Download Sontag Assignment-1

Photographs, according to
Susan Sontag
Project By: Cameron Taylor,
Olivia Taldone, and Connor
Livingston
Introduction
 Photos can be quite subjective, according to the
photographer that takes the photo. Not only do
photos depict a microcosm of the scene, they
confine the full meaning of the photo. Photos tell a
piece of the story essentially and hide all the
necessary details. They are used to engage
emotions, but never are meant to incite any physical
action. Photography ultimately limits our
understanding of the world because it closes viewers
off from the subject, restricts viewers to what is seen
in only the picture, and manipulates viewers for pure
economical and political benefits.
Anti-Islamic Propaganda
• Textual evidence:
• “the camera’s rendering of
reality must always hide
more than it discloses.”
~Sontag
 When you take a picture it closes the viewer off from the subject
more than it reveals to them
 Photographs, though they give us a more direct look at a
subject matter than any other medium short of video, have the
capacity to be that much more blinding due to the trust we place in
them.

Nazi Propaganda
People do not expect to
be deceived by a
photograph; it is our first
thought that they do not
have the capacity to
exclude certain aspects
of the truth, when in truth
it is they can master that
very art.
• Because people are naturally inclined to believe a photograph,
and as most pictures taken are not meant to deceive, a picture
that carefully masks certain aspects of their subject is that much
harder to find out as a lie, or a fragmentation of the truth.
Nazi Propaganda
 These kinds of photos
can be even more subtle,
conveying a certain
emotion or message that
does not encompass the
whole, or has a slant that
makes the viewer feel
differently about a
situation then they might
naturally react to it.
 The ultimate travesty of this is that some photographs that do this the
best are taken without the intention of doing so, and thus make it that
much more difficult to discover the deceit within.
 Photographs not only hide more than they disclose, but they lack the
narration to fully understand its impact and all it discloses
Bombing at
Dresden
Bombing at Pearl
Harbor
 “while it can goad conscience, it can never be ethical or political
knowledge”
 “The knowledge gained through still photographs will always be
come kind of sentimentalism, whether cynical or humanist”
“Invisible Children”
 Foundation- started as a documentary by three
college students
 Northern Uganda
 Children in war
 Just as photographs lack sufficient narration, they also
can lack the truth through creating bias and distortion
 Due to America’s capitalist society, most photographs are manipulated for
economical or political benefits. According to Sontag, “industrial societies
turn their citizens into image-junkies; it is the most irresistible form of
mental pollution.”
Gatorade

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To the left:
The ingredients that make up
Gatorade.
As you can see, there are 14
grams of sugar.
Gatorade is not exactly the
healthiest drink, but can provide
some energy.

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To the right:
A famous athlete is drinking the
Gatorade.
Changes the perspective of what you
think of Gatorade right?
Because of this, people are more
inclined to drink Gatorade because
they see an idol drinking it; an
economic benefit for the company
Target

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To the left:
This is just a plain red tulip
chair.
There is nothing particularly
special about this chair and it
isn’t the most stylish.
So why buy it?

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To the right:
From this Target ad, it can be said that if
you buy the nice red tulip chair, that you
will be beautiful, in style, and can get it
for a “good buy.”
In other words, if you buy this chair, you
will be the most beautiful woman for a
bargain of the price.
All of these manipulations contribute to
the economic benefit that Target wants in
this ad.
Technology World

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To the left:
Bill Gates
One of the most successful men in the
world
Was the richest man at one time
His success is from Microsoft

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To the right:
An Apple ad
Transforms Gates from a successful
man to a nerdy, out of date, and uptight
physical caricature of a PC.
While, the young, hip, and cool man
represents an Apple computer.
So, in this photo, Bill Gates is being
manipulated to make the Apple
computer company superior.
Obama
 To the left:
 President Obama and his family
 Our first African-American
president
 Seems to have the perfect
presidential family, right?
 To the right:
 Obama smoking a cigarette
 Yes, presidents do smoke cigarettes but are
not photographed with them very often
because of how it looks to the American
public
 This photo particularly changes a person’s
opinion about the President because he has
a cigarette and shows the intensity and
power of something so simple as a cigarette
Conclusion
 Photography dims our knowledge of the world around us
of the world because it reveals very little about the
subject, avoids the context of the situation, and forces
viewers to be part of America’s capitalist society.
Photography not only limits our understanding of our
environment, but restricts us to that particular photo’s
story. Through a camera’s distortion of a photo, people
are more prone to not fully understand the situation
surrounding that photo. Not only that, photos give us
partial knowledge and do not enhance our learning of the
situation. Rather, photos give us a false sense of hope
that the world is ready and open.