The "Aura" and "Media Industry" in Cyberspace

The aura of something is the feeling you get when you are confronted by it in person. When you see something such as a famous work of art, or original draft of a book, you are hit by it's presence. That work was created by someone and came into existence at a specific point in time, as a way for it's maker to send a message through it. Benjamin says no reproduction of something can live up to the original, because it lacks "its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be" (Benjamin 200). The constant reproduction of these unique works only serves to degrade the original. Many of the artists who created these works never intended, or even thought possible, that their creation be duplicated. They meant for the pieces to be seen in specific places and times, to serve as a message of their creativity. It is impossible to get the same experience of being in the Sistine Chapel by looking at images of it on google. However, technology makes it easy to be satisfied with a reproduction instead of the original.
Adorno describes the industry of culture as "infecting everything with sameness" (Adorno 1). He is arguing that through the growth of media such as television and radio, more people are receiving the same message. At first glance this would appear to be a culture, but on closer inspection it is revealed as a business. If everyone likes the same thing, whoever is selling that thing will be making a lot of money. Therefore, the media industry revolves around selling items to mass groups of people. When the masses are large enough, the product begins to define them. At the same time, they feel as if they are making the choice between all the products placed in front of them. However, they are still confined in the same media bubble, being forced to align with one group or another.

Works Cited

Benjamin, Walter. Illuminations. New York: Schoken Books, 1968.

Horkeimer, Max and Adorno, Theodor. Dialectic of Enlightenment. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2002.