BENJAMIN AND BAUDELAIRE: A Society Built Up

In Walter Benjamin's Arcades Project, a staple for the German Idealists, Benjamin uses the revival of classical Greek architecture in 19th century Paris as a metaphor for the rapid growth and change in and of the society at the time. One particular focus is upon a structure known as the arcade. Arcades in their basic form are open-air malls or marketplaces. There are often small gift shops and cafes on the main floor and staircases, (or in today's case elevators), that lead up to one or two more floors. On these floors are corridors that extend to lengths like streets, purposely mirroring the effect in order to assume a "passage to the city". Its entirety also becomes illuminated because of the implementation of the skylight. This bringing together of retail was the format for the first mall.

With this as a standard so came the specialty stores, (niche marketing), that catered to every need or interest possible. The consumer was now in control verses the old mantra of 'take it or leave it'. To Benjamin, all this newfound extravagance was glorifying the material value of an object, (i.e. fads, trends), and forgetting its former primary goal of actually having a purpose, in a utilitarian sense. Now that businesses were literally calling out to the consumer with flashy advertisements, in most cases, people did not have to look too hard or for that matter, go too far for what they wanted. Fashion became a necessity and therefore became "fetishized commodities", or objects wielding more power than they actually did. This need for stuff and collecting loads of it gave birth to the "private individual".

To this particular individual, the home became a sanctuary, an office and miniature world all their own. After all this time spent here, the space becomes the person and the person becomes their space, they are one entity. This "private individual" would become the precursor to today's anonymous online. Here, from their computer, the anonymous can buy and sell things on a whim in the privacy of their own home. The computer monitor is the new marketplace. It is also the place where people can freely express themselves without worrying about societal norms or customs; it becomes its own society with its own rules to play by. This freedom to discover and experiment also parallels Baudelaire's "Parisian Dream", which states that "Sleep is full of miracles" and that imagery, (ex. print vs. pixels), alone has influenced him in the way he thinks, etc. He is alone in his thoughts, his head, and his bedroom and his communication with the outside world is through means other than face to face. He is on the internet.