Plato's Cave By Susan Sontag Summary

Isiah Sanchez
Short Essay Response #3
Reid Kerr
23 September 2014
Sontag: “In Plato’s Cave” As I take pictures of different views to portray Glendale Community College, the first thing that I noticed was the beautiful scenery that I have never seen before. The sunshine’s light casting perfectly shaped shadows, the campus’ mid-afternoon being noiseless, and the students who are either walking, laughing, studying, or just sitting, make the perfect setting of “College Life” at GCC. So I looked for the perfect setting where I could put all of these in a single frame. Soon, I got the perfect picture at the right timing just outside the San Gabriel Building. The experience of finding a good setting for photography was really hard. I had to find

First, In the book, On Photography, the excerpt “In Plato’s Cave”, renowned novelist Susan Sontag asserts that photographs have falseness too. According to Sontag, “Photographs, which fiddle with the scale of the world, themselves get reduced, blown up, cropped, retouched, doctored, tricked out” (4). People might actually think that the girl with the laptop is actually studying really hard because she has a midterm exam tomorrow. But what others might think is that she’s just checking out her facebook and twitter because she’s bored and has nothing else to do. Even if people believe that the photo is true based on its appearance, it could still be completely wrong. Photographs can manipulate our minds and make us think in another perspective. Just because the girl looks busy with her laptop at GCC, it doesn’t certainly mean that she is studying hard for her test. Second, in “In Plato’s Cave”, Sontag argues that photography can be used in a harmful way to others. According to Sontag, people should be warned about photography because it is “predatory” since a captured image can be photoshopped or altered in a desired way while the victims remain unaware of these, in which they are “violated” and “possessed” by others (14). It is really disturbing for people who want to make fun of others, destroy their reputation or just

According to Sontag, “It is mainly a social rite, a defense against anxiety, and a tool of power. Memorializing the achievements of individuals…” (8). Photography of family members is what cameras are made to do these days because we want to memorialize our loved one through their photographs. It becomes a social rite where photographs are used to unite families and keep them intact. Their achievements and successes in life are best distinguished through family pictures. And when it comes to family problems, these photographs lessens the worry as problematic people are always reminded that their families are always there to support them. Furthermore, Sontag explains that other people, especially the ones with psychological problems, use photography for hidden desires. According to Sontag, “The camera doesn’t rape, or even possess, though it may intrude, trespass, distort, exploit, and, … assassinate – all activities that… can be conducted from a distance… “ (13). Taking a picture of a person requires some distance, but one of the hundreds of reasons could be due to a person’s hidden fascination of others. Let’s say my photo was taken by an obsessed creep, he could be planning to use the photo either in a violent way or sexual way. There will always be that subconscious aspiration present when people aim the camera and then