CHAPTER 31 Years of Crisis

31:1 Postwar Uncertainty

A New Revolution in Science Impact of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity: – Albert Einstein: German-born physicist – Theory of relativity: Einstein’s ideas about interrelationships between time and space and between energy and matter – Uncertainty and relativity replaces Isaac Newton’s absolute laws of motion and gravity

Influence of Freudian Psychology: – Sigmund Freud: Austrian physician; psychologist & personality theorist – Unconscious vs. conscious mind – id, ego, superego – Much of human behavior is irrational – Ideas weakens people’s faith in reason

Literature in the 1920s WWI brutality influences writers, philosophers – Question accepted ideas about reason, progress – Disillusioned by war; fear for future – Doubts about traditional religious beliefs – Writers create disturbing visions of present and future

– American poet T.S. Eliot writes that Western society has lost its spiritual values – Describes postwar modern world as a barren “wasteland” drained of hope and faith – Irish poet William Butler Yeats writes about forthcoming dark times

Writers Reflect Society’s Concerns: – Czech-born author Franz Kafka writes The Trial (1925) and The Castle (1926); eerie novels about characters caught in threatening situations they can neither understand nor escape – Many novels show Freudian influence; theory of the unconscious mind

– James Joyce writes Ulysses (1922); stream- of-consciousness novel – Story focuses on the lives of three people in Dublin, Ireland – Joyce breaks with normal sentence structure and vocabulary in an attempt to mirror inner workings of the human mind

Thinkers React to Uncertainties: – Existentialism: philosophy based on the idea that people give meaning to their lives through their choices and actions – Jean Paul Sartre: French philosopher, existentialist pioneer – Friedrich Nietzsche: German philosopher; American ideas such as reason, democracy, & progress have stifled creativity; urged return to ancient heroic values: pride, assertiveness, strength

Revolution in the Arts Artists Rebel Against Tradition: – Rebel against realism; expressionist painters Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky use bold colors and distorted or exaggerated forms – Georges Braque (France), Pablo Picasso (Spain) found Cubism (1907); cubism transforms natural shapes into geometric forms

– Surrealism: 20 th -century artistic movement that focuses on the workings of the unconscious mind; a link between the world of dreams and real life – Inspired by Freudian psychology – Surreal: beyond or above reality – Salvador Dali: Spanish artist, surrealist

Composers Try New Styles: – Classical, popular composers move away from traditional styles – Russian composer Igor Stravinsky uses irregular rhythms and dissonances – Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg uses new harmonies and musical scales – Jazz: 20 th -century style of popular music developed mainly by African-American musicians (New Orleans, Memphis, Chicago); reflect new freedom of the age

Society Challenges Convention Women’s Roles Change: – Contribution to war effort changes opinions – Women’s suffrage movement earns women right to vote – Women abandon restrictive styles – Margaret Sanger, Emma Goldman fight for birth control – Women work in traditionally male professions

Technological Advances Improve Life The Automotive Alters Society: – Innovations: electric starters, air-filled tires, more powerful engines – Sleek look; headlights, chrome bumpers – Middle class can afford cars – People begin to travel for pleasure; creation and growth of suburbs

Airplanes Transform Travel: – 1919: British pilots make first flight across Atlantic Ocean – 1927: American pilot Charles Lindbergh makes 33 hour solo flight from New York to Paris – 1920s: passenger airlines created – 1932: Amelia Earhart becomes first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic

Radio & Movies Dominate Popular Entertainment: – 1895: Guglielmo Marconi conducts first successful radio experiments – 1920: KDKA becomes first commercial radio station – Radio stations from every major city begin broadcasting news, plays, live sporting events

– 1920s: many countries start producing movies – Hollywood becomes motion picture capital of the world; most American films made for entertainment – English-born Charlie Chaplin becomes silent movie legend – Sound transforms movies in the late 1920s