Scan barcode
janey's review against another edition
4.0
Although I found this to be edifying, I think I wanted more argument and less history. She's a force unlike any other, though, that's for damn sure
changeinpressure's review against another edition
4.0
I firstly praise this for pulling me out of my months-long reading slump. This was a fascinating and insightful read holding so many memorable lines, I’ll be recommending this to everyone I know.
(Thanks Emma Angeline for mentioning this in one of your videos)
(Thanks Emma Angeline for mentioning this in one of your videos)
aaronsequel's review against another edition
1.0
Susan Sontag isn’t the declarative type, however she is refreshingly clear about something that should be patently obvious: that reality exists independent of the photograph depicting that reality. Only in a postmodern fuckfest of a culture would such an assertion be worth the page or ink, alas here we are. But Sontag’s clarity isn’t a constant, it’s often obfuscated by a bizarre commitment to a humanism that allows her, on one page, to sympathize with the Taliban (they too might have sisters! Wives!) and, just three pages later, comment on the "beauty" of the photos capturing the destruction of 9/11.
Sontag's point here and elsewhere isn’t (solely) that men bad, America bad, empire bad, but still an egregious number of passages serve no valuable purpose outside this relativistic prodding. As such, this essay feels like it's from another era, a time when leering at a "masculine issue" with a feminist lens was, unto itself, the lone requirement to make the issue seem fresh. But gone are the days when problematizing was enough, when logical conclusions were acceptably evasive or non-existent. Now are the days when I expect declarations to be made.
Sontag's point here and elsewhere isn’t (solely) that men bad, America bad, empire bad, but still an egregious number of passages serve no valuable purpose outside this relativistic prodding. As such, this essay feels like it's from another era, a time when leering at a "masculine issue" with a feminist lens was, unto itself, the lone requirement to make the issue seem fresh. But gone are the days when problematizing was enough, when logical conclusions were acceptably evasive or non-existent. Now are the days when I expect declarations to be made.
sarcastic_fish's review against another edition
4.0
An engaging essay on the photography of suffering: what can we photograph, what should we, do we have a duty, when does it become voyeurism or exploitative, when is it reference, do we become numb to seeing atrocities in a world where were bombarded with information and can you make people care. Worth the read
ebleb's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Oh Susan, we're really in it now
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War