Benjamin saw the masses as perceiving reproducible art through a dream-like consciousness

Evidence

How Benjamin pictured this naked contemporary' was shown both in his essay on The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’ and in various notes for the Passagen-Werk. He described the relationship of the masses to reality, and to works of art based on reproducibility, as one in which elements of the dream form of perception appeared. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 850

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies Benjamin’s concept of the masses’ ‘dream form of perception’ in relation to mechanically reproduced art.
• XREF: Connects to Benjamin’s ‘Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’ essay and the Passagen-Werk, both foundational for the Frankfurt School’s aesthetics. — connects to: Benjamin’s machines lead to a theory of aura, not of causality — Fredric Jameson, Marxism and Form, 163; Benjamin built his method from dreaming and ecstasy to expand consciousness beyond academic limits — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 811; Benjamin hoped masses would trade auratic art for disposable entertainment aware of technology — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 852 (+1 more)