Walter Benjamin, notes that even the most perfect reproduction is lacking one element of the authentic version: it’s presence in time and space, its unique existence in the place it happens to be (1936:2) He further argues that reproductions do not present the same sense of authenticity of the original, the same deep historical roots and authority. A reproduction of an authentic work does not foster the same original aura of the piece, rather the aura decays in the presence of a new contexts and the original intention is lost. Both Jacqueline Ferland and Jeff Hart’s blog draw on this concept of the diminished aura in their analysis of the reproduction of the "Jai Ho" song by A.R. Rahman as seen in the end credits of “Slumdog Millionaire” by the Pussycat Dolls’ version “Jai Ho (You are my destiny)”. While both highlight that the loss of aura is attributable to the cultural differences in presentation, they differ in their assertion of exactly at what points and what examples result in the decay of this aura. Further each takes a unique critical position which foregrounds their optimism and view of reproductions of media on the whole.
Jacqueline's blogs about the loss of aura due to cultural differences in terms of differing conceptions of sexuality. She notes that while the two versions hold some “structural” similarities the cultural background of each is so dichotomized that no aura of the authentic work can be retained. The original Jai Ho video, she argues, celebrates and praises life and love’s triumph over adversity, where sexuality is “…commonly apparent yet very subtle through movement and lyrics”. She contrasts the subtle sexuality, characteristics of Indian culture, to the more overt hyper sexualized American pop culture arena. She argues that the newly reproduced work lacks the same Indian cultural values and ideals and instead favors obtuse American sexuality, which works to only “imprint” the ideas of the original work in the viewers mind, but ultimately fails to communicate the original spirit and meaning of the authentic Jai Ho video, and may actually be seen as borderline offensive.
Jeff Hart also argues that the different cultural arena of the reproduction aids in diminishing the aura, however he draws on the more structural, contextual and material aspects that are unique to American culture to make his point. First Jeff recognizes that the actual shift in physical geographic locality from India itself to the mock subway and market most likely built in a warehouse in LA, has a notable affect in reducing the subject position and context. Further, he argues that the insertion of consumer products, such as the Nokia phone; is not only distracting but reveals a different set of underlying cultural values driving the videos creation. Jeff also notes that structurally the each individual video segment is longe, which allows for the viewer to more fully absorb what it going on and engage more with the visual component of the video than the audio.
Although Jeff, like Jacqueline, recognizes the cultural differences that facilitate a different form of reproduction he is perhaps less critical of the newly reproduced work and chooses to end his blog post by valuing the creativity and personal expression that comes with such reproduction, even if the aura is diminished. Both bloggers are successful in picking apart the Pussycat Dolls Jai Ho video and revealing that the messages conveyed are inherently different than the original production and are informed by the new cultural arena where the video was produced.
Benjamin, Walter.
1936 The Work of Art in the Mechanical Age of Reproduction. Marxist Literary Criticism.
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