Walter Benjamin and Siegfrizd Kracauer

Walter Benjamin and Siegfrizd Kracauer characterize an aspect of film as a ‘distraction’ and both men have different ideas on what they mean by distraction but also have many similarities. Their essays The Mass Ornament, Hotel Lobby, Cult of Distraction and The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction all discuss their views on distraction and how cinematic capacities capture certain aspects of ‘modernity.’ Modern life was a life that was feared by the people it was fast changing and hard to adapt to, and with that came many accidents and it was shown through many devices including film.

In Walter Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Benjamin feels that ‘distraction’ had many “meanings” when it came to the masses. Benjamin thought distraction caused a decline in middle class society, Benjamin who felt that capitalism was due to changing modern times, saw film as a medium that was a distraction on the modern world and it was training for coping with the stimuli that the modern world brought. Film was high demand amongst the masses and the distracting element was that frame by frame the image or picture was constantly changing place and focus which would grab the viewer’s attention. Film editing allows for a consistent change of the image on the screen creating a “shock” effect which according to Benjamin should be taken with a heightened presence of mind. The “shock” effect given off by film led to the commercialization of films and gained popularity within the masses. Film has to much editing so it may be a distraction, because we are not given enough time to absorb it.

Benjamin uses the comparison of a painter and a filmmaker the painter’s work of art is his/her painting and within this work of art one can abandon themselves in it. The filmmaker’s work of art is his/her film when viewing the screen one cannot abandon them self in the film because it is constantly changing. According to Benjamin art demands concentration from the spectator, but this does not provide a platform for film analysis. Distraction and concentration are polar opposites, and for example a concentrated man in front of art is absorbed by it the