Illuminations by Walter Benjamin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Although often classified as a Marxist, Walter Benjamin is more of a poet than a theorist, although he uses philosophy as material for creating connections. Benjamin fit into a very inopportune moment in capitalism, where we have the rising literary aspirations of the children of successful petty bourgeois parents but lacking the connection (and maybe some of the talent too) needed to be recognized by the elites. Coming onto his own in the early 20th century, Benjamin witnessed the rise of modern globalization. He got to ponder the many different changing aspects of society, wrote about them, but ultimately fell prey to these same trends as he eventually committed suicide to escape the clutches of Nazis.
Benjamin was one of the few who refused to work, devoting his life to the arts and letters. Although he never made a big splash in his time, he did leave us some interesting work. I didn’t find much in these essays to be too instrumental for myself, but I understand that his meditations on art and the changing orientation of meaning to be of interest, Art in the age of Mechanical Reproduction not withstanding.
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