Blog Post #1
Williamscott Sorge
CCS 313

            According to Rhiannon Williams of The Telegraph, the HBO series, Game Of Thrones, is the most pirated show on the Internet. In the span of two months, 1.4 million people used torrents to illegally download show, beating out shows like The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad. There is a lot to be said about the impact that shows like Game Of Thrones have and about what they reveal about this constantly evolving technological beast that is modern television. Through the context of Walter Benjamin, the idea of the aura can be addressed in a variety of ways when dealing with Game Of Thrones, and in many ways, forces his ideas to change and shape to the art form of what television is.

            Benjamin’s idea of the aura explains that every piece of art contains an aura and through modern reproductive technologies, this aura is damaged because things like photos and videos showcase and frame the pieces through a second party, making the viewer incapable of experiencing the purest intent of the art piece. Using the traditional interpretation of Benjamin’s text, it is impossible for television to have an aura, because everything that we see is produced through a camera, which is considered a secondary tool and is unable to capture authentic art. Since this article was written, the world has changed drastically and so have the types of art that are generated. Television has an aura in the sense that it captures certain content both visually and through the story being told. These aspects of television shows are what give them their identity and form their aura. With Game Of Thrones being pirated by so many people through torrents online, I actually think it strengthens it’s aura. Television has becoming something much larger than a physical box that you own at home and more about the type of storytelling format that it allows. So although it isn’t being watched on a weekly basis on the intended channel, it bring this series into the lives of so many more people and adds that much more to the show’s fan base and popularity as a whole.

            Game Of Thrones is a show that could also be viewed through a different lens of Benjamin, being that is an HBO original series based on a book. One could argue that the show damages the aura of the books, hindering the readers experience and making it impossible for someone to disassociate it from the novels. To some extent, it does change the perspective of the reader if he or she has watched the show, because it puts faces and voices to all the characters that are written about. However, at least in this specific case, I do not think it does any harm to the books and in many ways amplifies the experience. If you are able to view the two as separate entities you are able to respect and enjoy both equally as works of art. Along those lines, there are differences between the show and book , both because of creative preference and simply because they couldn’t show it on the screen in the allotted time, and these changes separate the two and in a minuscule way, show that they are two different pieces of art regardless of the show’s relatively accurate and faithful depiction of the books.

            Walter Benjamin’s ideas of the aura will always be relevant as long as art is being made, but the way we apply his ideas must changes as technology changes. Game Of Thrones can be accessed through books, television, and the Internet, and all three of them are valid and authentic forms of art in their own ways all while containing the same content.