What is Aura?

According to Walter Benjamin, each artwork has an aura where “its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be” (Benjamin, 220). He further explains that the aura of an artwork has been deteriorating ever since because we have invented many methods to duplicate artwork such as the printing process. But these reproduction processes does have its benefits. Benjamin uses photography as an example to show that photographs can bring out many angles of a scene that most people can’t see at once. He also talks more about the advantages about replication methods, which makes it easier for people to access certain artworks that they couldn’t before. With replications everywhere, it loses the authenticity of the artwork, which is the “essence of all that is transmissible from its beginning, ranging from its substantive duration to its testimony to the history which it has experienced…” (Benjamin, 221). Using Benjamin’s definition of an aura and applying it in cyberspace, it seems that reproduction has taken itself to a whole new level. Nowadays, it is easier to replicate something with a click of copy and paste. For example, when you Google image something, there are several copies of the same picture that are sure to pop up in your search results but they would be from different websites. There are also sites such as tumblr, facebook, and twitter that lets you blog by using pictures. But these pictures that are posted up on the internet won’t be the same experience for the viewers as they weren’t at the time and place of the picture. It seems that the pictures that are posted on the web lose a sense of value to them. Thus, the people who are looking at them from their laptop screens won’t be able to appreciate the “true essence” of these pictures.

. So what happens when our culture is surrounded by replicas? Adorno argues that reproduction has made everything in our culture same. Since there is no difference in the products anymore, the competition between companies has heightened. Nowadays, there is a system that serves consumers based on their interests, race, age, etc. The most obvious example is the Facebook ads that you see on the right side. The ads are based on your interests or statuses that you post on facebook. For instance, if you stated that your interest was Harry Potter, there is a higher chance that will be a Harry Potter DVD box set ad on your page than others’ page. It is because you are more likely to buy it since you have stated that you like Harry Potter. It serves as a more efficient method to lure consumers to products if it was narrowed down to things that appeal to them. Facebook is not the only site that uses this method to bring in consumers. Many shopping sites such as Amazon and B&N has a section called “suggestions” or “you might also like…” that shows you books or products based on your previous browsing on the site or what you have brought from them. It can be seen that our society is lacking culture as everything is the same ranging from the products to pictures and it is because we are being succumbed by our business industries.

Works Cited:

Adorno, T.W., & Horkheimer, M., (2002). Dialectic of Enlightment: Philosophical Fragments. Location: Stanford University Press.

Benjamin, W. (1968). Illuminations. Location: Schocken Books Inc.