The film Manhatta relates to Strand’s “Photography and the New God”, and Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, in various ways. One very important way the film related to both Strand’s and Benjamin’s article is the position of the camera in relation to God. In Strand’s article Strand assigned the role of God to the industrial moment going on at the time. As Strand puts it “a new trinity: God the machine, materialist empiricism the son, and science the Holy Ghost” (Strand 138). In Benjamin’s article Benjamin assigned the role of God to the cult value. Cult value being what masses worshiped, and found praiseworthy. More often, than not the cult value was religious and historical aspects. In Benjamin’s words “The cult of remembrance … a last refuge for the cult value of picture.”…show more content… The camera shows the masses this by explaining with the imagery that moving forward isn’t bad. Meanwhile, the film relates to Benjamin’s God by appealing to the mass and showing the wonders that their country is reaching, yet a small glimpse of what to come. The mechanical camera is serving them by teaching what is going around. What one-day will become historical significance. The film spends a bare min on Benjamin’s God since exhibition value is slowly but surely becoming an over arching
