Age of Enlightenment
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| - | + | During the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], many of the French free-thinkers began to exploit pornography as a medium of [[social criticism]] and [[satire]]. [[Libertine]] pornography such as ''[[Thérèse Philosophe]]'' (1748) was a [[subversive]] social commentary and often targeted the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic Church]] and general attitudes of [[sexual repression]]. The market for the mass-produced, inexpensive pamphlets soon came to the bourgeoisie, making the [[upper class]] worry, as in [[England]], that the morals of the lower class and weak-minded would be corrupted since women, slaves and the uneducated were seen as especially vulnerable during that time. The stories and illustrations (sold in the galleries of the [[Palais Royal]], along with services of prostitutes) were often [[anti-clerical]] and full of misbehaving priests, monks and nuns, a tradition that in [[French pornography]] continued into the 20th century. In the period leading up to the [[French Revolution]], pornography was also used as political commentary; [[Marie Antoinette]] was often targeted with fantasies involving [[orgies]], [[lesbian]] activities and the paternity of her children, and rumors circulated about the supposed [[sexual inadequacies]] of [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]]. | |
| - | During the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], many of the French free-thinkers began to exploit pornography as a medium of social criticism and [[satire]]. [[Libertine]] pornography was a subversive social commentary and often targeted the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic Church]] and general attitudes of sexual repression. The market for the mass-produced, inexpensive pamphlets soon became the bourgeoisie, making the upper class worry, as in [[England]], that the morals of the lower class and weak-minded would be corrupted since women, slaves and the uneducated were seen as especially vulnerable during that time. The stories and illustrations (sold in the galleries of the [[Palais Royal]], along with services of prostitutes) were often [[anti-clerical]] and full of misbehaving priests, monks and nuns, a tradition that in French pornography continued into the 20th century. In the period leading up to the [[French Revolution]], pornography was also used as political commentary; [[Marie Antoinette]] was often targeted with fantasies involving orgies, lesbian activities and the paternity of her children, and rumors circulated about the supposed sexual inadequacies of [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]]. | + | |
Revision as of 23:50, 6 January 2008
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The Enlightenment was an 18th century counterculture which opposed religious superstition and advocated rational thinking. It culminated in the American and French revolutions, as well as the Industrial Revolution.
The motto of enlightenment is therefore: "Sapere aude! Have courage to use your own intelligence!" --Immanuel Kant
- "Media, as we know it, first emerged at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Papers, journals, broadsheets, all became widely available in the new created public space of the coffeehouse. [...] The popular market for art and literature liberated writers and artists from the need for court patronage. No longer having to please their sponsors, they could experiment, and speak out as brashly as they wished." --Ken Goffman via Counterculture Through the Ages, p. 162
The Enlightenment was followed by Romanticism, which was a reaction against the rationalization of nature by the Enlightenment.
Contents |
Contemporary art movements
baroque - rococo - neoclassicism
Key people
Denis Diderot - Immanuel Kant - Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Marquis de Sade - Spinoza - Voltaire
Era
1650s - 1660s - 1670s - 1680s - 1690s - 1700s - 1710s - 1720s - 1730s - 1740s - 1750s - 1760s - 1770s - 1780s - 1790s
Related:
anti-clericalism - capitalism (rise of) - clandestine and anonymous publishing - libertine - materialism - radical politics - reason (main trope) - French Revolution - Industrial Revolution (rise of) - print culture (result of)
Compare
Historians and texts
- Dialectic of Enlightenment (1944) - Horkheimer and Adorno -
- Robert Darnton
- John Mullan
- Peter Gay
Encyclopédie
The French Encyclopédie was a quintessential summary of thought and belief of the Enlightenment. It tried to destroy superstitions and provide access to human knowledge. In ancien régime France it caused a storm of controversy, however. This was mostly due to its religious tolerance (though this should not be exaggerated; the article on "Atheism" defended the state's right to persecute and to execute atheists). The encyclopedia praised Protestant thinkers and challenged Catholic dogma. The entire work was banned; but because it had many highly placed supporters, work continued and each volume was delivered clandestinely to subscribers.
Libertine freethinkers
During the Enlightenment, many of the French free-thinkers began to exploit pornography as a medium of social criticism and satire. Libertine pornography such as Thérèse Philosophe (1748) was a subversive social commentary and often targeted the Catholic Church and general attitudes of sexual repression. The market for the mass-produced, inexpensive pamphlets soon came to the bourgeoisie, making the upper class worry, as in England, that the morals of the lower class and weak-minded would be corrupted since women, slaves and the uneducated were seen as especially vulnerable during that time. The stories and illustrations (sold in the galleries of the Palais Royal, along with services of prostitutes) were often anti-clerical and full of misbehaving priests, monks and nuns, a tradition that in French pornography continued into the 20th century. In the period leading up to the French Revolution, pornography was also used as political commentary; Marie Antoinette was often targeted with fantasies involving orgies, lesbian activities and the paternity of her children, and rumors circulated about the supposed sexual inadequacies of Louis XVI.
