Benjamin indicates how there is no “typical distance” with the reproduction of films. Which is happening nowadays: whenever you want to see something or look back at it, you can use your phone and check it as it will always be there, which eliminates the uniqueness of that specific thing in that specific moment. Finding something everywhere is not the same as thinking that this thing will be just at this place and that I will have that experience at that specific moment and at that specific museum or place.

I can sum up with a personal example: two days ago, I took a picture of the sunrise and shared it with people who had just seen it without even liking it; likewise, when I saw that view once again, I was concentrated and left my phone and looked at the sunrise for more time than just looking at it and taking a picture. Finally, the use of newly developed cameras and applications to capture moments with details has not changed a thing; it captures the moment and keeps it, but it still cannot give the audience the same sensation because it is only through the aura that you experience the real presence of a work of art.

Benjamin, in his essay, discussed how works of art changed throughout history and how they used to have cult value when they belonged to private spaces, rituals, and traditions such as caves, temples, and churches. When the work of art moved from sacred places to museums, it started to be shared only to have a public present ability. For example, it is now a question of bringing the attention of the audience. He also talked about an important thing, which is the difference between authenticity and copies, and how the authenticity of an original work of art is related to the experience of time and space, which he called an aura.

The aura For Benjamin, a supernatural power comes from the uniqueness of that piece of art, which is lost because of the loss of the “sensory experience” through reproduction; moreover, we can see this in the example of videos and photography. For instance, now everyone can use their phones to click on a video of the waves of the sea to relax still when sitting and listening to the waves in reality in that specific place, which is the sea. “The feeling is so much different” because that video isn’t “fully present.” Furthermore, the accessibility to everything and the ability to find and consume images faster with less effort have somehow made the unique existence of that art somehow vanish because you can find whatever you want and whenever you want it.