Is the mere representation an argument, or is it an invitation to find it pleasurable or miserable? For much of this work, Sontag wrestles with this question: what is the difference between simply representing atrocity and arguing against it? Regarding the Pain of Others Susan Sontag I’m on a laid-back mission to make my way through Susan Sontag’s oeuvre, and this in particular has been on my active reading list since I finished On Photography several years ago. Within her discussion, Sontag links the perceptions of war with other concepts related to sex, status, and culture. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. help you understand the book. Television is just another step in this degenerative process; it's effective for now, but already it's used as a mechanism for coping with short attention spans and a constant desire for more stimulation. While most people cannot, will not, ever know what it means to suffer such horror, it is important that everyone understand that such nightmares are real. Chapters 6 - 9 By Dwight Thompson & Jillian Ruddell. Images make events seem "real" to viewers, even as they seem "unreal" in their similarity to art. will review the submission and either publish your submission or provide feedback. It was her last published book before her death in 2004. Regarding the Pain of Others. Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this Regarding the Pain of Others study guide. Dec. 2, 2020. March 23, 2003; In June 1938 Virginia Woolf published Three Guineas , her brave, unwelcomed … She emphasizes that a photographer is framing the narrative, he or she is letting us see what they want us to see. Regarding the Pain of Others is a book-length essay by Susan Sontag published in 2003. Governments clamp down on photojournalism to silence anti-war sentiment. Sontag claims that a photo's meaning is based on interpretation, perhaps formed of ignorance. Sontag recognizes that atrocious images can leave one with a sense of powerlessness, but nevertheless concludes that it is important for people to be aware of what humankind is capable. Even so, the role of spectator makes many such viewers feel helpless to act upon what they are seeing. Sontag addresses the issue of censorship with the idea that war photography is, usually, anti-war in nature. Features detailed chapter by chapter summaries and multiple sections of expert analysis. Not affiliated with Harvard College. The viewer's prior experience and the context of the viewing, all play a part in how meaning is derived. 24-page comprehensive study guide. Regarding the Pain of Others Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to Regarding the Pain of Others Bibliography. This detailed literature summary also contains Topics for Discussion and a Free Quiz on Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag. Copyright © 1999 - 2021 GradeSaver LLC. 25 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Regarding the Pain of Others. In Regarding the Pain of Others, Sontag directly addresses an issue that she has mentioned in previous works (namely On Photographs ): the applicability of war images for use in pacifist efforts, as well as their effectiveness in the endeavor to force their viewers to understand the brutal reality of war. While each image is a mere token of a larger issue, they collectively represent a broad strokes understanding of mankind's problems. War photography can be used well, but perhaps not to the extent or effectiveness that was once hoped. In Regarding the Pain of Others, Sontag explores visual representations of war and violence in today's culture - from Goya's The Disasters of War to photographs of the American Civil War and contemporary horrific images of the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Israel, and Palestine - asking a series of questions: What is the purpose of showing the atrocities of war? Susan Sontag (/ˈsɒntæɡ/; January 16, 1933 – December 28, 2004) was an American writer, filmmaker, teacher, and political activist. Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag. In Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag examines the manner in which war is perceived, taking into account such factors as sex, culture and status. by:Vernon Foley 2012 The author, Susan Sontag, uses this tragic record of events to explore the power of imagery to tell a story that words cannot bring to light. How does the spectacle of the sufferings of … Through the rest of the work, Sontag uses various illustrations to argue the point that horribly disturbing images of war can be interpreted in many ways, unlike Woolf's devoted pacifistic ideas: a photograph of a dismembered child could either convince a viewer that war is an atrocity that must be stopped, or that the army needs to redouble its efforts to end the war as soon as possible. Written by people who wish to remain anonymous. These pictures, taken by American soldiers, on the surface tell a story of torture of those that were captured and detained in Abu Ghraib. Something to be fixed. Since the majority of people demand objectivity from photography, Sontag considers the subject of authenticity, examining the ways in which photography might be influenced by "art" to incite sentiment in the viewer. Regarding The Torture Of Others. Includes not just the sympathizers of the … Regarding the Pain of Others Sontag, Susan. In Regarding the Pain of Others, Sontag is alerting us about the dangers of the wearing out of our moral feelings. Regarding the Pain of Others is a book-length essay that wanders all around the crucial thesis, exploring various aspects of both the subject and the medium before declaring a verdict on its efficacy. In Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag examines the manner in which war is perceived, taking into account such factors as sex, culture and status. The opening paragraphs quickly set the central theme of … At the same time, the hyper-saturation of images has dulled the public's sensibilities, making them callous. The victims of famine and massacre are always, as Neville Chamberlain dismissively … Get Regarding the Pain of Others from Amazon.com. 'Regarding the Pain of Others' By Susan Sontag. ... ''any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on … Shots are often staged and events reenacted for the camera. The ultimate resource for class assignments, lesson planning, or leading discussions. It is a view of suffering, of the pain of others, that is rooted in religious thinking, which links pain to sacrifice, sacrifice to exaltation—a view that could not be more alien to a modern sensibility, which regards suffering as something that is a mistake or an accident or a crime. Sontag considers the many ways that war is articulated through images, noting that artifice did not end with the advent of photography. It is regarded by many to be a follow-up or addendum to On Photography, despite the fact that the two essay collections convey Sontag's radically different opinions about photography. Images, however, have impeccable veracity to the human mind, representing as they do the basis of empirical truth. In the essay “Regarding the Pain of Others” by Susan Sontag, it is an essay about the manipulation and functions of photography. Her essays on photography have become legendary, and this book is no exception. Sontag's book takes an intimate look at the way we chronicle war and death in our society. Primary Category ... statements about photographs of suffering might also help us think about the function of writing and reading about others' suffering. In some cases the camera's presence can influence what is captured. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. You can help us out by revising, improving and updating Sontag reminds the reader, however, that images are first filtered through image-takers. The sheer amount of coverage of death in the modern era, moreover, has begun to normalize it, taking away from the original power of the image. Sontag rejects the notion that war imagery will necessarily compel a repudiation of war, instead arguing that war is itself perennial. Summary & Study Guide Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag Kindle Edition by BookRags.com (Author) Format: Kindle Edition 2.8 out of 5 stars 2 ratings Something to be fixed. Regarding the Pain of Others is a 2003 book-length essay by Susan Sontag, which was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award. She does not argue that the realities of war and violence must be kept in secret, but she explores this particular and very possible moment when the witness of other people's pain gets so used with atrocity that his moral sense and … “ Regarding the Pain of Others bristles with a sense of commitment--to seeing the world as it is, to worrying about the ways it is represented, even to making some gesture in the direction of changing it...the performance is thrilling to witness.” ― The New York Times Magazine Order our Regarding the Pain of Others Study Guide, teaching or studying Regarding the Pain of Others. The Question and Answer section for Regarding the Pain of Others is a great this section. She begins this long essay by considering a passage from Virginia Woolf's Three Guineas, a book dealing with the Spanish Civil War, arguing that Woolf's objection to the discrepancy between different views on war is too weak; instead of merely being subject to the differences between men and women, views on war are far from uniform, and different pieces of evidence lead different people to drastically different conclusions. The pain of others titillates us, so long as it is kept at a safe distance. She notes, however, that interest is not necessarily accompanied with compassion. Why your go-to-market strategy should be industry focused Regarding the Pain of Others is a book about photography but more so, it is a book about photographs and their influence upon us and what, if any, impact a photograph of human suffering can have on us or should have on us. Regarding the Pain of Others study guide contains a biography of Susan Sontag, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. This study guide contains the following sections: This detailed literature summary also contains Topics for Discussion and a Free Quiz on ― Susan Sontag, quote from Regarding the Pain of Others “No "we" should be taken for granted when the subject is looking at other people's pain.” “With time, many staged photographs turn back into historical evidence, albeit of an impure kind - like most historical evidence.” To those who are sure that right is on one side, oppression and injustice on the other, and that the fighting must go … Sontag starts off with beautifying. everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of Regarding the Pain of Others. Journalists, meanwhile, participate in a type of self-censorship based on unspoken ideals of "good taste.". Sontag explains that a picture's meaning is derived through a synthesis of artifice, context and experience. There is also the matter of why the viewer is looking at the image. Regarding the Pain of Others Summary. Something to be refused. Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag Chapter 1: Men find glory and satisfaction in war but women do not; war is a man’s game War cannot be abolished Photos are used as rhetoric Does the shock of photos unite people of good will? She contends that war imagery is open to both interpretation and manipulation. It's equally likely that the appeal to halt the spread of militancy might spur it on instead. In Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag examines the manner in which war is perceived, taking into account such factors as sex, culture and status. By Susan Sontag. In the third and fourth chapters of Susan Sontag’s, “ Regarding the Pain of Others”, Sontag discusses the impacts of art and photography, the reactions they can evoke, and how images can be manipulated. GradeSaver, 29 September 2019 Web. She contends that war imagery is open to both interpretation and manipulation. Regarding the Pain of Others essays are academic essays for citation. Viewers are more inclined to feel compassion toward subjects of their own race and nationality. Sontag revisits humankind's fascination with images of suffering, considering several theories as to why it exists. There is an intriguing twofold nature of the world in context of the image: the public opinion is shaped by the media, much of which comes in the form of images. regarding the pain of others by Susan Sontag ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 15, 2003 With a glance back at the essays in On Photography (1977), the eminent intellectual, critic, and writer cobbles together a defense of war photography—with a result that’s as much maunder as miracle. A Summary of Regarding the Torture of Others. In Regarding the Pain of Others Susan Sontag asks the reader to think about what happens when suffering is viewed third hand. After you claim a section you’ll have 24 hours to send in a draft. She contends that war imagery is open to both interpretation and manipulation. Access Full Guide. This Study Guide consists of approximately 21 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - Anonymous "Regarding the Pain of Others Summary". Our Summary of Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag Susan Sontag's work 'Regarding the Pain of Others' represents a commentary on the perceptions of war. Sontag ends this essay with the argument that, while these images can be effective in their own right, they will never be able to truly encapsulate war and allow viewers to experience it secondhand, simply because they have never experienced it firsthand. 1090 Words. Governments use photojournalists to put a positive face to unpopular wars. Regarding the Pain Of Others READ AN EXCERPT One of the distinguishing features of modern life is that it supplies countless opportunities for regarding (at a distance, through the medium of photography) horrors taking place throughout the world. Susan Sontag’s new book, Regarding the Pain of Others, updates, expands, and in certain respects repudiates her 1977 book On Photography.Where On Photography was quite theoretical and full of jargon, following, as it did, the work of the French critic Roland Barthes, Regarding the Pain of Others is a series of simple ideas written in plain language. Photographs also have a unique advantage over other forms of communication and recording: they are necessarily objective, and yet they are still taken from a subjective point of view, lending credibility to whatever argument is propagated by the photographer, an important development for the advent of photojournalism in the 1940s alongside World War II. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag. Once we lose our sense for sympathy, we lose our humanity. Sontag claims that people are drawn to images of suffering with an almost sexual interest. In Regarding the Pain of Others, Sontag directly addresses an issue that she has mentioned in previous works (namely On Photographs): the applicability of war images for use in pacifist efforts, as well as their effectiveness in the endeavor to force their viewers to understand the brutal reality of war. Sontag decides that a history based only upon images is a fiction, explaining that a general understanding of history is more important than images pertaining to one historical event. Sontag initially addresses a question posed to writer and anti-war activist Virginia Woolf: “How in your opinion are we to prevent war?” but then, deducing that war is perennial, Sontag uses the remainder of her book to examine the relation between photography and feelings and ideas about war. She delineates a difference from viewing a horrific … 4 Pages. “It is a view of suffering, of the pain of others, that is rooted in religious thinking, which links pain to sacrifice, sacrifice to exaltation - a view that could not be more alien to a modern sensibility, which regards suffering as something that is a mistake or an accident or a crime. This study guide consists of approx. With that warning Sontag dives into major questions about what seeing photos of suffering does to an individual: are we changed after seeing … Tracing the development of technology alongside military history, Sontag demonstrates the importance of the Spanish Civil War: it was the first war to be attended by a crew of photographers to record it and send it home. “No ‘we’ should be taken for granted when the subject is looking at other people’s pain” Who are the shocking pictures aimed at? resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel. Sontag goes through many functions of photography. 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