View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Sontag lists which of the following as images that the artist "takes"?
(a) Etchings.
(b) Photographs.
(c) Paintings.
(d) Drawings.

2. Which of the following pairs of images appeared side-by-side in a 1937 issue of "Life"?
(a) A mother holding her child while looking at the sky and Vitalis men's hair cream.
(b) A dying Republican soldier and Vitalis men's hair cream.
(c) A dying Republican soldier and a mother holding her child while looking at the sky.
(d) The bombing of Guernica and Vitalis men's hair cream.

3. Sontag claims that "good taste" is always _________ when invoked by institutions.
(a) A way to maintain appearances.
(b) A measure to protect the public.
(c) A decision made in the interest of freedom.
(d) A repressive standard.

4. Sontag observes that "Here Is New York" had no need for captions, but suggests that:
(a) One day, they will be necessary for those who did not experience the tragedy.
(b) Many visitors were offended by the images they saw because they did not have a caption to explain them.
(c) Many people misunderstood the images.
(d) The photographers complained that their work did not receive proper explanation.

5. Sontag argues that Woolf's view, like many other "antiwar polemicists" is:
(a) Generic.
(b) Out-dated.
(c) Idealistic.
(d) Narrow-minded.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following included close-up images of soldiers wounded by war in his/her 1938 film?

2. According to Sontag, _________ also influences the public's perception of war.

3. U.S. bombing of Afghanistan was conducted remotely from which of the following locations?

4. Sontag discusses one year in European history in which the photograph was able to truly capture the nature of human atrocities. Which year was it?

5. The Brady group's approach to war photography differed from Fenton's approach in which of the following ways?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Sontag mean when she claimed that the memory of war is mostly local? What does this mean for international news firms?

2. Using the example of genocides and AIDS in Africa, Sontag argued that images of suffering in far-off places carry a double meaning. What is this double meaning?

3. Sontag stated that the photographer's intentions do not determine the message of the photograph. Discuss the contributing factors which influence the reception of photographs in the media.

4. Sontag suggests that the same photograph might elicit "opposing responses." Discussing a specific example, explain how this might be possible.

5. Discuss the significance of "Here is New York," the exhibit of photographs taken on September 11th during the collapse of the World Trade Center.

6. Explain the significance of Jacques Callot's 1633 series of etchings titled "Les Miseres et les Malheurs de la Guerra" (The Miseries and Misfortunes of War). Why did Sontag discuss this work?

7. Sontag distinguished between "image makers" and "image takers". What is the difference between these two groups of artists? How are they perceived differently?

8. Discuss the purpose of Virginia Woolf's "Three Guineas" as explained by Sontag, and explain why Sontag opens her book with this reference.

9. How do captions sway interpretations of images? Discuss one of the examples Sontag provides in Chapter 1.

10. According to Sontag, how are standards for journalism determined in an era of tele-controlled warfare?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,153 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample