and this was Darwin’s idea of the survival of the fittest.

In conclusion, with the example and reasons shown, one can see that mankind changed greatly with the ideas and conspiracies of Freud and Darwin. Mankind also changed the way they expressed themselves in art and music. Modernism shaped the way mankind is today by giving much more freedom in the art world as well as the thought world.