I really enjoyed Benjamin’s piece, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.” Well, maybe “enjoyed” is notthe proper word, but I got a lot out of it. Many of his points relate directly to some of the main themes in White Noise. According Benjamin, once a piece of art is reproduced, it loses a part of its “aura,” its uniqueness and its authenticity. The act of reproduction also “shatters tradition” as the original piece becomes less directly associated to whatever moment in history and culture that it was created in. He points out that photography and film have accelerated the ability for art to be mechanically (now, digitally) reproduced.
A reproduction of something is not the original, it is fake and separate from the original. This theme appears in White Noise in the way that simulations often take the place of true, original experiences. The SUMVAC team stages various disasters, allegedly for the purpose of practice so that when an actual disaster occurs they are prepared. However, when a foul chemical odor descends upon the town, everybody ignores it. The characters in this novel are stuck in their simulated, or reproduced reality. Another example is the sunset. After the Toxic Airborne Exposure, the sunsets have been technically enhanced and people flock to the highway overpass to watch them. This didn’t happen before when the sunsets were merely average. The enhanced sunset is relates to what Benjamin points out about photography and film and how it can be manipulated. People would prefer to see a seamlessly edited film rather than rough cuts barely patched together. The characters of White Noise also prefer their altered sunset.
I found it remarkable how current and topical Benjamin’s piece still seems today, 70+ years later. I wonder what he would think about Hitler mash ups and modern, multi-media art installations? Would they even possess an aura?
Yes! Someone is bringing Benjamin into our discussion! I agree, Benjamin was incredibly prescient, and we’re still dealing with many of the phenomena that he first observed eighty years ago. Simulation really does seem to be the watchword for the characters in the novel. They participate more fully in simulations than in real life. Maybe because that’s when they engage in real life (Jack in the toxic cloud, Wilder crossing the interstate) they approach nearer to death. That’s a scary place to be. Versus a simulation, which is a kind of already-dead type of life.