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Walter Benjamin

Uploaded by angelttt on Oct 31, 2011

I Introduction

The Arcades Project is one of the most unusual works I’ve ever seen. It’s less a book than it is a feeling; an evocative recreation of a time and place, specifically Paris in the first part of the 20th Century.
In order to create his portrait of Paris, Benjamin has collected thousands of newspaper and magazine articles, reviews, programs, notes—anything written that gave the flavor of the city or the particular part of it that he was exploring at the time. Using contemporary sources the way he did enabled Benjamin to bring the city to life in a unique way. The Arcades Project is over 1,000 pages long and unfortunately still unfinished; it would be fascinating to see Benjamin’s reaction to recent architectural developments.

II Chapter: “Dream House, Museum, Spa”

I chose this chapter because it’s short enough to explore thoroughly. The book is so densely packed with information that it’s difficult to really absorb it except in small “doses.” Reading the chapter is an extraordinary experience: as I read the words, I seem to hear the voices of the various writers, the hum of the Parisian streets, laughter, and all the sounds of life in the city. Perhaps the idea to explore here is whether or not such an approach is effective.
I would have to argue that it is extremely effective. Rather than simply describing what he sees, Benjamin allows others to speak through him, and this collection of disparate viewpoints comes together to make a coherent whole. Each fragment builds on the others, so that the reader is gradually drawn deeper into an appreciation of what life must have been like in Paris. Here’s an example that illustrates his technique; he makes a statement and invites us to contemplate what it means. He says, “Dream houses of the collective: arcades, winter gardens, panoramas, factories, wax museums, casinos, railroad stations.” (Benjamin, p. 405). While we might consider arcades, winter gardens, wax museums and possibly casinos as “dream houses,” it takes some contemplation of what they are and how we usually think of them before we can decide whether factories and railroad stations also fit into this category. And the word “panorama” suggests a view of the city itself from an outside vantage point, another unusual usage.
As an aside, it’s interesting to note that the arcades...

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Uploaded by:   angelttt

Date:   10/31/2011

Category:   Biographies

Length:   4 pages (909 words)

Views:   1915

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