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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. A famous campaign for Benetton used which of the following images in its advertising?
(a) A concentration camp uniform.
(b) A wounded German soldier.
(c) The barbed wire from Warsaw.
(d) A dead Croatian soldier's bloody shirt.

2. Sontag argues that many people thought that which of the following makes war seem "real"?
(a) Photographs.
(b) Movies.
(c) Books.
(d) Proximity.

3. Sontag suggests that, for the most part, photographs received more serious attention when placed in which of the following scenarios?
(a) Museums.
(b) Books.
(c) Galleries.
(d) Newspapers.

4. Discussing the common person's ability to feel sympathy, Sontag argues which of the following?
(a) People will automatically feel sympathy for victims of atrocity.
(b) People will naturally feel empathy, but will quickly distance themselves because society has programmed them to avoid involvement.
(c) People will instinctually distance themselves from suffering.
(d) People will do anything to keep from being moved by what they see.

5. Although Sontag is pessimistic about the broad effects of atrocity photographs, she did mention one positive outcome. What was it?
(a) The individual may come to a deeper understanding of the evil people may inflict.
(b) The victims of atrocities may soemtimes feel that their suffering is not in vain.
(c) Images continually educate people in how to behave humanely.
(d) Some people may still be persuaded by images of suffering.

6. Sontag claims that Bataille could see extreme pain as a form of __________.
(a) Deification.
(b) Transfiguration.
(c) Sadomasochism.
(d) Erotic pleasure.

7. Sontag lists three impulses which may be satisfied by viewing images of atrocities. Which of the following is NOT one of them?
(a) "To acknowledge the existence of the incorrigible".
(b) "To steel oneself against weakness".
(c) "To make onself more numb".
(d) "To force oneself to face taboo".

8. In order to take pleasure in suffering, Sontag argues that one must necessarily have which of the following?
(a) Deep seated feelings of misanthropy.
(b) A sadistic streak characteristic of serial killers.
(c) A sense of moral or intellectual superiority.
(d) Distance from the source of suffering.

9. Concerned with the public health risk posed by cigarette smoking, officials in which country suggested that images of black lungs, damaged hearts or periodontal disease be included on the warning label for tobacco products?
(a) United Kindgom.
(b) United States.
(c) Canada.
(d) France.

10. For Sontag, the impression that there are more news of atrocity is probably which of the following?
(a) A regrettable truth.
(b) An obnoxious overstatement.
(c) An illusion.
(d) An accurate perception.

11. The West had a long tradition of viewing war as which of the following?
(a) Honorable.
(b) Atrocity.
(c) Spectacle.
(d) Necessary.

12. Sontag discusses another common belief regarding media coverage of an event, and suggested that it may seem to contradict the first common belief she addresses. What is this second idea?
(a) Overexposure to images in the media makes people callous.
(b) Repeated images in the media exhaust our ability to prevent new atrocities.
(c) The media sensationalizes stories of atrocity.
(d) Limited exposure diminishes the impact the images have on an audience.

13. Sontag criticizes American portrayals of U.S. military strategy, saying that war museums do not emphasize which of the following?
(a) U.S. defeat in battle.
(b) U.S. use of disproportionate fire power.
(c) War crimes committed by United States officers.
(d) The victims of U.S. military force.

14. At the time Sontag wrote the book, many felt what which of the following made atrocity photographs immoral?
(a) Permanence.
(b) Context.
(c) Abstractness.
(d) Exploitation.

15. Although images were more prevalent, which of the following was NOT also true?
(a) Humanity became oversensitive to images of suffering.
(b) The human capacity to absorb the images of suffering increased.
(c) People's understanding of atrocity increased.
(d) People's reactions to the images were greater.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following does Sontag suggest is an ethical act?

2. Sontag claims that there is no way to guarantee which of the following?

3. What does Sontag claim as our only connection with the dead?

4. What is the primary message carried by images of atrocity?

5. When Baudelaire expressed his concerns about the effects of the newspaper in 1860, which of the following was true?

(see the answer keys)

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