Final answer:
Modernity encompasses a socio-economic, cultural, and political collection of ideas that emerged with industrialization and features secularism, optimism for change and progress, and varying attitudes towards tradition. It reflects in various aspects of life, including arts through the Modernism movement, and continues to evolve with postindustrial changes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Modernity is a socio-economic, political, and cultural constellation of ideas and values that include a variety of characteristics shaped by historical and cultural circumstances. It is a composite of contexts encompassing a time, a space, and an attitude. The industrialization era brought about a significant transformation in people’s self-perception, leading societies in industrialized areas to view themselves as progressive and modern, in contrast to what they considered as primitive societies in undeveloped countries.
Secularism and diminished religious authority characterize modernity, steering the focus of fine art towards personal emotions and subjective spiritual experiences. This era was marked by an optimistic view of change and progress, signifying a move away from traditions. The spread of modernity has reached societies with different economic bases, such as agrarian or gatherer-hunter communities, influencing institutions like mass media, wage labor, and nation-states.
Diverse forms of modernity emerged as different societies industrialized in their unique ways, some emphasizing individualism and others stressing community welfare and equality. This concept is also reflected in the arts through Modernism, a movement entailing a rejection of established authority, and emphasizing a utopian vision of human life and societal progress. Transformations towards postindustrial society have intensified certain cultural patterns such as work discipline and global trade.