Allison Wessels February 23, 2018 Walter Benjamin Illusions In the first part of the essay on Walter Benjamin, a German Jewish philosopher, who wrote the book Illusions, I discussed art reproduction through the use of historical and theoretical examples and quotes from many authors. In the second part of the essay which includes sections eight through fifteen Walter discusses much more about film and how it has evolved and the effects the actors and the camera have on the audience. Overall, he wanted the reader to understand all the elements that go into film and how this new style of artwork has affected the modern age. In section eight Benjamin starts out by discussing film and actors. In movies we watch the actors, but we are not in
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It also explains how reactionary attitudes towards paintings that Picasso did change into progressive reactions toward a Charlie Chaplin movie. Walter tries to explain in this section how paintings can be viewed by one or many people but movies can be viewed by thousands of people due to them being reproduced to the masses at an alarming rate compared to paintings that are just shown in galleries. In section thirteen Benjamin discusses characteristics of film and how this has enriched our field of perception. He uses examples like the Freudian theory, and a book called Psychopathology of Everyday Life to help explain how, “a movie can be analyzed much more precisely and from more points of view than those presented on paintings or on the stage.” We can pause movies which allows us to isolate and analyze certain situations and behavior. Walter also uses a quote form Rudolf Arnheim in this section that encompasses his thoughts on film and slow motion …show more content…
The art of the Dadaists became like an instrument of ballistics that hit its audience with a bullet of shock. They transformed artwork into obscenities and destroyed the aura of their creations. This section continues on by talking about how in paintings the image allows the viewer to contemplate on what they are seeing but in a movie the scene changes so fast it is hard to contemplate anything. George Duhamel commented on this by saying, “I can no longer think what I want to think. My thoughts have been replaced by moving images.” Walter ends this section by explaining how film has taken the physical shock effect in which Dadaism had and applied it to film to keep the audience in a moral shock effect. In the fifteenth or last section of the Illusions book Walter discusses how the masses or the public seek distraction and that they find it in film compared to how art demands concentration from the viewer. Walter also says that, “Reception is a state of distraction.” Meaning that film makes the public take the place of the critic or examiner but who is also absent-minded. George Duhamel from section fourteen also comments on his thoughts about film and distraction saying that, “movies are a pastime for helots, a diversion for uneducated wretched, worn-out creatures who are consumed by their
It also explains how reactionary attitudes towards paintings that Picasso did change into progressive reactions toward a Charlie Chaplin movie. Walter tries to explain in this section how paintings can be viewed by one or many people but movies can be viewed by thousands of people due to them being reproduced to the masses at an alarming rate compared to paintings that are just shown in galleries. In section thirteen Benjamin discusses characteristics of film and how this has enriched our field of perception. He uses examples like the Freudian theory, and a book called Psychopathology of Everyday Life to help explain how, “a movie can be analyzed much more precisely and from more points of view than those presented on paintings or on the stage.” We can pause movies which allows us to isolate and analyze certain situations and behavior. Walter also uses a quote form Rudolf Arnheim in this section that encompasses his thoughts on film and slow motion …show more content…
The art of the Dadaists became like an instrument of ballistics that hit its audience with a bullet of shock. They transformed artwork into obscenities and destroyed the aura of their creations. This section continues on by talking about how in paintings the image allows the viewer to contemplate on what they are seeing but in a movie the scene changes so fast it is hard to contemplate anything. George Duhamel commented on this by saying, “I can no longer think what I want to think. My thoughts have been replaced by moving images.” Walter ends this section by explaining how film has taken the physical shock effect in which Dadaism had and applied it to film to keep the audience in a moral shock effect. In the fifteenth or last section of the Illusions book Walter discusses how the masses or the public seek distraction and that they find it in film compared to how art demands concentration from the viewer. Walter also says that, “Reception is a state of distraction.” Meaning that film makes the public take the place of the critic or examiner but who is also absent-minded. George Duhamel from section fourteen also comments on his thoughts about film and distraction saying that, “movies are a pastime for helots, a diversion for uneducated wretched, worn-out creatures who are consumed by their