During the period between World War I and World War II, major social changes began to occur. Fascism, totalitarianism, and socialism began to take hold in some societies, and economies began to collapse. The general social unrest that was occurring around the world was also reflected in the theater, and that is when new forms of theater such as expressionism, futurism, dadaism, surrealism, and epic theater began to emerge. Among the pioneers of these forms of avant-garde theater was Bertold Brecht, a philosophical playwright known for his socialist ideals. He believed that theater was intended to educate, not to provide the means for emotional stimulation and elimination. Brecht's ideal form of strictly intellectual epic theater is not possible, because without catharsis and some form of emotional attachment to the theater, society will not be motivated to effect change without some element of care for the theatrical performance it is experiencing. According to Living Theater , Brecht believed that “theatre could create an intellectual climate for social change.” (Wilson and Goldfarb 424) To create this intellectual environment, he preferred to "alienate" his audience from the dramatic action by creating a world that did not allow their imagination to transport them completely into the world of the play, and which therefore allowed them to focus more on the urgent social issues that were presented to them. He did this by making the reality they found inside a theater incredibly evident by using techniques such as placing lighting tools in obvious places, setting his plays in "fictitious foreign lands", and separating production elements to convey the message of the 'operates individually, as opposed to p...... middle of paper ......ted. It is in this way that catharsis is truly beneficial not only for the means of theater and the audience, but also for society. In conclusion, Brecht's philosophies, while popular, are not necessarily correct in their speculations. While it is valid why he would like to induce social change through intellectual theatre, his form of epic theater is simply impractical, because to have a causal effect on society and create change, an emotional stimulation or catharsis must occur in order to spark intellectual interest and create motivation for social change. Therefore, catharsis and the elimination of one's emotions are necessary to achieve Brecht's goals of epic theater: to educate and create change. Works Cited Wilson, Edwin and Alvin Goldfarb. Living Theatre: History of the theatre. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print.