Photography: A Perspective on Power

1. Sontag relates photography to power in many ways. Beginning with how the artist are taking pictures that are like little pieces and moments of the world that they captured and are thought to be holding them. Though causing the viewer to have the feeling to be able to collect the images of the world, which would provide the feeling of power. Another way that Sontag relates photography to power in the way that the life span of photographs trumps the life span of movies and television shows. The viewing of an image and being able to imagine as being part of the photo itself was considered as power by being able to contain knowledge of what the photograph was about.

2. The photos in Plato’s cave are said to resemble images that

Sontag says that photography relates to morality and to awakening consciences. By this meaning, that photography can help back up its morality of one person rather than building one from scratch. By awakening consciences, Sontag relates photography as being in an abstract manner. Yet still are able to provide a situation that was considered as being historical. It was like the photographs were less powerful when they were much simpler. In a way, it resembled to be thought as children losing lives, suffering or being harmed by what the children can not control. This of which the photograph was able to catch the attention, while making an

Some of Sontag’s comments relate to Barthes and Benjamin. Modernism was a term that they used to alter and hide the social and nature uses of photography. Sontag relates to Barthes by how photography is always most often a representation of something. That of which has to do with ethics. Along with how photography is growing and becoming more industrial with technology.

9. Sontag titled the article the way she did due to the fact that Plato’s Cave would symbolize the reflection of Plato. Sontag’s article relates to how false it is when comparing it to the world. This was due to the thought of the photographs being interpreted. Plato’s allegory, with the prisoners in the cave that of which are able to cast shadows due to the brightness of the fire. Yet the cast shadows are considered to be false reality images. Sontag thought that photographs were really just false images of reality.

10. There were a few issues that of which I would like to know more about. Beginning with the idea of Plato’s Cave and what the complete importance was around this time for Plato’s Cave. I also would like to know more about if she was writing and thinking on a more of a modernist/futuristic understanding. I disagreed with how she was saying that they would have been through the experience of their past being taken away from them and that it was supposed to happen if you lived in that certain society. Then goes into telling how photographs were used as memory keepsakes from