Date: February 16-18

Topic: Trendsetting and the Modernist Movement 

In Kovarik’s fourth chapter in Revolutions in Communication detailing the history of photography, a common theme is the “breakthrough” and its frequent appearance throughout the 1800s and 1900s as the science and technology behind photography progressed at a breakneck rate. Once the mechanisms behind photography were more or less well established, trends and movements began to appear and interact. A particularly interesting conflict occurred as the pictorialist movement to popularity. In response, photographers like Paul Strand spearheaded the Straight Photography movement focused on clear, sharp images, counteracting the “soft visual effects in artistic poses” of pictorialism which “did not take advantage of the new medium” (Kovarik, p. 161).

A similar reaction came from Henrik Ibsen in response to the then-popular “well-made play,” which essentially focused on a suspenseful, melodramatic plot line rather than well-developed characters (Zarilli, p. 391). The theater of Ibsen’s time was also one of increasing spectacle as technological advances sprang up. In response, Ibsen began to write plays that were relatively simple in set, but verbally complex and deep. These later developed into works like “A Doll House,” which directly confront issues in the Norwegian middle class, or the “bourgeois” (Norton Anthology of Drama, p. 719). In this way, Ibsen also parallels the trend of muckraking photography, which spread images of inequalities to expose societal evils (Kovarik, p. 163). Ibsen’s unique style, emerging from his response to contemporary theater, was a large part of the “breakthrough” of modernist theater.

However, according to Zarilli et al. in their analysis of the modernist movement, “both Ibsen and Chekhov believed that photography, the basis of realist theatre, had little to reveal about human experience” (p. 390). While Ibsen’s stylistic development mirrors that of photography, he was not a huge supporter of the art or its social impacts. He preferred to aim for a higher plane with his works, reflecting the transcendental views of Kant in which the highest achievement is non-material self-realization (Zarilli, p. 390). This is evident in “A Doll House” as Nora goes through crisis only to find that she has never been allowed to grow outside of a man’s household and social constructs, being passed “from Papa’s hands into [Torvald’s]” (Norton Anthology of Drama, p. 766). At the time, this abrupt desertion of a family and husband by a wife was completely shocking to audiences. However, in present day, it is much easier to accept this behavior as a woman finding independence, and consequently, herself.

A few questions:

While a connection between Kant and Ibsen is easy to forge, what about with another contemporary “thinker” like those we studied in class? Specifically, in “A Doll House,” are Torvald’s interactions and perceptions of Nora (much like a child) reminiscent of Freud’s theories?

If Nora had an Instagram account, what would she post pictures of? How would her feed change as she experiences this abrupt change in thinking?

Finally, I found this interesting short film (~9 minutes) from 2012 in response to “A Doll House”:

-Phoebe Thompson