A review by nihilistmermaid
Regarding the Pain of Others by Susan Sontag
3.0
I enjoy books written in a kind of monologue manner; they help me keep my reading active while thinking & reflecting along with the writer. This book intrigued my mind exploring different perspectives on the relationship between photography & war, with side zoomed-in other topics.
"Neither is the photograph supposed to repair our ignorance about the history and causes of the suffering it picks out and frames. Such images cannot be more than an invitation to pay attention, to reflect, to learn, to examine the realizations for mass suffering offered by established powers...... All this, with the understanding that moral indignation, like compassion, cannot dictate a course of action."
This conclusion answers, in Sontag's words, questions about the use of photography in times of war. It was significant bringing in views on authority and compassion. And while reading, I got the feeling that I'm reading Foucault's style of writing, if he were less cunning.
"Neither is the photograph supposed to repair our ignorance about the history and causes of the suffering it picks out and frames. Such images cannot be more than an invitation to pay attention, to reflect, to learn, to examine the realizations for mass suffering offered by established powers...... All this, with the understanding that moral indignation, like compassion, cannot dictate a course of action."
This conclusion answers, in Sontag's words, questions about the use of photography in times of war. It was significant bringing in views on authority and compassion. And while reading, I got the feeling that I'm reading Foucault's style of writing, if he were less cunning.