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The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
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Literary Devices
Analogy
Various types of analogy, or figurative language where one thing is compared to something else in a way that suggests a similarity, appear throughout the essay. An extended analogy that is explored at length in Thesis 11 is that of how the “cameraman compare[s] with the painter” (233) in a way analogous to the difference between the surgeon and the magician. According to Benjamin, a painter is like a magician in that the magician has an aura of authority about him that he uses when laying his hands on a patient to cure him. Even though the magician is physically close to the patient and the patient can see him in his entirety, the magician uses his mystique to maintain his difference. Likewise, a viewer can take in the whole of a painting and its methods of creation, but it is still held at a distance because of its special aura and uniqueness. In contrast, a surgeon intervenes directly in the patient’s body to heal him, and the patient may only have a fragmented idea of what actually happened. In the same way, a cameraman creates a picture that directly shapes the viewer’s perspective of reality, but he is not sure how the picture is created.
Throughout the essay, Benjamin uses other references to analogous situations to make his argument, as when he describes a relationship between “the film shot and the vocational aptitude test” (246), where the director is analogous to an examiner. These analogies draw connections to other aspects of modernity Benjamin is interrogating that are not central to the argument of the essay, such as scientific management practices (aptitude tests) and scientific medicine (surgery).
Contrast
Due to his use of dialectical logic, contrast is an important literary device in this essay. There are many aspects of contrast throughout, even in the very structure of the essay. Benjamin opens with a discussion of Marxism’s values in the prologue and ends with a discussion of Fascism’s values in the epilogue. In this way, Benjamin demonstrates how Marxism and Fascism are diametrically opposed modes of political theory.
Within the body of the essay, Benjamin uses contrast repeatedly to draw distinctions between manual modes of reproduction and mechanical modes of reproduction—painting versus photography, theater versus film. As part of his dialectical analysis of these forms, he shows how these distinctions are resolved into synthesis. For example, he shows how film contains some elements of theater, such as the use of props and stage dressing, but not others, such as an actor who responds to a live audience.
Exposition
Benjamin relies heavily on exposition throughout the essay. Exposition is the method of describing a series of facts in a way that provides the background for his analysis. For instance, in Thesis 6, he describes the photography of Eugène Atget, “who, around 1900, took photographs of deserted Paris streets” (226). He then notes that critics described them as crime scene photos. Benjamin uses this factual basis to draw conclusions about the political role of photography in society: “With Atget, photographs become standard evidence for historical occurrences, and acquire a hidden political significance” (226). Another example of this method can be seen in his discussion of the change brought around by the exposition of mass textual media such as newspapers and journals. As a result of this technological advancement, “an increasing number of readers became writers” (232). In this way, Benjamin’s analysis is grounded in a factual exposition of cultural products and historical events.
Allusion and Quotation
Benjamin’s writing is characterized by his use of allusion (indirect reference to outside works or figures) and quotations from other authors. Many of the works he alludes to might be unfamiliar to a contemporary audience, such as the socialist films Three Songs About Lenin directed by Dziga Vertov and Borinage directed by Joris Ivens. Other allusions may be more familiar, such as Marx’s A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy. Benjamin opens the essay with a passage taken from the French theorist Paul Valéry arguing that art must change in response to the extraordinary technological innovations of the 20th century.
Benjamin uses these allusions and citations to appeal to the authority of foundational thinkers, as in the references to Marx and Valéry, and provide examples of his points, as in the references to Vertofl and Iven. He also uses citations of arguments he wishes to challenge or refute, as in the reference to the proto-Fascist Futurist Filippo Marinetti in the Epilogue of the essay. Benjamin quotes Marinetti at length in order to expose what the Fascists are thinking to “dialecticians” (242) or Communists. He notes that the extended quote of Marinetti has “the virtue of clarity” (242), meaning it is a clear example of Fascist ideology.
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