Talk:Walter Benjamin (1892-1940)
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Key Terms
Historical materialist: A follower of Karl Marx who believes: “It is not the consciousness of men that determines their existence, but their social existence that determines their consciousness.” —Karl Marx, Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy. A historical materialist believes that all developments in society are rooted to and moved by the economic base of society, in line with Marxist theory.
Substructure: Base of society. Means of Production. The Economy. Specifically used in Marxist theory.
Superstructure: Built upon the base. Social, political and legal relations of society.
Aura: “The authenticity (or aura) of a thing is the essence of all that transmissible from its beginning, ranging from its substantive duration to its testimony to the history which it has experienced.” Page 221 – II
Flaneur: The principle character in Benjamin's work, most noted for his 'strolling' view of the world. Usually uncommitted to work and supported by wealthy parents.
Introduction: Hannah Arendt
Walter Benjamin is an interesting case. A Marxist/Zionist with a poet’s mind rejected by scholars. The roaming homme de lettres or flaneur finds his ‘home’ in Paris while Germany is dominated by Fascist rule. His writing captivating, each sentence could stand alone. His passion for the present and fervent case for revolution snuffed out by his own hand. Quite dramatic. Considering the events of his life, it is hard to imagine a more unlucky fellow than Walter Benjamin. Famous only after his death, Benjamin’s association with the surrealist movement cemented him in many fields, specifically photography and film.
His work is incredibly engaging, but we must temper our observations: “No poem is intended for the reader, no picture for the beholder, no symphony for the listener” – Benjamin, Task of the Translator
Question: What kind of Marxist was Benjamin? How does he compare to Gramsci?
In looking over selected works from “Illuminations”, I find it easiest to utilize quotations to make sense of his argument as well as raise questions. I think he would have liked that.
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
His Argument
Page 222 – III
“During long periods of history, the mode of human sense perception changes with humanity’s entire mode of existence.”
Page 221 – II
“The technique of reproduction detaches the reproduced object from the domain of tradition. By making many reproductions it substitutes a plurality of copies for a unique existence. And in permitting the reproduction to meet the beholder or listener in his own particular situation, it reactivates the object reproduced. These two process lead to a tremendous shattering of tradition which is the obverse of the contemporary crisis and renewal of mankind.”
Exemplified by the move from painting to film:
“The painting invites the spectator to contemplation; before it the spectator can abandon himself to his associations. Before the movie frame he cannot do so.” Page 238 – XIV
Question: What does that shattering look like?
Page 223 – IV
Early art is “service to a ritual—first the magical, then the religious kind.”
“For the first time in world history, mechanical reproduction emancipates the work of art from its parasitical dependence on ritual. To an ever greater degree the work of art reproduced becomes the work of art designed for reproducibility… instead of being based on ritual, it begins to be based on another practice—politics.”
Page 242 – Epilogue
“[Mankind’s] self-alienation has reached such a degree that it can experience its own destruction as an aesthetic pleasure of the first order. This is the situation of politics which Fascism is rendering aesthetic. Communism responds by politicizing art.”
Photography
Page 227 – VII
Did the “very invention of photography… transform the entire nature of art?”
Film
Page 229 – IX
“Their most powerful agent is film. Its social significance, particularly in its most positive form, is inconceivable without its destructive, cathartic aspect, that is the liquidation of the traditional value for cultural heritage.”
Performance of the actor: “Aura is tied to his presence; there can be no replica of it.”
Page 236 – XIII
“Then came the film and burst this prison-world asunder by the dynamite of the tenth of a second, so that now, in the midst of its far flung ruins and debris, we calmly and adventurously go traveling.”
Questions & Observations
Page 231 – X
“In this way, any man might even find himself part of a work of art… an increasing number of readers became writers.” This ambiguity between audience and artist seems to be a tension in new internet communication, specifically with wikis, blogs, and other collaborative Web 2.0 technology. What do you think?
Page 235 – XIII
“Fifty years ago, a slip of the tongue passed more or less unnoticed.” The legacy of film (embodied in new digital technology) assures public figures are watched constantly, their every word being watched for contradiction or chopped into sound bytes. How has this impacted the way we live?
Page 237 – XIII
“The camera introduces us to unconscious optics as does psychoanalysis to unconscious impulses.” What does this new perspective afford?
Theses on the Philosophy of History
Questions
Page 254 – II
“In other words, our image of happiness is indissolubly bound up with the image of redemption.” How does that relate to the “claim that cannot be settled cheaply”?
Page 256 – VII
“There is no document of civilization which is not at the same time a document of barbarism.” Can anyone think of a case where this wasn’t true?
Page 257 – VIII
“Then we shall clearly realize that it is our task to bring about a real state of emergency, and this will improve our position in the struggle against Fascism.” This call for clamant reform conjures (in my mind) Dr. King’s “fierce urgency of now” – and Obama’s use of it in the 2008 campaign.
Instead of a call to violent arms, Dr. King says “We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent coannihilation.” -- "Beyond Vietnam" Address delivered to the Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam, at Riverside Church, NYC, 4 April 1967
Obama used it in stump speeches calling for change. His goal was to speak on behalf of the middle class that was trampled by eight years of failed policies.
What is the best or most effective way to create change in a society? Benjamin’s argument seems to imply only two options: acceptance or hysteria. Do we have to choose?
Call to Action?
Page 262 – XVI
“The historical materialist leaves it to others to be drained by the whore called “Once upon a time” in historicism’s bordello. He remains in control of his powers, man enough to blast open the continuum of history.” Interesting treatment of gender here.
Page 263 – XVII
“In this structure he recognizes the sign of a Messianic cessation of happening, or, put differently, a revolutionary chance in the fight for the oppressed past. He takes cognizance of it in order to blast a specific era out of the homogeneous course of history—blasting a specific life out of the era or a specific work out of the lifework.” Constantly ready, searching for a time to “blast” the controllers.
Page 264 – B
“For every second of time was the strait gate through which the Messiah might enter.”
What would Benjamin’s revolution look like?
Page 20 – Introduction
“I have stated what we must want to do; I have also stated why we cannot want it. My intention was to point up the problem. It is not my fault that I know of no solution."
Page 37/38 – Introduction
“Actually, I hardly feel constrained to try and make head or tail of this condition of the world. On this planet, a great number of civilizations have perished in blood and horror. Naturally, one must wish for the planet that one day experience a civilization that has abandoned blood and horror; in fact, I am … inclined to assume that our planet is waiting for this. But it is terribly doubtful whether we can bring such a present to its hundred- or four hundred millionth birthday party.”
Interesting Passages
Page 257 – IX
“Where we perceive a chain of events, he sees one single catastrophe which keeps piling wreckage upon wreckage and hurls it in front of his feet.” Crux of Benjamin’s argument.
Page 260 – XII
“Social Democracy thought fit to assign to the working class the role of the redeemer of future generations, in this way cutting the sinews of its greatest strength.” Has the American dream kept the working class in place?
Questions about Education:
If history is simply the story of the winners, rendered useless by its inaccuracy, how shall we deal with teaching it in schools?
Page 259 – XI
“According to Fourier, the result of efficient cooperative labor, four moons would illuminate the earthly night, the ice would recede from the poles, sea water would no longer taste salty, and the beasts of prey would do man’s bidding. All this illustrates a kind of labor which, farm from exploiting nature, is capable of delivering her of the creations which lie dormant in her womb as potentials.” Benjamin the environmentalist – speaking out against the exploitation of humans and the environment.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed digging through this text, rereading lines one, two or three times. I find Benjamin's argument quite moving. Although the plausibility of revolution by seizing the now is questionable, his urgency is clearly representative of chaos and horror of Nazi Germany. I feel sorry for him, even though he was a privileged young German. His despair is what gives the text a sense or authenticity. Since it is 'impossible' for me to experience the aura of the original text, perhaps I am soaking up the aura of Benjamin himself -- posthumous surrealist megastar.
There are some good lessons to take away from Benjamin's work, specifically his comments on the revolutionary nature of film and the photograph. Moreover, living in the present could be a valuable lesson for a overprogrammed forward-thinking society. Of course, there are limitations to Benjamin's style. Past, present and future tend to work best when balanced. Favoring one over the other tends to create a shaky individual. I find that balance tends to be the key to success.
Benjamin and Politics 2006
For all its beauty and its poetic insights, Benjamin’s work leaves me deeply disturbed. His combination of messianic belief and Marxist analysis imputes upon his ‘working class’ a historical mission, to ‘leap in the open air of history’ (XIV). I do not share his belief, I do not share the certainty that comes with his Marxist baggage, and I irrespective of how much I desire social transformation beyond the ken of what institutional politics seem to make plausible, I do not think it right, nor want to assign to other people – to anyone – the task of confronting the state and its repressive apparatus because of some mystic belief that ‘every second of time [is] the strait gate through which the Messiah might enter.’ (XVIII). This sounds to me like sheer desperation, literally deux ex machina, perhaps understandable given the time of completion being 1940, but no viable replacement for serious political analysis. I think Gramsci is immeasurably more useful for those who want to think about politics and transformation – there are times for action, and times for preparing for times for action, and it is possible to say something more intelligent about what is what than simply that ‘every second of time…’. No. Benjamin is, I think, mostly thought of as an aesthetic theorist, but as one interested in these things, I cannot abstain from highlighting how deeply political the Theses on the Philosophy of History are, and how anti-Social Democratic, how anti-democratic, how, in a sense, post-political they are. For those interested in what is to me an even more forceful demonstration of Benjamin’s peculiar take on this, I highly recommend his essay ‘Critique of Violence’, where the whole issue of political violence and the sacrifices he is willing to make other people make is brought to the forefront.
Except where