The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility, and Other Writings on Media WALTER BENJAMIN Eoirep ny Mic! Wenig egos and Thoms Levin Tease ay mand Jeph, Rodney Liegtne, Howard Eis and Others ‘Tae Bexar Pass oF Hanvano Usivenstry Pass Combridge, Masachuets London, England 200821 Dream Kitsch Noone ceally dreams any longer of the Ble Flower! Whoever awakes 8 Heinrich von Ofterdingen tay must have oveslept? The history of he ream reaias to be writen, and opening up 4 perspective on this ec would mean decisively overcoming the spersttions bie in natural eceaity by means of histori illaination. Dreaming has a share in Iinory: The sate on dreaming woud serch beyond the plesares of the sneedotalandseape ito the brrenes ofa bale, Dreams have scared wars, nd wary, fom the very earest ines, have determined the -ropiety and impropiey—inded the range—of dreams "No longer doer the dream reveal bse horizon. The dream has town gray The gay coating of dsc on things sits best part. Dreams are now a shortet ro hatality. Technology consins the outer image of ‘hing ta ong frewel, ike banknotes that ate bound eo lowe their talue eis then that the band cetriees thie outer cst n dreams and, rena they are lipping any, makes sontact with fae cotouts, Ke catches hold of objects at ther most threadbare and rimewors point. “This rao always the most delicate point chide donot so mc clasp glass ar snatch up. And which sie does a thing crn coward deus? ‘What pines is more decrepit? Ie ithe sie worn thru by abi td sgamished with cheap maxims, The side which chngs turn foward the teams ksh, ‘Chatring, che fatary images of things fal othe ground ike Ives from Lepocll picture book, The Drew? Maxims sles under evry eae “Ma pls belle masse cst la pares,” and “Une médaie vere pour le plus grand ennu,* and “Dane le cordor ya quelq'un qui me et Is aor" The Surreal have composed such ies and thei l= Tse among the ats have copied the picture hook. Répditions i he ‘mame thacPaul Ea gives to one of his collections of poe, for whose frontpiece Max Erst has dawn fou smal boy, They turn thei backs to the reader, ro thee teacher and hs desk as well, and lok out over a bulatade where a Balloon Kang in the aie A giant pene ress on point in she windows. The repetition of childhood experience gives ws aus: wen ve were le, there was as yer no agonized protest agains the word of our parent. As chileen inthe midst of that word we showed ourselves superior, When we reach forthe banal, we ake hold of the good along win ete good that shee (open your eyes right be fore you For the sentimentality of our parents, often dsl is good for proving se mos abjntve image of x fsigs. The long-vindednest Of tec speeches, bie as lly asthe effec of reding ur oa crimped picture puzzle the omen of conversation was fl ofthe most aby tial entanglements. Within shear snp ilove is kitsch, "Sar ‘elim ical upon to eesablsh logue in esse eu. Then Terloetore ar freed fom the obligation to be polite. He who speaks wll fevlopno theses, Ba in principle, he reply anor be concerned fo the teleespect of the person speaking Foe ehe mind of de stn, words tnd igs ate only 4 spongboard” Besa sensiments rom Beetou's Shree Mofo, They artical the formal ofthe dialog misan- \denandng-which sos, of what i ely alive inthe dialogue. "Mis ‘understanding” i ere another word fo the hythm with which te aly ‘cue eal force it way ino the convertion. The more efectivly a san sable co speak the more succes be mizunderstod, Ta is Kague de res [Wave of Dreams, Loui Aragon desribes how the mania for deeaning spread over Pars. Youna people believed they adcome upon one ofthe sotto poetry, whereas infact they did aay vith poet composition, as with al the mos intensive ores of tha pe ‘od. Sain-Pol-Roux, before going bed inthe ery morning, pus up ‘nosis om his door: “Poe at work.”*—Thi li oder wo bla away inco the heat of thing abolished or superseded o decipher he contours ff che baal as rebus, ro start @ concealed Wiliams Tell from out of| ‘wooded ently or o beable to answer the question, “Where ithe bride?” Picrure pues, as schemata ofthe dreamwork, were lng ag0| daconered by psychoanalysis, The Sura, with simile conven,are ess onthe tail of he psyche than onthe ack of things The seek fhe orem tee of obec within the thicker of primal history The very lan the topmost face on the torr ple shat of htc. I is he lst sar of the hana the one with which we adorn ourselves, in deeam and Convention, 90a ake in the ene of an oudved world of hing. ‘What we used cll at begins a distance of ro meters from the body. Bat now, in ktsch, the weeld of things advances on the human be ing ilo his accrenin grasp and ultimately fashions i gues tis imerior The new man bears within bimel the very quinestence of the old forms, and what evolves inthe confontaion witha parulat le from the second hall ofthe nineteenth cenrury—in the reas, 3¢ well the words and images, ofcetainartiss—is a ceeaure who de- ‘eres the name of urished man" ic in 125 pn Dine Randy 1997. Gna Seton, Notes 1. The sue, “Gln an Surreal,” wat ed thief te published ile in 937 2 Hei vom Oferdingo ithe eof an aiid orl by he Garman act Noval Peder von Hardener 1772-1803), Be pbs in 1802. Vou Okerdiagen ws medial poet earch ofthe myeoa Ble owes, which bes the feos uknown beloved. ‘Lepore t Don Giovana servant in Mons opera Dow Glos. He ‘hes aod a xloge of hi mater cone which aceon Ot {oshow the many ns denier mtr te wat a Gera ablhing howe, Leporl Verlag, whch rode ach pop-ut books ihc al theres someone wh ha in foe" 5. Reece the yar 1922-1724, Une vue de er was Si pubis inthe fall of 1924 along with Aragon Payan de Pars Pas Fess 1925 inspire Benjamin’ earn work on he cade ris 6 Sin-Po-Rous isthe pean of Pl Roxx 1861-140), Fee Sy Tels oe 7 ej e bei “r mace Menech,”A vane o*Drea ‘Kesha manosit copy of te ea eds the new nan bes rin nel te wry quiche ld forms and what ler he onroction with 2 parole ma om the second hl ofthe inethcerury-—in the dreams, a well the ‘ord oie of ean ats a centre who deers he ae Jamin mh ody aris! enw om and appre, inthe somethin Fechone spn the minds men] with ‘hea or with sete owe.” ‘Se Bein, Goto Serf Up. 1428, Thee “er mabe Mensch elo play on der mobite ee ("he fried gee ‘mahalo Conan expresion tht ers 1 the (nae tenn of ied somo apamen and ha Bejan pt Se else i ‘wrung ofthe te 1920s Kes abou fares fishing ad sour Tate of ede dveling ia genera, wold come wo cepy a mprtant Plain he Acer oj