Shock as a Cultural Necessity. Walter Benjamin and the Discussion on the Nature of Modern Culture

Abstract

The paper examines the fundamental postulates of Walter Benjamin’s culturological theory. The works of this thinker are analysed in the context of the radicalisation and politicisation of the Frankfurt School as a whole. The divergence between Benjamin’s theoretical position and critical theory is emphasised, with particular attention given to his relations with other representatives of the Frankfurt School. The differences between the views of Benjamin and Theodor W. Adorno are considered within the broader framework of the cultural situation of the 1930s and 1940s.

The paper also explores Benjamin’s connection with the theoretical principles of the Soviet school of cinema and with the ideas of Rudolf Arnheim and Béla Balázs. It sheds light on the central element of Benjamin’s theory, which redirects scholarly focus from the artwork itself to its reception. The communicative character of his theoretical approach underlines Benjamin’s lasting significance for any contemporary assessment of the nature and structure of modern cultural conditions.