Summary Of On Photography By Susan Sontag

Your View of the World Think about the last time you went somewhere exciting and did not have a camera or a picture-capturing device. How did that make you feel? In “On Photography,” the essay by Susan Sontag, she challenges how the uses of photography have developed between the invention of the camera in the 1800s and the time this essay was written in 1977, by juxtaposing different topics and ideas. She delves into how photography makes people feel and the plethora of uses, all which depend on the person. Finally, Sontag states that photography lets people show their experiences to others through their own point of view. Through her cynical words, she forces readers to feel a negative emotion towards photography. Sontag states pathos-charged

In photography’s more recent uses, “[it] has become one of the principal devices for experiencing something, for giving an appearance of full participation” (177). She would like to make up an excuse as to why so many people take pictures and why so many obsess over the simple act of taking a picture. This strategic use of pathos appeals to the emotional side of the readers and makes them truly think about why they take pictures. This quote might bring up feelings of sorrow because the reader might remember events that they have attended in the past only to take pictures, not because they cared about the what was happening at the event. Sontag also uses the appeal to emotion to subtly attack the readers. The statement might make the reader stop and consider their actions. They may think about how the statement does not describe them, and then think about it a little longer and realize that it exactly describes what they do. Today, most people take pictures for their later enjoyment, but they also subconsciously take photographs because they have the desire to show others that they involve themselves in a myriad of

So only those people could show off their “art”, or how they interpreted an experience or event. Now in the 21st century, everyone has a cell phone with a camera. Because people have access to this portable picture-capturing device, they have an easy way to create their own art form. In turn, they have an effortless way to show off to others that they enjoy outdoor activities or participating in impressive life events. Sontag brings up this topic in a strategic way by making the readers feel nostalgic about photography. Photography seems like such a modern invention, when in fact, photography surpasses all the article’s readers in age. In addition to just being able to take pictures of the happenings in the present moment, people can easily skew this photographical information. With social media sites and filters galore, someone can edit their pictures so much that the image no longer represents their true experience. Before the invention of the camera, people did things because they enjoyed them. Today, because of the invention of the camera, people do things not because they like them, but because they want to show people that they did something noteworthy. After reading this information, think about your own life. Do you have hobbies because you genuinely enjoy them or because you can take pictures and show off to your