Week 8- The non lecture

Politics, Not one of my favourite topics but I’ll give it go…so I read the notes from lecture and this is what I grasped from it…first I’m going to have too define a few terms in my own words, just so I can understand them. Apologies, I know it’s a boring read!

Cyber politics: politics that exists on the internet ie; activities that occurs between bloggers.

E-democracy: the Internets contribution to politics that exists on the Internet. Eg; campaigning on the Internet, voting on the Internet.

Democracy: The government of the people, by the people, for the people

While on the topic of E-democracy I think it’s important to mention how much the Internet has changed voting. The net has giving a whole new avenue for the voting system not just through advertisement but also through education. People can self educate themselves and hear others political opinions before making decisions of their own. Political blogs, educational sites can all help to inform those who are interested. The web has enabled people from all different backgrounds to discuss and express their opinion regarding politics.

Considering there is so much information from that lecture I am going to concentrate one area that I found interesting. Walter Benjamin’s argument from his writings ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’ is one that is extremely famous today. He argued that new technologies (film/photography) freed art from its traditional, cult and bourgeois values. He described works of art as being attached to an 'aura' (ie; having traditional value) and when photographs, film and the ability to mass produce came into to picture the ‘aura’ of art works ceased to exist because art could be viewed by anyone. He believed that the tearing down the aura enabled people to view art work completely differently as the work was now freed from it traditional value. This is an argument I can agree with, when works of art are placed in a gallery, framed and behind glass they have degree of authority over arts work on posters, magazines ect. Its crazy to think that mass production and the media have changed the way art it viewed by society. Its appreciated not just because its location (gallery) tells you to appreciate it.