This Book is For:
*Literally anyone concerned about the level of violence present in the world today - or, at least, the violence presented to our awareness - and who sees the value in thinking deeply about the kind of society that allows it to continue.
*Students of history who want to investigate how the images we create and share also shape our worldview and beliefs about human history, not to mention our human future.
*Photographers and anyone who works in media or content creation and who is interested in exploring the relationship between viewer and creator, and between feeling and action.
Summary:
“To paraphrase several sages: Nobody can think and hit someone at the same time.”
-Susan Sontag
Are we changed by the images we're constantly exposed to during the day? Especially where images of violence, suffering, and misery are concerned, are we moved to action? Inspired to help? Informed? Depressed? Do they teach us, or numb us?
These are the questions that the brilliant essayist Susan Sontag asks us to consider for ourselves in this book-length essay that was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award and was her last published book befo
Regarding the pain of others
Twenty-five years after her classic On Photography, Susan Sontag returns to the subject of visual representations of war and violence in our culture today.
How does the spectacle of the sufferings of others (via television or newsprint) affect us? Are viewers inured--or incited--to violence by the depiction of cruelty? In Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag takes a fresh look at the representation of atrocity--from Goya's The Disasters of War to photographs of the American Civil War, lynchings of blacks in the South, and the Nazi death camps, to contemporary horrific images of Bosnia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Israel and Palestine, and New York City on September 11,
In Regarding the Pain of Others Susan Sontag once again changes the way we think about the uses and meanings of images in our world, and offers an important reflection about how war itself is waged (and understood) in our time.
Best summary PDF, themes, and quotes. More books than SparkNotes.
These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.
Written by people who wish to remain anonymous
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. 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.
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 pacifist
Susan Sontag’s Regarding the Pain of Others
Published Nov 15, written by Luke Dunne, BA Philosophy & Theology
What is the power and potential of depictions of suffering? How should we process such images? How should they inform our views about warfare? Susan Sontag was a journalist, novelist, and public intellectual, and this article is concerned with examining the answers she provides to these questions. It begins by summarizing Sontag’s interpretation of Virginia Woolf’s Three Guineas, a book on the origins of war. Susan Sontag analyzes the proliferation of images of suffering and the problems with interpreting such images from a naively pacifistic perspective.
Susan Sontag’s Regarding the Pain of Others: A Conversation With Virginia Woolf
This article discusses Sontag’s essay Regarding the Pain of Others, with a particular focus on its analysis of warfare and pacifism. Sontag begins the essay with a brief story about Virginia Woolf, one of the most eminent novelists of the 20th century. It describes how, in her Three Guineas, a book concerned with the roots of war, she begins by couching her reflections as a response to a lawyer who had written t
Biographies you may also like
The great gatsby born F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is one of the most iconic and influential novels of the 20th century. Published in , this novel has captivated readers with its .
Susanna voltaire biography wiki Susanna Voltaire – Movies, Bio and Lists on MUBI.
Tatiana painter biography and summary KEARNEY – Tatiana (Moore) Painter’s passion for history and learning began at an early age, fostered by a family that prioritized education. “One of the first movies I .
Pat conroy biography the water is wide "The Water is Wide" is a compelling, semi-autobiographical novel by Pat Conroy, published in The story is based on Conroy's experiences as a teacher on Yamacraw Island, a small, .
Susannah carr biography channel Susannah Carr (born 21 July ) is a Western Australian television news presenter. From onwards, Carr has co-presented Seven News in Perth along with Rick Ardon.
Northern winslow biography for kids Online biography for kids: Short biographies for famous people for kids to read online. Northern winslow biography for kids pictures: Winslow Homer lived close to the Atlantic Ocean in Maine, .