The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

From MarxWiki

In his Essay 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction' Walter Benjamin addresses the subject of aura, the unique presence an artwork has, and the lack of such an aura in modern day art because reproduction is easy. This lack of aura can be seen throughout society and in all different aspects of culture. Benjamin accepts this loss of aura or authenticity and in a sense and embraces it for it has made art accessible to the masses. But, one must consider in what way this loss of authenticity has affected the study of media and its relation to modern day life. Is this loss of aura a good thing like Benjamin says, for it has made art accessible to large groups of people who otherwise would have never been able to witness such things, or has it devalued high culture turning all media into a cheap knock off, and transforming high culture into mass media and pop culture.

One of the most important factors in considering the importance of authenticity in the media is its effect on consumer. As Horkheimer and Adorno point out it is media that teaches everyone to be good consumes. I believe that is rather this education in consumerism that affects the media and the society's interpretation of authenticity. It is the consumer who decides how and why society develops in the way it does, for what one consumes is an interpretation of what they believe to be socially acceptable and deem important to them in society. The media takes note of what the average persons consumes and produces media similar to that for the purpose of commercial distribution and consumer sales. Recent trends in a return to the past in several different industries such as clothing, art, and film have made it clear that the public enjoys the past. Not only do they enjoy the past, but they also strive to physically transport themselves to a time when aura and authenticity existed. Much of pop culture's return to the past is the consumer's urge to feel like they have returned the time period time of their childhood, a time where aura existed and everything felt comfortable.

Now that one has identified the way in which authenticity affects overall consumer society you must wonder if this urge to return to aura is healthy and productive to the study of media itself. This continual cycle of advancement and the public's attention being focused on the future then it's lapse backward to return to the past, seems like a process of taking two steps forward and one step back. It seems to keep the general public happy but, gets us a society nowhere. It is not only counterproductive to media and culture, this continual return to the past seems to erode history and contributes to what Jameson saw as the signified object's loss of meaning. This introduction of postmodernism into society and the thievery of older styles and culture is the direct result of the public's urge to return to the past. As Jameson and Jean Baudrillard illustrate in there essays 'Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism' and 'The Precession of Simulacra', the beginning of postmodernism in the west has not been a step in the right direction for society like ours, which is so entrenched in media. This loss of aura can be directly related to the loss of meaning which both authors talk about in relation to postmodernism.