Homework 6 - Walter Benjamin Reading

Walter Benjamin explains in his paper, "The Work of Art in Mechanical Reproduction" that mass producing art makes art less valuable and pretty much destroys the aesthetics of the original artwork. He also believed that film was created to change people's visions of the outside world. What people watched impacted their perceptions to what was going on around them. He also felt that all of this impact could be blamed on the politicians at the time. This reminds me of propaganda in the media. A major example of this is the famous poster, "Uncle Sam, I Want You". Art was created not for enjoyment, but to influence the attitude of a certain community towards a position. I can see how art has changed throughout the years and people aren't creating work as often anymore for themselves, but mostly for a profit. Unfortunately that is how our world is today, everyone is working to make a living and people who enjoy art create it for others so they can gain cash. I completely agree with Walter Benjamin and do believe that art is not as meaningful when it is mass produced. But, unfortunately most art these days are mass produced. You walk around with a certain t-shirt you like, millions of others are doing the same thing.