Dot, Benjamin

In Walter Benjamin's article on the mechanical reproduction of art he provides many insightful ideas on the ways we understand art and culture in our society today. However, throughout the entire reading I kept thinking about a quote by Paul Valery that was mentioned in the beginning of the article. About one hundred year ago Valery said that "just as water, gas, and electricity are brought into our homes from far off to satisfy our needs in response to minimal effort, so we shall be supplied with visual or auditory images, which will appear and disappear at a simple movement of the hand, hardly more than a sign". Although he predicted this would happen, I can not image that Valery believed that technology would advance so far as it has today.

Visuals and auditory images certainly do flow quickly in and out of our homes in forms of television, computers, the internet, cell phones, i pods and more. We are so used to having all of these things and the images they bring us that their significance is often over looked. We hardly ever realize the significance of having the power to press the power button on our remote controls and instantly get updates and entertainment from around the world. We are constantly viewing such images that they become ordinary and we forget how culturally significant they actually are. Through reading what Benjamin had to say, I was able to regain some perspective on the importance of having such technological and reproduction-style capabilities and was able to see just how big of a role they play in understanding our culture.

As insightful as Valery seems to have been, how could be have possibly predicted such advancement? Did he envision it at the level it is today? If we have come this far in one hundred years, where will our technology take us in another hundred? I can only hope that the people of tomorrow can understand how important the advancements they will enjoy are to their past and that they will continue to develop them for the future.