Authenticity, Myth, and Meaning
Authenticity, Essence, Aura, Authority – we are living in a time that is said to be the end of all authority or authenticity. That nothing can be created any longer and nothing is “real”. We have to use what has already been created, the works of art that already have made their place in time, and bring them to our own time. Our contemporary “gotta have it now” approach to life has affected our perception of what is “real” and what is not. Any one of us could access an image, a digital image, of DaVinci’s Mona Lisa in a matter of minutes, maybe even seconds.
Google Image Search of DaVinci's Mona Lisa
To Benjamin, a work of art is unique to a specific time a place in history – it cannot be reproduced in its entirety. Though the image has accessibility and reproduction is possible, the presence of the original is something that cannot be touched. Benjamin believes that the aura is not present when neither is the original work of art itself. This is why he has trouble with the film and photographic forms of art, because they are so easily reproducible that the original lacks meaning.
This can be seen in the transition of performance art and how it is viewed. The musical Rent is based on the Opera La Boheme. Its premiere off and on Broadway revived interest in musical theatre, bringing much commercial success and popularity as the show began touring. Suddenly, it didn’t matter where in the country you were, Rent would come to you. As if this weren’t enough, the musical was then made into a film and distributed nationally. A viewing experience that once had authenticity an ownership, was now mass-produced and available at any time for viewing with DVDs and YouTube searches. A live performance is something that can not be recreated, it is specific to a time a place and could never exactly replicate another performance. With the DVDs, Movie Theaters, and YouTubing of the same scene of the film takes away from the authenticity of that art, that performance.
Durham, Meenakshi G., and Douglas Kellner. Media and cultural studies keyworks. 2nd ed. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2006.
