Regarding the Pain of Others
Encyclopedia
Regarding the Pain of Others (ISBN 0374248583) was Susan Sontag
's last published book before her death in 2004. It is regarded by many to be a follow-up or addendum to On Photography
, despite the fact that the two books have radically different opinions about photography. This long essay is especially interested in war photography
. Using photography to back up her points, Sontag sets out to answer one of the three questions posed in Virginia Woolf
's book Three Guineas
, "How in your opinion are we to prevent war?"
While debunking a certain number of commonplaces (including some to which she has contributed) concerning images of pain, horror, and atrocity, Regarding the Pain of Others both underscores their importance and undercuts hopes that they can communicate very much. On the one hand, narrative and framing confer upon images most of their meaning, and on the other, those who have not lived through such things "can't understand, can't imagine" the experiences such images represent.
Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag was an American author, literary theorist, feminist and political activist whose works include On Photography and Against Interpretation.-Life:...
's last published book before her death in 2004. It is regarded by many to be a follow-up or addendum to On Photography
On Photography
On Photography is a 1977 collection of essays by Susan Sontag. It originally appeared as a series of essays in the New York Review of Books between 1973 and 1977.-Contents:...
, despite the fact that the two books have radically different opinions about photography. This long essay is especially interested in war photography
War photography
War photography captures photographs of armed conflict and life in war-torn areas.Although photographs can provide a more direct representation than paintings or drawings, they are sometimes manipulated, creating an image that is not objectively journalistic.-History:Photography, presented to the...
. Using photography to back up her points, Sontag sets out to answer one of the three questions posed in Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
's book Three Guineas
Three Guineas
Three Guineas is a book-length essay by Virginia Woolf, published in June 1938.-Background:Although Three Guineas is a work of non-fiction, it was initially conceived as a "novel-essay" which would tie up the loose ends left in her earlier work, A Room of One's Own...
, "How in your opinion are we to prevent war?"
While debunking a certain number of commonplaces (including some to which she has contributed) concerning images of pain, horror, and atrocity, Regarding the Pain of Others both underscores their importance and undercuts hopes that they can communicate very much. On the one hand, narrative and framing confer upon images most of their meaning, and on the other, those who have not lived through such things "can't understand, can't imagine" the experiences such images represent.