The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Content Warning: This section references Fascist violence and death by suicide.

Walter Benjamin was a philosopher, cultural analyst, and historical theorist. He wrote in German and French about the relationship between society, cultural products (like film, plays, and photography), history, and politics. Much of his work has been translated into English and other languages. His best-known essays, in addition to “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” are “The Task of the Translator,” about the difficulty of translating a text, and “On the Concept of History,” about how to write anti-Fascist history. His most widely read books in contemporary times are his doctoral thesis, The Origin of German Tragic Drama, and The Arcades Project, an unfinished magnum opus about the covered passages of Paris and the rise of modern European urbanism.

Benjamin was born in Berlin in 1892 to a secular Jewish family. In his adult years, he spent time both in Germany and Paris. In the lead up to the Nazis taking power in Germany, Benjamin left Germany permanently and lived as a refugee in France. In 1935, when “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” was written, he was living with very modest means in Paris, reflecting on the rise of Fascist politics which had made his life so precarious.

In 1938, Benjamin was stripped of his German citizenship and in 1939 he was arrested by French authorities for three months and sent to a work camp. On June 14, 1940, Paris fell to Nazi Germany. Benjamin attempted to flee to the United States, but was arrested by the Franco dictatorship in Portbou, Spain. Fearing deportation to a concentration camp, Benjamin died by suicide on September 26, 1940.

His writings were preserved by his friends and colleagues, including the philosophers Hannah Arendt, Theodore Adorno, and Max Horkheimer. They oversaw the translations and publication of his work after his death, most notably the Illuminations collection, edited by Hannah Arendt, which includes the essay “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.”

Benjamin’s writings are characterized by the use and analysis of fragmentation, both in form and subject. According to Benjamin, this form is in response to the fragmentary nature of modern life. However, his fragmentary style has led to criticism that his writing is needlessly indirect and difficult to understand. Because Benjamin often does not use traditional essay form, it can be challenging to follow the argument he is making. His writing style is not that of a traditional philosopher and often employs poetic techniques, such as extended metaphor and imagery. This can also make his work difficult to interpret, as often ideas are not stated directly.