Two articles summary ( one page for each) - Article Example

April 10, Matheson’s “The Simpsons, Hyper-Irony, and the Meaning of Life” Comedies are changing because society is changing too. Carl Matheson analyzes how The Simpsons uses quotationalism and hyper-ironism in describing and criticizing modern life. Quotationalism refers to quoting popular culture symbols or languages, while hyper-ironism is about showing a “cold” comedy approach on having insights about the world that other people lack (Matheson). Matheson shows that The Simpsons effectively uses quotationalism and hyper-ironism in developing the bleak humor of the show.

Matheson explains that The Simpsons effectively uses quotationalism through allusions. He gives the example of the episode, “A Streetcar Named Marge.” The episode uses allusions to A Streetcar Named Desire, Ayn Rand, The Great Escape, and Hitchcock’s The Birds. Matheson argues that these allusions are not for satire, but to capture deep meanings and to connect them to the story and the characters. These allusions are successful in keeping the humor tight and meaningful in The Simpsons. Apart from quotationalism, hyper-ironism shows the bleak humor of the show.

Matheson asserts that modern society has “a pervasive crisis of authority,” which the show also describes through its undercutting of moral positions, including its own cynicism. He says that hyper-ironism is present in how The Simpsons attacks itself for its lack of strong and clear moral values and direction. Matheson argues that The Simpsons is funny because of its combination of quotationalism and hyper-ironism that see the society as it is, filled with cold and lost people trying to hang on to traditional values while adapting new ones.

Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”Walter Benjamin provides a general history of the evolution of art. He asserts that changes in the economic structure have created changes in art. Like the economic structure, art is losing its essence, or “aura,” the inner force that comes from art’s uniqueness. He argues that mechanical reproduction has destroyed art by reinforcing oppressive socioeconomic systems.Benjamin explores the loss of art in the modern mechanical age.

His first main point is that technology removes the purity of art. Technology makes art reproducible or mass-produced, which destroys art’s aura. Aura is lost in mass production because authenticity cannot be reproduced as it leads to the lost authority of the original maker. His second point is that art is as oppressive as the economic structure. Art is oppressive because it puts the masses in their controlled position, as they consume symbols and images that protect capitalistic socio-economic conditions.

He believes that art is now made to distract people’s attention than to make them fully aware of the art’s true meaning. Finally, Benjamin argues that art changes reality through its mechanical tools that distract people from the truth about life. He thinks that people are no longer reflecting on art, and instead, modern art reflects on them, which is used to control their perceptions. Films, for instance, are manipulated to represent limited or distorted perceptions of reality. Benjamin is worried of how people are nowadays easily submitting to modern art because they no longer have the ability to concentrate and to criticize art like they used to.

Instead, Benjamin describes modern art that controls the masses by creating new habits that support the oppressive economic structure, which created changes in art in the first place.Benjamin argues that modern art is oppressive art because it reflects the needs and values of the oppressive capitalist system. As art is mass produced for distraction, it prevents people from completely appreciating art, and even life, in a critical way.Works CitedBenjamin, Walter. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction.

” Andy Blunden, Trans. 1998. UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television 1936. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.Matheson, Carl. “The Simpsons, Hyper-Irony, and the Meaning of Life.” 2001. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.