Walter Benjamin - The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Summary Works of art have always been reproducible, through imitation. Mechanical reproduction characterizes a new period in reproduction, with new limits and repercussions. Each new technology employed in the production or reproduction of art increased the speed with which they could be done so. Lithography allowed for multiple images from one original, keeping up with the happenings of everyday life, and then …showed first 75 words of 819 total…

…showed last 75 words of 819 total…reason for the success of the film is due in part to the fact that the masses seek distraction, while art requires the viewers' attention and concentration: A man who concentrates before a work of art is absorbed by it... In contrast, the distracted man absorbs the work. The film putts the public in the position of critic, yet the movie is in a position, which requires no attention, making the public an absent-minded critic.