The Real Midnight in Paris Quotes

“The collection of expatriate artists who gathered in Paris following the Great War was a diverse group, representing various backgrounds, occupations, and nationalities.”

“The left bank of the Seine River became and outpost for an entire generation of the dispossessed and disillusioned.”

“Some were too young to fight and became the stay-at-homes, feeling perhaps that the Great Event of their generation had passed them by. Some were pacifists and denounced the senseless killing created by production line warfare. This group of young artists, most of them born between 1895 and 1900, would become known as the Lost Generation.”

“Paris, a city so perilously close to the war, became a refuge for artists throughout the 1920s.”

“Frustration, disillusionment and a profound sense of loss came to characterize the war-weary survivors and influenced their artistic productions.”

“Paris also held on to Old World charms, with quiet streets seemingly unchanged since the last century. It was an age before the automobile had taken over the streets, and the romantic image of Paris became a cliche marketing gimmick.”

“Prior to the conflict, Europe had enjoyed decades of relative peace and stability. This stability resulted from a series of mutual defense pacts that deterred nations from seeking military solutions to disagreements with their neighbors. Additionally, the experience of so many years of peace led to a citizenry across Europe that became naive about warfare.”

“Prohibition had become the law of the land, yet organized crime and the political machine appeared to walk in lock step. Conservative values dictated the status quo, censoring artistic productions and regulating personal conduct.”

“The purpose of the salon was partly to entertain and partly to educate the guests. By sharing ideas and debating philosophical points, artists found new inspiration for their work.”

“Young men who had fought for an uncertain cause had equally uncertain about their place in modern America. An exodus was, therefore, underway, led by artists and intellectuals in search of less restrictive intellectual climates.”

“The war was undoubtedly the most profound and inescapable influence on writers in the 1920s. [...] Social, political, and aesthetic developments were percolating throughout the first part of the 20th century. In Paris, this influences coalesced in an environment that encouraged rather than stifled their growth. ”

“Modernism in art contributed to the new and challenging literary styles that were emerging in Paris and throughout Europe.[...] The new generation of writers believed that the elaborate language so typical of 19th century literature was a decadence.”

“The climate of intellectual freedom and experimentation was unlike anywhere else in the Western world.”

“The atmosphere was heady. One could find a party with relative ease on any day of the week. However, it wouldn’t be fair to say that the Lost Generation was hedonistic or irresponsible. As a whole, the various writers of the group maintained high levels of productivity and creativity throughout the turbulent twenties.”

“Perceptive individuals the not quite intelligible feeling that something had gone terribly wrong and would never again be right.”

“The puritanical, conservative value system of America was stifling after the soldiers’ experience in Europe. At the same time, corruption at all levels of government was commonplace.”

“In all their guises, the Lost Generation shared another thing - they experienced firsthand the seismic shift in culture that signaled the painful birth of the Modern World.”

“A return to the past, however impossible, was the yearning of many artists and intellectuals.”

“Many nations were plagued with bankruptcy, inflation, and a flood of shell-shocked war veterans. A spell of innocence and calm had been broken - an indefinable something was lost, never to be recovered. Everyone struggled to make sense of the new world and, if possible, extract meaning from the violence of the war.”

“The salon existed in opposition to university lecture halls. Guests believed that knowledge and culture could both be enhanced via intelligent dialogue.”