Manifesto of Futurism

by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti

Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti (22 December 1876 – 2 December 1944) was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist, and founder of the Futurist movement.

"The Manifesto of Futurism" written by the Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, initiated an artistic philosophy, Futurism, that was a rejection of the past, and a celebration of speed, machinery, violence, youth and industry; it also advocated the modernization and cultural rejuvenation of Italy.

Marinetti wrote the manifesto in the autumn of 1908 and it first appeared as a preface to a volume of his poems, published in Milan in January 1909. It was published in the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dell'Emilia in Bologna on 5 February 1909 then in French as Manifeste du futurisme (Manifesto of Futurism) in the newspaper Le Figaro on 20 February 1909.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Art, Italian Literature, Futurism, Politics, Italy

15 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1909

About the author

Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti was an Italian ideologue, poet, editor, and founder of the Futurist movement.

Reviews

[Summer · Rating 1 out of 5]

The actual ideology read like something a really 'edgy' high schooler would come up with, and the writing read like that one kid trying WAY too hard in a creative writing class.

Also, it's sort of funny how most of these ideas have at least some sort of reasoning behind them, but then there's like one part that's like 'and screw women too! They suck' and it's like damn what did I do.

am I shocked that no GoodReads review barely anyone even mentions the misogyny in this piece - no not at all. Sad we're all so used to it at this point.

Apparently, there's interesting historical context around this piece, supposedly it inspired everything from architecture to politics, which I would be more interested to learn about, but this manifesto alone sort of cheesy tbh :/

And how can you hate on Museums? Was the ROM's terracotta warriors exhibit not a formative life-changing experience for you? Did the ROMS National Geographic Photographer of the Year exhibit not instill a deep and profound wonder for the natural universe?

[Domenico Francesco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Futurism is alt-right? WTF? Why?
It's almost impossible to fully understand the Futurist movement and Marinetti's first manifesto without reading all the others which give a full view of the full movement.
Reading the 1909's manifesto outside the school context I found it even funnier and fascinating than before.
Yes, Marinetti's and futurist manifesto(s) are hyperbolic, extremely exxagerated, apparently pretentious and surely shocking for their age (and in some ways even today), but, guys, it's obviously part of the game. All the others manifestos are pretty over the top but contribute to give a good insight on how the futurist philosophical aesthetics was different was different from the upcoming Fascism. Mussolini would have been shattered in fear reading Marinetti's manifesto Against wedding (contro il matrimonio) or some of the political goals of the Futurist party, and surely, beside maybe a not-so strong practical philosophy behind, Fascism totally destroyed and cannibalized futurism's creative force. But futurist manifestos remains the symbols of one of the most original cultural phenomenon Italy has ever had, and this almost complete edition is the proof and the perfect point to start.

[Vatikanska Milosnica · Rating 4 out of 5]

reading this at 17, at the cusp of entering my brief but heartfelt fascist phase that would precede my catholic year, knocked me down like a gust of fresh and rarefied air; at 21 it seems to me tragically dated, like a madly coherent, electric, almost angelically charged (if not for the decadent subtext) doomed dream of vitality – but i was also surprised to see that it quite defiantly prophesied its own death, as in here:

When we are forty let younger and stronger men than we throw us in the waste paper basket like useless manuscripts! They will come against us from afar, leaping on the light cadence of their first poems, clutching the air with their predatory fingers and sniffing at the gates of the academies the good scent of our decaying spirits, already promised to the catacombs of the libraries. (...) And strong healthy Injustice will shine radiantly from their eyes.

[Essareh · Rating 1 out of 5]

«می‌خواهیم موزه‌ها و کتابخانه‌‌ها را نابود کنیم و با اخلاق، فمینیسم، تمام فرصت‌طلبان (!) و سودگرایان بزدل بجنگیم.»
همین کارا رو می‌کنید جنبشتون دووم نمیاره دیگه.

[federico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ignoring the actual content presented in this book, the prose is a perfect-all-killer, at least in Italian. The English translations I found were all rather meek. I tried my best to translate my favourite quotes in ways I think can better deliver the rashness of the original.

There's a chance I only like this because I'm edgy and 17 years old with a burning and violent generational hatred toward boomers.

But hey.

"Let us escape from wisdom as from a horrible shell, and let us throw ourselves, as fruits filled with the pigment of pride, in the immense and crooked mouth of the wind!... Let us make food of ourselves for the Unknown, not out of desperation, but solely to fill the deep wells of the Absurd!"

"The oldest among us are thirty years old: yet, we already have squandered our treasures, thousands of treasures of strength, of love, of audacity, of cunning and of rude willpower; we threw them away with impatience, with fury, without counting, without hesitation, without rest, at breakneck speed. Look at us! We're not bleary just yet! Our hearts do not feel any depletion, for they are fed on fire, on hatred and on speed! Does that surprise you?... That's only obvious, for you don't even recall ever living! Standing on the top of the world, we throw down yet again our challenge to the stars!"

Pretentious. I know. But I love it. If you ignore the fascism, this is so well-written. This futurism thing would have been so cool had it not been involved with the wrongest side of politics to ever exist.

[Simon]

i still think theres some aspects to futurism that's interesting and wasn't explored in other areas of modernism but holy moly, i dare you to read this fucking dumbass nerd shit and not cringe.

like, i did sympathise with similar sentiments in a similar way when i was like, 16 and completely sexless and introvert, but then i miraculously grew up. meh. a par for the course in continuing to relentlessly mock the italian people i guess

also, the reason why alt-right guys havent co-opted this crap (even though it more or less reads exactly the same) is because the point of entry to read something that has 15 pages is way too risky

tldnr this shit is fucking dumb as hell dude

[Romano]

Sería sumamente arrogante y limitado el intentar asignarle una calificación a los postulados de un movimiento artístico; especialmente a uno tan política e ideológicamente cargado de claroscuros como el futurismo.
El leerles me llena de disonancias cognitivas, ya que podría coincidir en algunos postulados estéticos [especialmente en los referentes a la cinematografía], pero me rehuso a comulgar con los éticos [Las posturas fascistas frente a la violencia, la guerra, el imperialismo, la misoginia].

Estemos de acuerdo o no con sus postulados, es muy evidente la resonancia que tienen a la fecha en la cultura visual contemporánea. Y desde un juicio de valor, no me atrevo a vislumbrar si tal influencia futurista ha sido buena o mala para la humanidad.

[xenia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh look, it's the alt right.

[Tessa Wotherspoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truly disturbing and made me cringe but nonetheless well written

[Domagoj Badžim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rip Cecco Angiolieri, you would've loved the edginess in this (not the actual content tho).

[Marcos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Los más viejos de entre nosotros no tenemos aún treinta años, y por lo tanto hemos
despilfarrado ya grandes tesoros de amor, de fuerza, de coraje y de dura voluntad, con
precipitación, con delirio, sin cuenta, sin perder el aliento, a manos llenas.
¡Miradnos! ¡No estamos sofocados! ¡Nuestro corazón no siente la más ligera fatiga! ¡Está
nutrido de fuego, de valor y de velocidad! ¿Esto os asombra? ¡Es que vosotros no os acordáis
de haber vencido nunca!

[Francisca Ramos · Rating 1 out of 5]

Marinetti was a fascist, and in this Manifesto (among other things) writes about his opinion on war, fascism and scorn for women. Nothing he wrote is of value to me. I had to read this for uni.

[Static · Rating 1 out of 5]

Violencia, irracionalidad y antiintelectualismo, el ABC del fascismo. Tenían en el futurismo un buen antecedente, en este caso como configuración artística o estética.

[Bithika Halder]

0/5 : anti-feminism, glorification of war, militarism, calls for the destruction of museums, libraries, and academies

[Professor Ratigon · Rating 4 out of 5]

No matter how much love or hate I give to this manifesto, I have to admit that there is something in Marinetti's ideas which are so true in this modern world.

Future, is not what we (human) can control, but only to destroy and recreate it in our own way.

[Briana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this for a college history class and it just wasn't my cup of tea. A good thing is it's an easy read and gets to the point.

[Marina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lixo protofascista

[Ilia Tchanturia]

იტალია იჭინთება რომ ფაშიზმი შვას, მაგრამ მარინეტი ნაყოფის ჩამსახავი არაა, ის არც ექიმია ქვეყანას შობაში დაეხმაროს, ის მხოლოდ შობის მადიდებელია, ტკივლების გასაბრუებლად

[Elías Pensado · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspirador

[Matty Cameira]

shut up

[zuzana · Rating 1 out of 5]

filippo je utripa da je dom toretto

[Clara · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Noi vogliamo cantare l'amor del pericolo, l'abitudine all'energia e alla temerità.
Il coraggio, l'audacia, la ribellione, saranno elementi essenziali della nostra poesia."

[A]

the futurist women really said watch us Marinetti we are just as demented

[Lali Garsia · Rating 1 out of 5]

wtf

[Oscarro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es increíble como en tan poco consigue expresar de manera tan clara los ideales y sentimientos futuristas, una lastima que fuesen unos pijazos fascistas que iban de tíos molones.

[Giorgi · Rating 1 out of 5]

ყლეზე დაასკდი რუს ფუტურისტებს :დ

[Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

The excitement that this Boy Racer felt at driving fast and dangerously in a car has only been matched by JG Ballard’s Crash. He waxes lyrically about destroying the past via the destruction of history and tradition. He calls for museums and libraries to be burned down and declares a new art movement, which by all accounts did take root and had some links to the eventual rise of Italian fascism.

“We want to glorify war - the only cure for the world - militarism, patriotism, the destructive gesture of the anarchists, the beautiful ideas which kill, and contempt for woman.”

[Ludwig Rosengren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Läste denna i tron om att det var en satirisk framtidsskildring från 1909 och slogs av hur träffsäker den var. Sen insåg jag att Marinetti var fascist och att det inte alls var satir. Han var seriös i sina ord om kriget som världens enda hygien och löften om att utrota bibliotek, medier och akademin. Efter denna insikt var verket betydligt sämre enligt mig. Så mitt tips till Marinetti som författare är att prova att utforska satir som medel och kanske byta ideologi.

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

mi spiazza vedere fra i classici punti da manifesto, quelli più noti da libro di liceo, alcuni brani del tutto discorsivi e assai pungenti. In alcuni brani il linguaggio adoperato è qualcosa di incredibile, sembra quasi di sentire schioccare la lingua per la forza fonetica delle parole o del loro accostamento.
Certi brani sono poi una vera e propria sorpresa. Già che mi piacevano molto i compari futuristi, adesso li sto adorando.
Mi diverte molto anche la digressione su Venezia. Nonostante ne rimango affascinata, gli aspri commenti a lei rivolti sono divertentissimi.

(è un gran peccato per tutti gli errori ortografici, colpa di una compilazione automatica)

[Chase · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author encourages war, aggression, masculinity, and violence.

He also states that “we will destroy the museums, libraries, academies of every kind, will fight moralism, feminism, every opportunistic or utilitarian cowardice.”

This work seems to promote social and political upheaval, the replacement of our current systems with anarchy.

His logic is odd considering that his entire livelihood was based on these systems working. He might have been a talented writer, but I do not agree with what he was condoning and promoting. Therefore, I cannot give this any more than 1 star.