Modernism in Film

Modernism is an art form and a term that grew out of the post World War II era. There are many different forms and genres that could be considered “Modernist.” This is due to the fact that there is no clear description of what Modernism is. The birth of Modernism has been formally connected with the conflict between Science and Religion.

Science and Religion have been the two main resources for answers of the world. Long ago it was religion that ruled and was the ultimate answer. But as humans became more and more advanced, so did science. Before too long science and religion were head to head and there the conflict started. To this day there are people whose belief systems are strongly planted in one or the other. Modernism is the attempt at finding solutions to worldly problems in an age where science and religion can nearly cancel each other out.

Modernism in art has two separate parts. First of all Modernism is about finding a new way to express something or one’s self. Antonioni created language with silence and images rather than words. His films are devoid of much spoken explanation as to the characters emotions. The landscapes and surroundings are the outlet for the inner feelings of the work. Painter Edward Hopper worked in the same light. His paintings are filled with empty space and few people. They seem lonely and sad. The human interaction with the environment and the overall importance of the environment are what are key in both Antonioni and Hopper. Modernism spilled into other art forms as well, such as writing. James Joyce could be considered a Modernist author. He completely altered his works by using different languages and new formats. Like most artists who work in the Modernist realm his work has taken a while for its impression to be realized. Lewis Carroll could even be considered a Modernist author, even though he does not fit the time period. He was using math and fantasy in his writings to come to some conclusion of the world.

The second component of Modernism is that the answers searched for are hardly ever found. Modernism was created so try and explain certain facets of life that the arguments of science and religion could not. However, while using new expressionist ways to create Modern works, the artists find no answers at all. They more often find more confusion.

Let’s take Antonioni for instance. At the end of Blow Up the photographer goes after the “imaginary” tennis play used by the mimes. He throws it back and then on the soundtrack we hear the tennis ball being hit back and forth. Or do we? Perhaps the photographer only hears this in some way to show a realization. Seconds before the film ends the photographer fades into the landscape. This film is the perfect example to express the second element of Modernism. The further the picture is blown up in the film the less the photographer discovers. At the end, he comes to a realization, and then disappears. The deeper one searches to find meaning, the more any meaning at all will disappear.

A contemporary example of Modernism would be the Paul Thomas Anderson film Magnolia. The film mixes several stories at the same time, all of which interact in some way with each other. The point of the film is that nothing happens by chance; everything has it own purpose and meaning. The way that Anderson goes about this is somewhat confusing however. A straight edged police offer falls for a sexually abused druggie at one point of the film. Their meeting is not by chance and that they found each other is not either. However, there are times that nothing seems to make sense at all. At the end of the film frogs fall out of the sky like rain. This is to prove that nothing simply happens, but everything has meaning. Of course, that is hard to get out of a shower of frogs, thus confusing the viewer to no end.

Modernism is, at its core, about finding answers. In Magnolia the questions asked are about everyday life. Why does one person become successful and one not? Why do people fall in and out of love? These questions are answered by saying that everything has it’s meaning and nothing is for chance. That, however, is not really an answer. The answer that is given is a roundabout one.

Modernism is a way of communication. It is a movement that tried to explain things that others did not. This really did not work though. By the definition of Modernism, there can be no true definition. It makes the viewer think and often confuses them. It perhaps is the closest we will ever get to answers though. Maybe there are no answers to the questions of life, and Modernism shows us that.

Written by David Bohnert

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