Culture of the 20th century as a counteraction to spirituality and materiality

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

Compared to previous eras, the culture of the 20th century had an extraordinary flowering. The scale and depth of new discoveries in almost all areas of art (science, literature, painting, etc.) were stunning. However, with the advent of a large number of scientific developments, society became more and more material. And the masters of enlightenment, in turn, experienced deep disappointment due to the fact that humanity replaced its spiritual values with material ones, ceasing to understand the surrounding world and itself.

The development of science has led to the fact that knowledge began to spread everywhere through public lectures and periodicals. The advent of natural science turned the understanding of most philosophical theories upside down, due to which the followers of Marxism and materialism became less and less. Thus, the culture of the 20th century radically changed its values in the field of spirituality.

Some creative people began to consider in their works the experiences and feelings of one individual, calling to escape from dull reality into dreams and mysticism. This direction in art was called decadence. There is another newcurrent - modernism, which opposed the classical aesthetic experience of mankind, reflecting the subjective perception of the author. His goal was to strive for experimentation, innovation with the help of modern technical capabilities. However, some authors have gone beyond this and warned readers about the dangers of the technogenic world. Modernism was a complex movement and had several directions (futurism, symbolism, etc.), all of them denied realistic art.

But it cannot be said that the culture of the 20th century completely ceased to follow traditions. Part of the work remained faithful to realism, which truthfully and deeply expounded the complex history of the country. Other currents also opposed modernism, defending old principles. The great masters of the word, such as Chekhov, Tolstoy, Gorky, continued their work. These and other cultural figures of the 20th century made a significant contribution to classical literature.

Modernism also manifested itself in the visual arts. Because of this, another concept appeared - "avant-garde". It characterizes different trends and schools that oppose traditional norms and rules (about beauty, color, plot), presenting modern and original works. The driving force for them was innovation and renewal.

The musical culture of the 20th century also underwent some changes, retaining, however, some continuity with classical music.

Increased interest in spirituality revealed by composers(Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninov, Scriabin) in the lyricism of their works. Rapprochement with the cultures of other countries gradually formed completely new directions.

In general, the culture of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century was a complex philosophical search, which was displayed in numerous currents, each of which put forward its own worldview and its own goals.