Key terms:
Totalitarianism:
Totalitarianism is a political system in which the state has total control over all aspects of people’s lives, such as their thoughts, actions, or their ideologies. It is usually ruled by a single party, or a dictator who suppress individual freedoms and dissidents that are against the state.
Neue Sachlichkeit:
Also known as new objectivity, was a movement happened in German art and literature during the 1920s. Neue Sachlichkeit rejected the idealism and romanticism but emphasized a more realistic or objective (not influenced by personal feelings or opinions) approach of contemporary life.
Social Realism:
It is an artistic movement that emerged in the 20th century. The movement focus on social issues and working class. Social realist artists usually depict the harsh realities of life such as poverty, and social injustice. In the Soviet Union, social realism particularly represents art or music that are relevant to the workers, represents everyday life of the ordinary people, and it must support the ideology of the Soviet States.
Les Six:
Les Six was a group of six French composers in the 20th century who rejected the Romanticism and wanted to create a new more accessible style of music. Les Six musicians rejected German Romanticism composers particularly Richard Wagner, and they wanted to represent French nationalism through their music. The group includes Georges Auric, Louis Duress, Darius Milhaud, Arthur Honegger, Francis Poulenc, and Germaine Tailleferre.
Degenerate music:
Entartete Musik was a term used by Nazi regime in Germany to describe music that was considered “degenerate” or “corrupted”. During WWII when Germany was dictated under Nazi regime, anything that is too “modern” or “un-German” was considered “degenerate”. Nazi regime promoted a radical ideology that “only pure raced people can create healthy art ”, whereas those who were deemed to belong to a racially “undesirable” group were wrongfully removed from all perspective of art or music.
