Theme 2 - Critical media studies (part 1)

1.      Dialectic of Enlightenment

(a)   What is "Enlightenment"?

Enlightenment is closely linked to knowledge and the thought process of attaining such. By educating oneself to reason and rationality, people became enlightened and were, to some degree, liberated of the fear that can stem from relying on myths and fantasy. The writers refer to enlightenment as a dispelling or disenchantment of myths.

(b)   What is "dialectic"?

Dialectics is a way of reasoning or debating that involves putting different concepts, ideas or opinions on separate ends of an argument. By logically and rationally discussing the alternatives one can acquire a wider insight and perhaps establish which side is closer to the truth.

(c)    What is "nominalism" and why is it an important concept in the text?

Nominalism is a metaphysical position regarding what does and does not exist. For example, nominalists usually consider concepts originating in thoughts unreal. Universals such as emotions or other arbitrarily defined human qualities are merely results of the human mind and do not exist in reality. Nominalism is an important concept in the text as it relates to the change in attitude that enlightenment brought towards the mystical and unknown. Essentially, nominalists find myth and fantasy abstract, and thereby incomplete. Although nominalists reject thought up concepts, names and numbers are acceptable to most, as they are considered valuable tools for categorizing groups and further bringing on the enlightenment.

(d)   What is the meaning and function of "myth" in Adorno and Horkheimer's argument?

Myth is referred in the text as false clarity, being both obscure and luminous at once. Myth is, according to the writers, closely correlated and intertwined with enlightenment. Mythology is the origin of the world view that later became radicalized and rationalized into enlightenment. Myths stem from the projections of the subject itself and functions as a comparative measure to how the world used to think. By demythologizing existing myths, using formal logic and calculations, enlightenment can be achieved.

Side note:

Although myths are constantly being disenchanted due to enlightenment, they are still very present in today's society. For example, the myth of the internet as a magical wonder, resulting in over-speculated and overvalued stock options in internet related companies. This later caused the internet bubble to form and burst, affecting a large part of the global tech industry negatively.

2.      "The Work of Art in the Age of Technical Reproductivity"

(a)    In the beginning of the essay, Benjamin talks about the relation between "superstructure" and "substructure" in the capitalist order of production. What do the concepts "superstructure" and "substructure" mean in this context and what is the point of analyzing cultural production from a Marxist perspective?

Cultural production consists of two parts, the substructure (base) and the superstructure. The substructure consists of the physical components of a society or system, e.g. banks, paintings and churches. The superstructure goes beyond that and also refers to the corresponding sociopolitical/cultural components, such as law, art and religion. Cultural production from a Marxist point of view states that changes in the substructure particularly affect the superstructure, while changes to the superstructure slowly transform the substructure. I think this point of view is interesting because it describes the relation between economic and cultural changes in societies.

(b)     Does culture have revolutionary potentials (according to Benjamin)? If so, describe these potentials. Does Benjamin's perspective differ from the perspective of Adorno & Horkheimer in this regard?

Benjamin describes photography as the first truly revolutionary means of production. The reason for this is how photography brought on the transition of classic painted art, with its soul and uniqueness, to the new mass-produced copies, causing them to lose their uniqueness and thereby their ritual "aura". This transition of "pure" art changes, or reverses, the entire function of art with a negative result.

"Instead of being based on ritual, it begins to be based on another practice - politics"

This is an example from Benjamin of how mechanical reproduction can revolutionize not just technology and arts but also entire cultures. Benjamin's perspective differs from the perspectives of Adorno and Horkheimer in the way that it's more concerned about the cultural effects of mass-production, rather than the positive outcomes of spreading knowledge and enlightenment more effectively.

(c)    Benjamin discusses how people perceive the world through the senses and argues that this perception can be both naturally and historically determined. What does this mean? Give some examples of historically determined perception (from Benjamin's essay and/or other contexts).

Benjamin, like Kant, describes how people perceive the world through senses rather than objects leaving an exact imprint on the brain. While Kant doesn't differentiate between natural and historical perception, meaning they are both automatically intertwined, Benjamin separates them into these two different categories. Naturally determined perception is what your senses experience, proceeding from your own mind only, while historically determined perception changes with acquired time, experience and knowledge of historical events and your surroundings.

(d)    What does Benjamin mean by the term "aura"? Are there different kinds of aura in natural objects compared to art objects?

Benjamin differentiates auras from natural objects and art objects in that the aura from traditional art objects is derived from the uniqueness and authenticity of the structure in the art. The auras of artwork can be perceived differently depending on the subject experiencing them. Auras in natural objects come from sensory experience, through the phenomenon of distance and light. Benjamin refers to a scenario in which he is resting on a summer afternoon being surrounded by natural objects overwhelming his senses with their auras of distance, light and shadows.