What is Absurdism? (Modernism 5)

Do you think the world has gone cuckoo-crazy? So did the absurdists. After two world wars, the world seemed crazier, more doomed, and more determined to destroy itself than ever before. Writers and theater artists created art works that expressed the feeling that living a meaningful life seemed increasingly like a ridiculous idea. And they did it while making you laugh. It was a dark laugh for sure, what's called "gallows humor."

Featured artists include: Max Ernst, Franz Kafka, Samuel Beckett, and Eugene Ionesco.

If you're pessimistic about the the state of society, then maybe absurdism will speak to you. This is video 5 in my series on modernism.

0:00 - introduction
0:43 - questioning the rules
1:29 - dada
2:07 - The Hunger Artist
3:16 - visual arts
3:22 - World War 2
3:44 - Waiting for Godot
4:44 - Rhinoceros
5:10 - Slaughterhouse-Five
5:34 - absurdism today
5:47 - conclusion

[stevekudlo]

Perhaps absurdism is a wild attempt to find meaning?