Exploring Modern Culture: US Alienation and Its Effects on Art - Essay Sample

Introduction

Modern culture is a phenomenon that provides new insights into the ancient civilizations, nature of beliefs, and the present time culture. The contemporary culture in America is cited for having begun in the twentieth century, taking new forms spurred by the ever-changing population and technological advancements. The US has experienced alienation, which has led to conflicts among the citizens leading to fleeing of some artists. In modern culture, there is a close relationship between materialism and power rather than the relationships between Native Americans and 'aliens.' In this essay, I will discuss on the wars and conflicts as depicted in the United States modern culture over time and the possible limits of modern culture.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Typically, modern American culture is defined by war deeply rooted in the historical civil war. The precursors to modern war culture include the 1926 Scopes Trial and the modernist controversy during the turn of the twentieth century (Hunter, 1992, p. 669). However, the modern culture in America began to experience war and conflicts during and after the First World War, when the identity politics and religious discourse were on the lead. During the period of World War I, there was the alienation of the artists and intellectuals from the United States as a result of civilization failure. This alienation created conflict between the individuals and the supposedly devoted nation in the sense that they were deprived of the freedom to the extent that some writers like Earnest Hemingway and Stein left the United States for Paris (Joubin 2018). In the 1920s, modern culture period, the Americans battled with conformism as a result of consumerism, therefore abandoning their identity.

In the struggle for democracy, women participated in World War I and proved to the United States nation that they deserved equal representation. In the 19th century, the abolitionist movement strongly called for freedom of women to end the slavery that intimidated the female gender. In the rebellion formed at that period, the women leaders challenged the irony presented in advocating for the African American rights, which were not enjoyed at all. In this case, the early culture of the United States did not recognize the responsibility of women in political leadership. But in modern culture, women are allowed to get involved in the political context. In 1920, women were granted the right to vote through the passing of the 19th amendment, and they ultimately embarked on the "second-wave" feminism. Women began working through "women's work" as a result of the great depression from the fact that men lost their jobs. Some feminist icons such as Rosie the Riveter participated in the industries previously set aside for men. Eventually, women were able to get equal pay according to their work efforts through the 1963 Equal Pay Act.

According to James Davidson Hunter in his 1991 publication "Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America," there emerged polarization and dramatic realignment in the twentieth century defined by ethnicity, ideological world views, nominal religion, and social class. The race is ultimately the center of war and conflicts which emerged as a result of immigration to the United States by people who were considered as 'aliens' by the Native Americans. The discernible conflict is among the Mexican immigrants who seemingly battle with questions about their national identity. In the early 19th century, the ethnic groups in America, especially Mexican immigrants, were discriminated against and ignored by national corporations because they were stereotyped as lazy (Hunter, 1992, p. 672). The main struggle for the Mexican immigrants was securing job opportunities from the native-born Americans because the 'aliens' would not be easily assimilated to American life.

The other evident aspect of modern culture is the religious disparity in conservative politics. The culturally conservative Christians formed a firm block in American society to resist the 1960s changes that legalized contraception, same-sex marriage, and divorce. Conflict, in this case, is derived from the sense that religion is associated with conservative politics, and therefore Christianity is practically motivated by politics. Since the 1980s, Christians have aligned themselves with the Republican Party because it opposed same-sex marriage. Consequently, there emerged a counter-reaction between 1990 and early 2000s, which created the sense of "Americans with no religious affiliation," generally known as "nones." In the 1950s, only 3% of the Americans admitted that they have no religious affiliations. Still, due to the motivation in the political spectrum, the number of "nones" in the United States is more than the Roman Catholics and evangelicals (Joubin, 2018, p. 245).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the modern culture set limits for the American people, redefining the 'aliens' as second-class citizens. During the World War, I period, America had cultural conventions, which include second-wave feminism and the black power movement. The discernible conflict is among the Mexican immigrants who seemingly battle with questions about their national identity. The realms of culture in America, such as sex and family life, religion, flags, and news media, are the battlefronts that define the modern culture. For instance, the middle-class Victorians kept discreet silence on matters of sex during the nineteenth century. Still, the progressive era reformers forced public discussions related to prostitution in the twentieth century.

References

Hunter, J. D., (1992) "Culture Wars: The Struggle to Define America" (New York: Basic Books, ISBN 0-465-01534-4

Joubin, A. (2018). " Shakespeare Theatre Company's Macbeth and the Limits of Multiculturalism." Early Modern Culture 13 (2018): 240-246. Early Modern Culture, 13, 240-246.