Reaction of the Masses

The part that stuck out to me the most in the reading on Mechanical Reproduction was on page 29. Throughout the whole reading i wondered if Benjamin had a negative opinion about film or art which did not posses Aura. On page 29 he discusses the different between the reaction of the masses towards art. He says, "The greater the decrease in in the social significance of and art form, the sharper the distinction between criticism and enjoyment by the public. The conventional is uncritically enjoyed, and the truly new is criticized with aversion" (29). He uses an example, comparing a Picasso painting to a Chaplin film. I think he is saying that a Picasso can be looked at by an individual without criticism, while a Chaplin film will be enjoyed but not without criticism. I disagree with this point because i know that there is critical discussion about all paintings, not only Picasso paintings. Also an uneducated viewer could see a Chaplin movie and enjoy it without thinking critically. Benjamin then goes on to talk about individual response in comparison to group response. He says, "With regard to the screen, the critical ad the receptive attitudes of the public coincide. The decisive reason for this is that individual reactions are predetermined by the mass audience response... The moment these responses become manifest they control each other" (29). Benjamin is saying her that the audience thinks in a way as a whole, that their reactions are determined by the group. I agree with this to some extent, peoples opinion will influence others, but it is possible to not be effected by those around you. Benjamin says the same will  happen with a painting and he disagrees with the way art is sometimes viewed, "Painting simply in in to position to present an object for simultaneous collective experience" (29). He believes that viewing paintings should be and individual experience in order to keep from a similar mass opinion that film receives.