walter benjamin is making my head hurt.

first, however, here's a link to a game a friend of mine mentioned to me: you're an elite ROFLer who needs to destroy wave after wave of LOLLERskaters and LMAOplanes by dropping WTFbombs and OMGmissiles. comes with very own 80s power ballad music to add to the 1337ness.

now, the business. so i can better retain the info mr. benjamin is relaying to us, i'm going to try a tactic my bf (hereafter known as "the sheepman" need i ever reference him again) recommended, which basically entails writing a sentence about what i got from each section.

I
art and its complexities becomes more accessible to your average joe with the introduction of first lithography and later photography (essentially methods of mechanical reproduction).

II
reproductions of the original work of art serve to deteriorate the authentic beauty of said original at its exact moment of coming into being, sometimes referred to as its "aura."

III
SOCIALISM BAD (in that it dictates the replication of an original is as equal as the original; neither is superior nor inferior to the other. this section gave me a mountain of trouble, so i could be way off the mark here).

IV
art was first produced for religious purposes and has now evolved to the point where many operate under the idea of "art for art's sake," where no underlying purpose or meaning exists.

V
reproduction of art increases its accessibility.

VI
the meanings of reproductions are constructed by their context (?)

VII
some believe films have a spiritual nature to them that is either unrecognized by the audience or the actual filmmaker (not likely...).

VIII
in film the performance that the audience perceives is the camera's rather than the actual actor's.

IX
film is not as artistic as stage acting--the film actor approaches his work in disjointed pieces rather than the stage actor, who approaches his work as a whole.

X
as it becomes more accessible and widespread, the "art" now constructs the artist, rather than vice versa. (still could be totally off the mark...)

XI
film, as opposed to arts such as painting, creates the illusion of reality by diminishing the distance between the creator (the equipment) and the audience.

XII
the "mechanical reproducibility" of art (in general) allows for a public to come together (right now...) in a shorter period of time.

XIII
essentially, film allows us to see things in ways we wouldn't otherwise.

XIV
film can be seen as a form of dadaism, one that bombards their audience with images/ideas constantly, with no time allowing for contemplation on the image.

XV
films distract their audience, then deliver their message verrrrry stealthlike. also, duhamel hates movies.

ok, so what i gathered about the 3rd section way back there is now nullified. btw, this is no attempt to provide anybody w/a sparknotes version of the article; it's mostly for my own benefit since i appear to be cursed with a less than stellar memory.

now i am off to celebrate with watching american dad, recently bequeathed to me thanks to the beauty of the internet. internet, i ♥ you. (fyi, it is now 10:30 in the evening. i read this article in pieces. or i could just be lying about the whole "it took me over 9 hours to read this, WEEP" thing.)