Modernism was a philosophical and artistic movement that began to surface in the early 20th century. The movement surrounded the rejection of traditional values and ideas as a result of the atrocities seen during WWI and an increasing awareness of injustices and poverty in the world. As a result, people began to realize the fragility of the human condition and so the movement sparked revolutionary thinking.
Modernists believed themselves part of this revolutionary culture, which did include a political revolution. However, many believed that Modernism was a revolution of the consciousness and far more important than any political change.
Many modernists rejected pop culture and consumerism e.g. T.S Eliot. Modernist literature in turn divided society and helped to sustain an elite culture, one from which the majority were excluded. It was only in the Post-War years when the two cultures began to merge that Modernism took on a whole new definition -the movement which had rejected tradition had now become a tradition in itself and the divisional lines between elite Modernist and consumer culture were blurred. This is largely considered the beginning of the Post-Modern era.
