Expressionism

Do you ever feel that history is spinning out of control, and you feel disoriented and disillusioned by where things are heading? Have you ever thought that others' expectations of you weigh down your life, and you just want to do what you want? If you said yes to these questions, you have quite a few things in common with Expressionism, a movement that is more than 100 years old.

Expressionism meaning

Born out of growing disillusionment in society, the Expressionists wanted a total break from tradition. Expressionism revolted against two previous movements called Realism and Naturalism, of which the former was criticised for their bourgeois and middle-class representations.

Unlike these movements, Expressionism refused to believe that one can accurately portray life by focusing on the exterior world. Instead, they thought the inner world was real rather than the external world. Expressionists wanted to show life beyond the surface and tap into the emotions and inner spirit of the individual. As such, an emphasis is placed on the individual and their subjective self-expression.

Expressionism is also characterised by themes of disillusion, disorientation and alienation. This is influenced by the historical context, as Expressionists found themselves at a time of great upheaval resulting from an increasingly urbanised and mechanised world.

The movement is heavily influenced by the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche and the desire to intensify and enhance the experience of life.

History of expressionism

While Expressionism as a literary movement started in the early 20th century, Expressionism in painting can be traced back to earlier.

The term's first use was in 1850 to categorise paintings with strong emotions. Then in 1905, four German architecture students in Dresden founded Die Brücke (the Bridge), which is perceived as the forerunner of Expressionism. Later in 1911, Expressionism gained popularity through the artist group Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) in Munich, established 1911 by founders such as Wassily Kandinsky.

Expressionism began to spread to other artistic mediums, with playwrights, poets, directors, and musicians penning Expressionist techniques. While Expressionism is most predominant in Germany (sometimes called German Expressionism), it also expanded to writers in Austria, Russia, France and the US.

Historical context

Expressionism arose out of a period of great societal and political upheaval. The Industrial Revolution had created an extensively mechanised and industrialised world. Industry and machines often hold a central role in Expressionist texts, such as Georg Kaiser's Gas trilogy (1917–1919), which is set in a gas plant. The film Metropolis (1927), directed by Fritz Lang, depicts an unequal society where the working class becomes a cog in the machine.

The outbreak of World War One horrified and yet inspired Expressionism. While some artists from Der Blaue Reiter lost their lives in the war, other writers took pen to paper to depict the horrors of mass death and destruction.

World War One shattered the concept that things will always get better and technology will improve our lives. Expressionist texts presented a modern disillusioned society whose values and beliefs had been destroyed in the chaos of war.

Influence of Friedrich Nietzsche

The philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche profoundly influenced the Expressionist movement.

In Thus Spake Zarathustra (1885), Nietzsche famously declared that 'God is dead!' Namely, humans have killed God by no longer believing in him, yet we have removed any real sense of meaning in our lives. Rather than seeking external sources of meaning, such as God or money, Nietzsche proposed the concept of the Übermensch: "Beyond Human".

This philosophy greatly influenced Expressionism, as we will see later as we explore the characteristics of the "New Man" in Expressionism.

Friedrich Nietzsche.

Expressionism characteristics

Here we will look at key characteristics of Expressionism found in many plays, poems and films.

Abstraction of character

Realism presented characters with complex psychological and social backgrounds. Instead, Expressionism thought that defining a character would limit the text. Expressionists believed that the audience would become too distracted by the superficial details instead of focusing on the principles they symbolise. Instead, characters become types reduced to their social function. Characters are symbolic of society.

This lack of individuality could point to a loss of self and identity in modernity: characters become interchangeable, and human beings are reduced to hollow speakers.

Fragmented structure

Expressionism often abandons conventional structure, where the scenes, sentences or words are clearly and logically linked. Instead, expressionist texts are structured into stations: a loosely knitted succession of autonomous scenes.

These events are only disjointedly related. This means that the only underlying narrative thread is the protagonist's presence.

The fragmented structure was meant to mirror life in a post-meaning world. As life is purely a collection of unrelated events that we inhabit, our presence is the only constant. Life is merely the narrative that we decide to draw from these random events.

The fragmented structure also means that the events are not determined by narrative but by character development. Individuals should focus their energy on creating their personal narrative amongst the sea of the meaninglessness of life.

Pursuit to become the "New Man"

Expressionism is greatly influenced by Nietzsche's concept of Übermensch. Expressionism wanted to facilitate the "New Man" and the regeneration of humanity. They wanted their characters – and society – to move past the social pretensions and constructions and live their lives entirely on their own terms. This "New Man" would construct a world to live entirely by their desires rather than be shaped by society's expectations.

Suddenly free from the weight of society and external pressures to conform and work, the enlightened being could realise the full potential of human existence.

While Expressionism often focused on the pursuit of becoming the "New Man", this individual renewal is not always successful.

Types of expressionism

Expressionism was a movement spanning multiple mediums involving poetry, drama, prose, art, music, and film. Below, we will look at the mediums of theatre, film, and poetry.

Expressionist theatre

Expressionist theatre is characterised by:

• The episodic structure of stations

• Jagged and dynamic set and stage design

• Frequent monologues and soliloquies reveal the workings of the mind

• Highly stylised and dramatic costume and makeup

• Regular use of exclamation marks and short sentences.

Expressionist film

In the new and exciting medium of the early 20th century, directors soon took the Expressionist techniques from drama to film. The burgeoning film culture in Germany at the time, which rivalled Hollywood, led to an incredible array of Expressionist films.

Expressionist poetry

Characteristics of Expressionist poetry include:

• Ecstatic lyricism

• Lack of clear meter or form

• Telegram style

• Condensed poetry with strings of nouns and verbs

• Removal of all superfluous descriptions as they wanted to present feeling in its purest form.

Importance of expressionism

Expressionism marked a radical shift in expression. As one of the leading modernist movements, Expressionism paved the way for other literary movements such as The Theatre of the Absurd.

Expressionism also hugely influenced Epic Theatre, a concept proposed by Bertolt Brecht. In fact, Bertolt Brecht’s early plays were Expressionist. Expressionism wanted to ignite renewal, which Epic Theatre drew upon. As the latter more explicitly wished to change the audience and society through didactic elements. Both also use the abstraction of characters.