The Importance of Aesthetics to Derived Meanings

On the Nature of Political Aestheticization

...or "How do you get an audience to identify with (and like) a deranged psycho?"

Sinthome (French: [sɛ̃tom]) is a concept introduced by Jacques Lacan in his seminar Le sinthome (1975–76). It redefines the psychoanalytic symptom in terms of the role of the subject outside of analysis, where enjoyment is made possible through creative identification with the symptom.

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Plato wouldn't be too happy to know that even art that promotes virtuous values can stimulate violent fantasies in a guy who gets off on that kind of thing. So what did Plato get wrong? Well, maybe it's not that he got it wrong so much as it is that things have changed. In his work "Art in the age of mechanical reproduction" philosopher Walter Benyamin talks about how the advent of new technologies for reproducing art such as photography and film. Or, in the case of "A Clockwork Orange", Proto mini-cassettes, led to a shift in the way art was experienced and consumed which brought with it significant ramifications for the ideological and political spheres. The mechanical reproduction of art eroded what he termed the "aura" surrounding traditional artworks, which were tied to specific cultural and religious contexts. 

For example, imagine that the only way you could experience the breathtaking Notredame cathedral was to visit the building and attend a sermon. Back then, the architectural beauty was inseparable from its' religious setting and maintained an aura that reinforced the intended ideological framework of Christianity. Now, imagine it's 2024 and you get a Notredame postcard from your friend Bob. This rendering of the cathedral carries neither the weight nor the significance of seeing it in its' original context. Chances are that the religious associations won't Factor at all in the way you interact with it. You'll probably just say, "oh cool, Bob is in France, and he thought of us, how nice!" 

The ability of the art to be mass-produced erodes its cultural and religious foundations. On the one hand, Benjamin was excited about the potential to erode the auras associated with works of art, as it opened an opportunity to divorce art from what he considered to be a parasitic dependence on bourgeois ritual. However, there was also a downside to the diminishing Aura, as the ability to establish new ones, or false auras, could transform art into a potent tool for political manipulation. Mechanical reproduction of media facilitated what he called, "the aestheticization of politics," where political movements could exploit the captivating allure of images to advance their agendas in the 20th century. Fascist regimes were able to harness the power of mass media and visual imagery to create a cult of personality around their leaders, glorify their ideologies, and quell dissent.

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