Introduction

The contemporary critique of digital culture as distracting evokes Walter. Benjamin’s analysis of mechanical reproduction, specifically parroting the “cost of closeness” that Benjamin speaks of. Benjamin identifies the cost of mechanical reproduction and industrial capitalism more broadly. The triumph of modernity is often linked to intellectual developments growing out of the Enlightenment as well as attendant changes in the political economy in Europe and North America that would ultimately become industrial capitalism. Over two centuries after the construction of Père La Chaise, death is in a rather different place in the context of modernity. Walter points to new memorialization practices found on social media, in particular Facebook. The concept of “the face” has attracted attention in the theoretical and philosophical analyses of new media; as is the case for Hansen, the primary driver of this has been the interest in Deleuze. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.