Socialist realism

Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style of realistic art which has as its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism. It should not be confused with social realism, a type of art that realistically depicts subjects of social concern, although it is related.

Consequences of socialist realism

Socialist realism's rigid precepts and enforcement inevitably caused great damage to the freedom of Soviet artists to express themselves. Many artists and authors found their works censored, ignored, or rejected. Mikhail Bulgakov, for instance, was forced to write his masterwork, The Master and Margarita, in secret, despite earlier successes such as White Guard. Sergey Prokofiev found himself essentially unable to compose music during this period.

Related Topics:
Mikhail Bulgakov - The Master and Margarita - Sergey Prokofiev - Music

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The political doctrine behind socialist realism also underlay the pervasive censorship of Communist societies. Apart from obvious political considerations that saw works such as those of George Orwell being banned, access to foreign art and literature was also restricted on aesthetic grounds. So-called "bourgeois art" and all forms of experimentalism and formalism were denounced as decadent, degenerate and pessimistic, and therefore anti-Communist in principle. The works of James Joyce were particularly harshly condemned. The net effect was that it was not until the 1980s that the general public in the Communist countries were able to freely access many works of Western art and literature.

Related Topics:
George Orwell - James Joyce

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