Theme 2: Critical media studies

Dialectic of Enlightenment

1. Enlightenment is a progressive way of thinking to let human become masters and not to let fear rule over them. It is to overthrow myths and fantasy. It is to let people think for themselves, without guidance.

2. In this context dialectic means the discussion that is held do discover the truth. This discussion is led by opinions and logic arguments from people with different point of views.

3. Nominalism is the theory that abstract objects and the universal do not exist in reality. So they believe that the universal isn’t more than a name. I think that it is an important concept in the text, because the ‘enlightenment’ is ‘not believing in myths and fantasies’ and the theory of nominalism could be seen as a myth or a fantasy that should be overthrown.

4. I think that in this text a myth means a traditional story that involves fantasies and mystical creatures. These stories are used to report, record and explain certain events or situations.

According to Adorno and Horkheimer, mythology was the beginning of the process of enlightenment. In the text enlightenment is also explained as “mythology radicalized”. Enlightenment and myths are also quite often compared to each other in the text “myth becomes enlightenment and nature more objectivity” or “In myths, everything that happens must atone for the fact of having happened. It is no different in enlightenment: No sooner has a fact been established that it is rendered insignificant”. Both concepts function is to explain certain matters to change the way of thinking of human.

The work of art in the age of “Technical Reproductivity”

1. The substructure is seen as the economy. I think that he means the people and the recourses that are needed for production (the bases). And with superstructure he means the norms and values, expectation, education, culture etc. differences of the society. I think that it is important to analyze it from a Marxist point of view, because both structures influence each other, knowing what kind of people your are producing for and what recourses you need, to make a certain production makes the producing easier. Different ideologies, and cultures influences the perspective of the society and knowing what these are helps to make a product that fits in the point of view of a certain group of people. It is also important to analyze it from this point of view, because it helps to acknowledge that there are differences and these affect the way people perceive certain matters.

2. According to Benjamin film art is a revolution that has potential.

An example is: The way art and science come together and how what happens in films resembles humanity.

Benjamin and Adorno & Horkheimer perspective on this are the same. According to them art can provide a reality which is not autonomous. Because it is not autonomous Adorno and Horkheimer see this mirroring of the reality as the most radical art form. It can lead to changes because of its form (film).

Adorno and Horkheimer are not positive about the culture shift. According to them the amount of respect that people have for art has decreased and people have other expectations than before. The culture sector has become a commercial industry. Advertising has taken over the environment that survived since the 19^th century; this environment has become the ‘background’ for advertisement. There is no distinction between a story that is culture based and an advertisement. Both are shown in the same format and this is manipulating human (psychotechnique).

3. I think that Benjamin is talking about the aura when he means naturally determined and historically he means the mechanical revolution.

Examples are:

-The lost of the aura in film. But what we are getting in return is a direction to a certain place or story from the cameraman and a painting can’t do this.

-Another example is the reproduced image.

The coming of film and photography are both a historical shift. Even tough we don’t notice this shift it still counts.

4. With the term ‘aura’ Benjamin means the authority and the authenticity of an art or natural object that has not been reproduced.

According to Benjamin there are no different kinds of auras in a natural object and in an art object. The distinction that he makes is that a natural object is actually not vulnerable when it comes to losing its authenticity. But its historical background can lose its authenticity and this also affects the authority of the object. While the aura of a work of art is lost when reproduced.