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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
This book is mistitled. It should be called Disregarding the Pain of Others. It is about photography and indifference to war more than it is about pain.
Where is the testimony of doctors, nurses, palliative care workers, anesthesiologists, and relief workers who have regular up close association with the pain of others?
I had hoped to think through our society's association with pain, causes, cures, and the sources of our indifference. This is not that book, my error.
In the end, Sontag directs us to Jeff Wall's image of the horror of war as a last statement to her case about the pain of war, Dead Troops Talk (A Vision after an Ambush of a Red Army Patrol, near Moqor, Afghanistan, Winter 1986), that this work subsequently sold in 2012 for 3.6 million is a more bracing indictment of our relationship to the sufferings of war and its depiction in Western society than the whole book.
Ironically this book is moral candy.
Where is the testimony of doctors, nurses, palliative care workers, anesthesiologists, and relief workers who have regular up close association with the pain of others?
I had hoped to think through our society's association with pain, causes, cures, and the sources of our indifference. This is not that book, my error.
In the end, Sontag directs us to Jeff Wall's image of the horror of war as a last statement to her case about the pain of war, Dead Troops Talk (A Vision after an Ambush of a Red Army Patrol, near Moqor, Afghanistan, Winter 1986), that this work subsequently sold in 2012 for 3.6 million is a more bracing indictment of our relationship to the sufferings of war and its depiction in Western society than the whole book.
Ironically this book is moral candy.
informative
fast-paced
A quick but interesting read on looking at the suffering of others in photography especially in war.
Loved her mentions of Virginia Woolf whom I love.
Loved her mentions of Virginia Woolf whom I love.
Though published in 2003, very, very relevant to our world even MORE filled with images (social media available via smartphones!). Especially with videos this year of the murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castille and of the blowing up of the suicide bomber in Turkey. And I can't help but think of the images of the toddler dead on the shores of Greece.
I believe Sontag is a very important voice we need to hear.
I believe Sontag is a very important voice we need to hear.
reflective
fast-paced
Probably it was in 2003, but in todays day and age it is not groundbreaking
in light of my twitter feed filling to the brim with dehumanizing images of dead migrants, i thought id do a little reading.
this is the first sontag piece ive ever read and she did not disappoint. clear, easy to read, damning. my favorite kind of literature. i dont like how she takes pot shots at communists as often as possible but it didnt really bother me too much since like, yeah, theres no point pretending everything the soviets did was perfect and its not really about that anyway.
anyway if your friends keep posting pictures of dead brown people, drop a few quotes from this and see how they react. they probably cant read, but its worth a try.
this is the first sontag piece ive ever read and she did not disappoint. clear, easy to read, damning. my favorite kind of literature. i dont like how she takes pot shots at communists as often as possible but it didnt really bother me too much since like, yeah, theres no point pretending everything the soviets did was perfect and its not really about that anyway.
anyway if your friends keep posting pictures of dead brown people, drop a few quotes from this and see how they react. they probably cant read, but its worth a try.
Another brilliant piece of writing from Sontag. As with On Photography, there are both astute observations and unsupported conclusions here. Regardless, she manages to explore the issue of regarding the pain of others from every angle, adding historical context and (what was then and is more so now) present day aspects.
I would have liked to see more time spent on the tension between engaging with the suffering of others and still living an ordinary life, but that’s a whole other book.
It was interesting to see the author point out some of the unsupported conclusions from On Photography. Good for her to rethink and not double down.
I would have liked to see more time spent on the tension between engaging with the suffering of others and still living an ordinary life, but that’s a whole other book.
It was interesting to see the author point out some of the unsupported conclusions from On Photography. Good for her to rethink and not double down.
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
‘it’s not you it’s me’ i say to this well-written and thoroughly insightful book that did not resonate with me.
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced