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Samantha Ann Schwartz

Valencia College

Course: 20th Century Humanities

Futurism is Then and Now (Academic Abstract)

The Humanities are the discipline responsible for gathering and labeling history’s

evidence of human progress, regress, attitude, and communal desires and thus are useful in

understanding the Twentieth Century with all its Modernism and Postmodernism. Modernism

had all the intentions of getting under the skin of mankind until that festering became literal

shell shock. In retaliation to Modernism’s constant advancements, Postmodernism chose a

frame of reference in which no reference was even wanted. Modernism’s aggressive,

technologically inclined, experimental nature ultimately led to its demise in World War I. Having

felt the meaningless repercussions of the War, humans found impunity of meaning itself, giving

way to the Postmodern period of uncertainty. If there is any work that served as both an

invitation and prophecy of Modernism, it’s Filippo Marinetti’s Manifesto of Futurism. Marinetti

gathered followers that would attack those in denial of the world’s new provocative way of life.

He encouraged devastation in hopes of alluring those blind to what he saw as a new beauty.

However, the passion with which Marinetti wrote his manifesto could easily be mistaken for an

adrenalin rush. His impulse to inflict havoc was a cry for warriors of his own and for the warriors

of the home front. He beautified the future so much it seemed to mask the true identity of war

and glorified its image instead. Marinetti proved how vulnerable humans can become when

they become too enveloped in their own progression-enter present day. The Humanities are

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the uniting force between human progression and human emotion in that they both paint each

other’s world.

Marinetti’s Manifesto of Futurism exemplifies man’s restlessness and inability to live in

the day and the moment. It was printed on the front page of a Paris newspaper. Having been

written in 1909 it is understandable that Marinetti was trying to reject his engrained patience.

His aim was to expose people to a new wave of change. His following grew as desired and

although unconsciously, man still follows his ideas today.

Within in the Modernism period, Futurism can best describe the Twentieth Century’s

introduction as a total extermination of all things traditional. No form of human expression was

safe from the Futurism touch: paintings, music, dance, literature, and science. The traditions

then were replaced by a craving for speed, power, and technology. The craving has never

ceased to exist from then on. Figuratively speaking Marinetti’s Manifesto let the dog off the

leash and the dog has yet to return.

Basically all man began to bow down to his new technologies. Man became submissive.

So submissive in fact that during World War I (the war in which the Futurism asked for) man fell

to what his hands made: tanks, chemical warfare, sky attacks, and other volatile additions to a

war force. “We will glorify war- the world’s only hygiene- militarism, patriotism, the destructive

gesture of freedom-bringers, beautiful ideas worth dying for” (Marinetti 1141).

Marinetti spoke with an aggression that is somehow beautiful to read. His words almost

seduce the reader. “Courage, audacity, and revolt will be essential elements of our poetry…

Time and space died yesterday. We already live in the absolute, omnipresent speed” (Marinetti

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1141). He called his revolution poetry, that itself proves how beautiful Marinetti saw the

coming future. Humans today live infinitely with only consideration for tomorrow and never

today. Marinetti was so effortless in his word compilation that perhaps the readers overlooked

his combative approach to persuasion. Regardless of Marinetti’s input, man still underwent a

tremendous change and became addicted to change.

This is Jim Leach’s worry. He is frightened that the Humanities’ purpose will be

overlooked. The Humanities’ purpose is to study human change while undergoing the change

and why we are so susceptible to change. He says “Whether violence is an integral element of

the human condition or a learned response is a matter of conjecture. But non-violence is almost

certainly a practice that must be learned. From an academic perspective the most relevant

disciplines for developing social perspective are the humanities” (Leach).

The reality the world faces is what is one man’s problem is another man’s problem. Now

when one man undergoes change it is the fundamental responsibility of the other man to

compete to keep up with the change. Jim Leach urges the study of Humanities to continue for

this reason. Theoretically man- to- man influence is easier now; it’s easier to become

interlinked to our neighbors around the world, both as nations and as individuals. When a

single man’s words typed on a newspaper in 1909 are enough to awaken a corruption, it’s no

wonder every nation is on their toes in fear of rival nations. As Marinetti clearly displayed,

human emotion is within everything man accomplishes and advances. It is the responsibility of

the Humanities to keep track of said emotional advances.

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Works Cited

Leach, Jim. "A Looming Crisis in the Humanities." Neh.gov. National Endowment for the

Humanities. Oct. 2010 Web. 12 December. 2012.

Marinetti, Filippo. Founding and Manifesto of Futurism. The Humanities: Culture, Continuity,

And Change. Ed. Henry M. Sayre. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2012. Print.