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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Sontag lists which of the following as images that the artist "takes"?

2. Which of the following pairs of images appeared side-by-side in a 1937 issue of "Life"?

3. Sontag notes that at the time Virginia Woolf wrote "Three Guineas," war journalism was different than it is now. How was it different?

4. The first war photographer, whose work garnered him the position as "official photographer" of the Crimean War, was which of the following?

5. Which of the following was NOT true of the "Here Is New York" exhibit?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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.

2. Sontag discussed the captions to Goya's "Los Desastres de la Guerra" (The Disasters of War). Explain the significance of these messages to the viewer. How do these captions affect the impact of the image?

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

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

5. Sontag identified two types of censorship which affect war photography. Describe both types of censorship. Which is most influential?

6. According to Sontag, how does a photograph in the news media differ from a written account? How does the audience change?

7. According to Sontag, how do mass Hollywood productions influence the public's perception of catastrophic or horrific events?

8. Discuss the significance of the Magnum Photo Agency, founded in Paris in 1947. What was the group initially founded to do? How did they influence the development of photojournalism?

9. Explain how being a "spectator of calamities" occurring in far-off places is a "quintessentially modern experience."

10. Why do images of pain challenge us to look without flinching? According to Sontag, what purpose does this serve?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Sontag's book focused, in part, on the ethical or moral ramifications of witnessing war. In particular, she explored the ethics of war representations which capture "full frontal" images of the suffering of others, but almost always shy away from such graphic depictions of the suffering of people like the anticipated audience. Do you agree that this tendency exists in photojournalism? Why or why not?

If you think it does, is there an ethical dilemma inherent in this unbalanced depiction?

If you think it does not, discuss how and why the news media avoid this. Provide examples to counter those Sontag provides.

Essay Topic 2

Although the public often reacts with disappointment or even outrage upon learning that a moving image has been staged, is there anything inherently less true about an image staged for a photograph than there is in a still life composed for a painting? Does a photograph need to capture spontaneous truth as it unfolds in order to have any validity. Provide support for your argument and discuss relevant examples.

Essay Topic 3

In her argument about representation, Sontag also addressed the significance and ethics of censorship. It would seem that standards of good taste or propriety are fairly often at odds with the constitutionally protected freedom of the press. Delve into the issue of censorship. Are there instances in which censorship is the ethical choice? If so, when? If not, why not? Need public interest and censorship be at odds? Or, is censorship designed with public interest in mind? Defend your position with ample support and specific examples.

(see the answer keys)

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