ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by introducing Benjamin’s interpretation of Andre Breton’s theory of a revolutionary energy in outmoded things. Having related this to a wider image of the way modernism mistreats and commodifies ‘things’ the writing goes into a detailed analysis and interpretation of a relevant paragraph. Lingering on a line about popular song leads the writing into wider reference to our contemporary ‘retromania’. This is evaluated, both for its crass expansion of commodification into our cherished past, and for its remaining ‘revolutionary potential’ to disrupt everyday values that still rely upon the new.
