Walter Benjamin: The First Theory of New Media | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Walter Benjamin's essay, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," explores the shift from traditional fine arts to the new media arts of photography and film. He discusses the loss of aura and authenticity in art, the rise of exhibition value, and the potential political implications. This analysis examines how Benjamin's ideas are still relevant today, particularly in the context of social media.

Key Insights

• 🥰 Benjamin's essay, written in 1935, explores the impact of new media arts on society and politics, particularly the shift from traditional fine arts to photography and film.
• 💅 He rejects traditional concepts of beauty, genius, and eternal value, and integrates aesthetics and media theory into socio-political theory.
• 🥰 Benjamin identifies the loss of aura and authenticity in art as a cathartic and democratizing effect.
• 💆 He introduces the concept of exhibition value, characterized by mass participation, self-exhibition, celebrity branding, and a mass-conditioned critical fun experience.
• 🥰 Benjamin expresses concerns about art being used as a tool of diversion and fascism using art to aestheticize politics and manipulate the masses.
• 💆 Today, social media exhibits similar characteristics of exhibition value, with a critical but distant mass audience, mass participation and self-exhibition, celebrity branding, and a mass-conditioned critical fun experience.
• 🤕 Benjamin's analysis can be seen as describing the shift from the age of authenticity to the age of profilicity, where personal identity and validation are shaped by social media.

Transcript

so this is about valtter Benjamin and his theory of New Media specifically I want to talk about his classic essay the work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction or as it is titled in the original German does kunzweck inside out it was written in 1935 in Paris so that's nearly 90 years ago and it's a path breaking and highly influential essay... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: What are the main reasons why Benjamin's essay can be considered avant-garde?

Benjamin's essay moves away from the traditional focus on fine arts and instead examines the new media arts of photography and film. He rejects outdated concepts and integrates aesthetics and media theory into socio-political theory.

Q: How does Benjamin's analysis of art relate to the political climate of the 1930s?

Benjamin is interested in the changing role of art in capitalist societies commodifying art, fascist regimes manipulating the masses through art, and the potential for a new communist art of the masses. His analysis is influenced by these political frameworks.

Q: What is the concept of exhibition value in Benjamin's essay?

Exhibition value refers to the shift from the cult value of traditional art, focused on authenticity and ritual, to the exhibition value of contemporary art. This new value is based on politics, mass participation, self-exhibition, celebrity branding, and a mass-conditioned critical fun experience.

Q: How does Benjamin's analysis of art in the age of mechanical reproduction relate to contemporary social media?

Benjamin's insights apply to social media, which also exhibits exhibition value characteristics. There is a critical but distant mass audience, mass participation and self-exhibition, self-branding and exhibition anxiety, and a mass-conditioned critical fun experience.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Walter Benjamin's essay focuses on the impact of new media, specifically photography and film, on art and society.

• Benjamin rejects traditional notions of beauty, genius, and eternal value, and integrates aesthetics and media theory into socio-political theory.

• He argues that the loss of aura and authenticity in art is cathartic, leading to the democratization and political potential of art.