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A review by wolfiedude14
Aesthetics and Politics by Ernst Bloch, Theodor W. Adorno, Walter Benjamin
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
A collection of essays, correspondence, letters, convening on the subject of Expressionism following the 30s in Germany.
It is clear to me that my knowledge of this general movement is insufficient to a point where I can't pass judgement on any individual writer's argument in a really determinate manner but I certainly get impressions.
Lukacs here comes across as the weakest of all of them in his arguments, there's a certain level of conceptual analysis I can appreciate but as Bloch rightly points out in the first essay that responds to Lukacs' essay (which generally started this whole thing it would seem) an analysis of Expressionism without reference to any of its key writers is very odd indeed. He also comes across theoretically weak apart from rather broadly non-aesthetic concepts such as reification and so forth. I just don't feel his arguments bear any weight, I'm not convinced expressionism reproduces bourgeois reality and systems nor fascistic in nature. That said on a reread I could change my view.
The back-end essay by Adorno which starts to rope in so many forms of media it's astounding is very good and worth the book I would say. It is a response to Sartre, Brecht, and others and is probably the most direct and engaging of the texts.
In terms of a collection it's pretty good volume. If anything there is a good sense of the history of the period, as well as the brilliant concluding section by Jameson who manages to tie it all together (and slightly redeems Lukacs in my view.)
It is clear to me that my knowledge of this general movement is insufficient to a point where I can't pass judgement on any individual writer's argument in a really determinate manner but I certainly get impressions.
Lukacs here comes across as the weakest of all of them in his arguments, there's a certain level of conceptual analysis I can appreciate but as Bloch rightly points out in the first essay that responds to Lukacs' essay (which generally started this whole thing it would seem) an analysis of Expressionism without reference to any of its key writers is very odd indeed. He also comes across theoretically weak apart from rather broadly non-aesthetic concepts such as reification and so forth. I just don't feel his arguments bear any weight, I'm not convinced expressionism reproduces bourgeois reality and systems nor fascistic in nature. That said on a reread I could change my view.
The back-end essay by Adorno which starts to rope in so many forms of media it's astounding is very good and worth the book I would say. It is a response to Sartre, Brecht, and others and is probably the most direct and engaging of the texts.
In terms of a collection it's pretty good volume. If anything there is a good sense of the history of the period, as well as the brilliant concluding section by Jameson who manages to tie it all together (and slightly redeems Lukacs in my view.)