Technological & Scientific Revolution: Sound, Image & Culture

A New Techno-Scientific Revolution: Sound and Image

The experimental method advanced rapidly, bringing specialized knowledge about reality and matter in the fields of organic chemistry, physics, biology, and medicine. Technology improved health, life expectancy, and the daily lives of people. In the 1920s, wireless telegraphy allowed communication across borders through broadcasters and radio receivers. Homes began receiving news and entertainment programs very quickly through sound. In the 1930s, politicians used radio for electoral proposals. People saw the first films, and film with sound was more powerful, leaving behind the old silent films. The Warner Brothers crisis introduced sound film.

The Impact of Science on the Mind

A progressive and permanent optimistic myth appeared to solve all sorts of human problems; it was called scientism. For positivism, metaphysics and religion no longer served to explain the enigmas of humanity. In physics, determinism, which was attributed to science, was questioned, and the concepts of relativism and probability were opposed.

The Cultural Crisis

Changes in the economy and society, advances in science and technology, and the massacre of the First World War led to a crisis of conscience in Europe.

Crisis of Conscience in Europe

The bourgeoisie, feeling secure and proud, had clear hegemony in the world. However, the intellectuals and artists of this period began questioning this apparent solidity. Albert Einstein questioned the existence of absolute laws, certainties, and common sense. Pavlov showed conditioned reflexes and challenged individual freedom, and Sigmund Freud undermined traditional morality. We all agree on a proliferation of various pictorial distillations characterized by traditional norms.

The Interwar Period Crisis

World War I and the Russian Revolution were a brutal shock, accelerating the crisis of European awareness of traditional values: rationalism, confidence in scientific and technical progress, patriotism, faith in God, and respect for major figures in philosophy. The crisis was well reflected in the works of existentialism, especially by the German philosopher Martin Heidegger.