I was intrigued by how Benjamin sees the relationship between Fascist controls and art. In his epilogue, he states, "Fascism attempts to organize the newly created proletarian masses without affecting the property structure which the masses strive to eliminate. Fascism sees its salvation in giving these masses not their right, but instead a chance to express themselves." (241) Contrary to my own common sense, B posits that masses who create simply for the purpose of self-expression are playing into the hands of reactionary Fascists.

I’ve been thinking about our second concern according to our syllabus, the status of the subject within the postmodern. In our readings last week, the individual’s role cropped up in authors’ considerations of art in the modern (or the straining-against-the-modern) era. For example, I’ve been thinking about how we define art and how this includes or precludes the individual. According to Benjamin, “one of the foremost tasks of art has always been the creation of a demand which could be fully satisfied only later”—that is, the creation of new art forms. (p. 237).