Regarding the Pain of Others

by Susan Sontag

Paperback, 2004

Status

Checked out

Genres

Publication

Picador (2004), Edition: F First Paperback Edition Used, 131 pages

Description

Watching the evening news offers constant evidence of atrocity--a daily commonplace in our "society of spectacle." But are viewers inured--or incited--to violence by the daily depiction of cruelty and horror? Is the viewer's perception of reality eroded by the universal availability of imagery intended to shock? In this investigation of the role of imagery in our culture, Susan Sontag cuts through circular arguments about how pictures can inspire dissent or foster violence as she takes a fresh look at the representation of atrocity--from Goya's The Disasters of War to photographs of the American Civil War, lynchings of blacks in the South, and Dachau and Auschwitz to contemporary horrific images of Bosnia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and New York City on September 11, 2001. Sontag's new book, a startling reappraisal of the intersection of "information", "news," "art," and politics in the contemporary depiction of war and disaster, will forever alter our thinking about the uses and meanings of images in our world.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member JFBallenger

This is a powerful and profound book that forces us to rethink our relationship to the steady stream of horrific images of human suffering from locales both nearby and exotic that have increasingly saturated our lives as the mass media have developed over the past two centuries. Sontag rejects

simple notions about what it means to, through the media, be specatators to the horrible suffering of others. (E.g., that images of suffering make us callous and indifferent to suffering or move us to a genuine sympathy with others.) Rather, she calls for what might be calld an ethics of spectatorship that requires us to 1) move beyond mere sympathy to analyze our relationship to the suffering we see, and to stop it if we can; and 2) to acknowledge the irreducible, incomparable quality of the suffering of others -- the uniqueness of suffering must be acknowledged, as well as the impossiblity of those who do not suffer to fully understand.

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LibraryThing member skylightbooks

In this book, Sontag demonstrates her mastery of the art of eloquent outrage, an art that requires subtlety and restraint, but also an art that, when done well, changes the way you see things every day. She argues that while photographs of devastation, whether from war or natural disasters or human

cruelty, are often regarded as "truth," in reality nothing could be more deceiving. When we see a haunting image of some nameless person suffering, our heart goes out to them, but it takes our minds away from more insidious implications. -Emily

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LibraryThing member Stodelay

This was a really quick, rather interesting read. Sontag's essential argument is that the saturation of images of violence through the modern media has begun to inure us to the pain of other human beings. She traces the history of war photography, network decisions about which footage to air, etc.

and makes a rather compelling and humane argument. I think it's just about the perfect length, I believe I read it in a couple of evenings and then passed it on to my mom.

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LibraryThing member edwinbcn

Much in the way AIDS and its metaphors is an update of Illness as metaphor, likewise Regarding the pain of others (2004) is an update of On Photography (1977). Unfortunately, the follow-up books are not as original and well-written as the first-conceived editions. Perhaps avoiding a repetition of

earlier ideas or arguments, the follow-up books, they are not as sparkling, a mere shadow of the original works.

The title of Regarding the pain of others is ambiguous, based on the possible double meaning of the word "regarding". The essay is therefore as much, but not solely about "pain", but much more about "viewing suffering," i.e. the pain of others.

The essay deals with various types of images, starting with Sixteenth century etchings by Goltzius, and moves on to discuss the graphic work of Hans Ulrich Frank of soldiers killing peasants, dated to 1652 or the end of the Thirty Years' War, and Francisco Goya's early Nineteenth century work, a series of 83 etchings under the title Los Desastres de la Guerra. However, Sontag's essay does not convincingly bear out that these etchings are works of art, and cannot be regarded as the equivalent of journalistic photography. The essay is largely concerned with journalistic and war photography and filmography.

Regarding the pain of others does touch upon the satisfaction derived from watching the suffering of others, or at least images thereof. But the work is far more focused on describing the medium of photography than exploring man's fascination with the images of suffering. This is regrettable, as the ambiguous title gave an outlook on a broad spectrum of interest, which in this essay is only interpreted in the narrow sense of photography.

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LibraryThing member jwhenderson

I read this as part of a discussion group at The Art Institute of Chicago. The essays were challenging and thought-provoking.

LibraryThing member dele2451

Academic discussion about the history of documenting war, conflict and death through art/paintings/drawings and then, in more modern times, photography. Contains interesting facts about the evolution of using the camera on battlefields and during the aftermath of massacres, bombings, etc, as well

as the ethics involved with of broadcasting and/or censoring the images captured.

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LibraryThing member michaelbartley

A very interesting long essay about how evil is made visual through photography. I liked this a lot, very thoghtful writing

LibraryThing member PickledOnion42

An interesting and intelligent meditation on the role of photojournalism in depicting human suffering – focussing especially on the atrocities of war – and the public's reaction to such images. Regarding the Pain of Others presents an intriguing collection of thoughts on the subject marshalled

with an extraordinary degree of finesse. This is undoubtedly an important essay in an age when the average citizen is becoming remarkably desensitised to what would once have been considered – not too long ago – quite shocking images. The question that remains, however, is 'what do we do about it?'.

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LibraryThing member ElOsoBlanco

There were times when Ms. Sontag made excellent points and had me thinking about things from a new point of view, and times when she seemed to write in circles and never really made a point. I liked the book, and I think it says things we need to hear, but even this short book had a lot of extra

fluff that seemed to hide the ideas and thoughts that were most important.

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LibraryThing member reganrule

Not for the faint of heart, but then again, neither is the twin desire/disgust that accompanies the spectator who finds themselves "regarding" (seeing, witnessing, enduring) the pain of others. I have spent very little time combing the internet looking at photographs of atrocities and suffering in

my life. Since Sontag offers us no visuals in this short book, I found myself again and again having to search for the images she describes. Thus I have spent a very long day confronting the evil we do, regarding the pain of others, and regarding that regard. And now I am very sad, but also very unsurprised.

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LibraryThing member Lord_Boris

An analysis of the human response to images of the suffering of others. Mainly relating to pictures of people afflicted by war from Goya's 18th century Disasters of War, to late 20th century conflicts depicted in photographs and film. The book discusses the impact these images have on the viewer

and any utility they may have in making a less violent world. The bits I enjoyed most were the things I hadn't considered before. For example, many of the older war photographs were staged or at least had various props (cannon balls etc) moved around for effect. Only with Vietnam and televised war did photographers up their game and probity. Throughout the book she drops in bits and pieces that you feel you should know more about e.g. the RAF bombing Iraq in the 1920s, extermination of the Herero in Namibia, the rape of Nanking. All in all an interesting read and worthy of a re-read.

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LibraryThing member jonfaith

Cursory and effective, I read this in an afternoon. I have never allowed myself access to her fiction but her essays always maintained a welcome gravity.

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