Week 3: Robotics + Art

Through Benjamin’s essay, I saw his sensitivity towards the industrialization in the period of revolution of cultural tradition, with the deep regret for the “relentless destruction of the aura” by his comparison between classical art and the mechanical-reproductive art. However, although I admit that the transformation brought by the mass reproduction gives rise to the disappearance of the “uniqueness,” “authenticity,” and especially “ritual” of the classical art, I am not in favor of his passive attitude and helplessness towards the reproduction of industrialization.

Benjamin’s argumentation might make people misread that the industrialization and the improvement of mechanization totally shuffle the cards of human art in some fixed order: classical, elegant and of elite characteristics. However, in fact, I think the vulgar, cheap and public culture is not created all by a sudden. Just because Benjamin is standing in a period of fight between elite culture and public culture does he ascribe the problem of aura destruction to the technology, mechanization and industrialization. However, his argument representing his understanding of the time and art values obviously has the trait of times. In simple words, it is just like the saying, art origins from life but is more than life: the uniqueness and ritual values of the art used to be significant in the life of the past people, but nowadays people rarely engage in the worship of sorcery, for instance, but tend to enjoy their own joyfulness easily acquired.

As a main focus in his criticize, movie, is a typical art form of mechanical reproduction. What Benjamin sees from the movie is nothing essence inside, and the progress of creating this art, making a movie, is like the broad laborers losing their personality in the repetitively work of mass mechanical production. Therefore, the feeling of watching movie is like that of becoming a screw for the labors. However, most people today would not regard movie as the simple combination of photos and scenes. From structure of story telling to the aesthetics of scene shooting, for instance, almost every aspect of making a movie is complex art. Interestingly, labors’ feeling of losing personality in the industrialization is just vividly shown in Charlie Chaplin’s movie, Modern Times. As one of the best in the history of movie art, the Modern Times not only expresses its political sarcasm but also influences the broad public in both entertainment and ideology. The comparison in the first scene of flock of sheep squeezing out of sheepfold with worker crowds exiting the factory reminds the audience of themselves being the element squeezed in the great wave of industrialization. Just like the black sheep in the float, “Chaplin establishes him here not only as an individual within the factory, but as an invasion onto it.” People are therefore also inspired by the movie to fight against the fixed order oppressed to them by capitalism. The scene of Chaplin being transmitted between gears greatly discloses the merciless exploit of proletarian by the capitalists and becomes forever classics in people’s mind. Therefore, the artistic appeal of such great movie, in my opinion, possesses a value of more power.

Certainly, there is other thought challenging the one of Benjamin. By my research, I found that “Benjamin and Adorno had very different evaluations of the historical present.” I noticed that one of Adorno’s point, that in a cultural and art industry of reproductive base consumers’ satisfaction should always be reserved in advance, can be better accepted by me. Since the industrialization, this society has become to need more cultural expression and high dimensional combination, and the necessity of frequent and extensive recreation form for the public.

   Steampunk refers to a subgenre of science fiction and sometimes 

   fantasy—also in recent years a fashion and lifestyle movement—

   that incorporates technology andaesthetic designs inspired by 19th-

   century industrial steam-powered machinery.

Citation:

Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. 1st ed. 1936. Print.

"Black Sheep in the Modern World: Modern Times." HopkinsCinemAddicts - Blog of the JHU Film & Media Studies Program. 31 Mar. 2010. Web. <http://hopkinscinemaddicts.typepad.com/hopkinscinemaddicts/2010/03/black-sheep-in-the-modern-world-modern-times.html>.

Ruffault, Philippe, and Luc & Jean-Pierre Dardenne. "Charlie Chaplin - Modern Times : Full Documentary." YouTube Charlie Chaplin Channel. 9 Aug. 2014. Web. <https://youtu.be/5lp4EbfPAtI>.

Li, Qian. "The Aura of Arts in Multimedia Times." Bulletin: Contemporary Art and Social Ideology 8 Jan. 2013. Print.

"Adorno and Benjamin on Mechanical Reproduction: Objects Glanced Askew." The Teh-Drinking Musicologist. 26 Jan. 2009. Web. <http://tehandmusicology.blogspot.com/2009/01/adorno-and-benjamin-on-mechanical.html>.