Functionalism is a Product of the Devil

Most people’s idea of functionalism has been influenced by the functionalist architecture movement that became popular in the 1930s. Its purpose was to improve life for the masses through convenience and efficiency. Time and energy would only be spent on buildings, spaces, workplaces with a particular function. Housing, for example, would be devoid of any structure that was not strictly necessary for the construction of the building. In other words, individuality would be removed, everything would be sleek and efficient, nothing else. Nothing would have character, and, in turn, people wouldn’t either. Functionalism made no room for self-expression. And they called it creativity.

But, the scary thing is, functionalism is still prevalent. It takes root in the plastic trashcan that you’ve learned to keep hidden. It shows itself in a person’s need to have matching stainless steel appliances, nothing but coordination. Functionalism is found in restaurants that only serve on identical white plates; they boast nothing original and no design of choice, just what’s easiest.

There is no joy in anything made to be merely utilitarian. LED streetlights on thin, silver poles do not signify a content mind nor does it cultivate one. The lamp posts of old with ornate poles and different-shaped shades are going extinct. And with them, streets designed with beauty held as priority.

One might say, beauty is never practical, that it is always a waste. If so, that person is a believer in functionalism. They do not look at the long-term effects. They do not take into account that mere efficiency is depressing and that conformity is counterproductive. Both of these things separate us from humanity and shape us into machines.

And it could get worse. Imagine a world where

• Books are only nonfiction
• Houses have no color; they are soulless cubes
• Walls are bare; interior decor are relics of the past
• Meals are healthy but dull
• People are civil, but not loving
• There is no such thing as a road trip or vacation
• You do only things that have a perceptible purpose
• There is no such thing as culture because everyone is the same

While, very technically speaking, a world like this may be more productive, it is a world devoid of feeling. And, if there is no feeling, if you know exactly what to expect, day after day, it is no life of your own choosing. Society would have progressed so far that it started going backwards. The people wouldn’t realize it, but they wouldn’t be free in a world like this. They would be subject to the norms imposed by the so-called builders and thinkers of their age.

To fight this frothing of functionalism–for it is the froth leftover from the wave in the 20th century–we must continue to be creative for the sake of fulfilling our human desires, for the sake of being creative in itself. In a world of pure functionalism, there would be no person that did not serve a practical purpose. Artists would not exist. There would be no singers, musicians, painters, sculptors, writers, or poets. So we must continue to be these people. We must continue to paint our houses purple, wear eccentric clothing, and write about fantasy worlds we imagine in our heads. Only when art is foremost, can all people have a chance at finding true happiness and contentment in a world that will never make sense.