Post Class Discussion- Walter Benjamin

After talking about the The Work of Art in the age of Mechanical Reproduction piece it drew me back to previous discussions on this essay. It's interesting to note that even though I had read this piece two or three times, there can always be new meaning derived through discussion on theory. Gaining background knowledge on the Benjamin and the time period in which this was written, makes the piece that much more important. He is really predicting what he feels will happen, and a great deal of this being true. Benjamin states, "The camera need not respect the performance as an integral whole" (42). The idea of reproducing something like a performance and developing it through the use of technology may make watching a great deal easier and convenient but it changes the whole concept. With the use of camera as the lenses by which the viewer watches a film or performance there becomes the aspect of manipulation. That in turn can be said to reduce the quality of the whole performance, our eyes are no longer given the choice to wondering. Our potential to gain an array of perspectives now becomes limited. Just in terms of plays, I will never forget the feeling of watching the Lion King on Broadway. Benjamin points out that aura is dead or in a sense dying.Mass consumption therefore revels convenience for those perhaps in low brow but a deeper consequence within the arts is the loss of the aura or authenticity if you will.