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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. When Baudelaire expressed his concerns about the effects of the newspaper in 1860, which of the following was true?
2. Which of the following best describes the "CNN effect" as discussed by Sontag?
3. Sontag suggests that Plato anticipated which of the following psychological models?
4. According to Sontag, a person who fails to recognize that people are capable of committing atrocities has failed to achieve which of the following?
5. _______ is a classic use for the camera.
Short Essay Questions
1. Sontag discusses two widespread ideas about the influence of photography. What is the first idea? Discuss it including one example.
2. Ultimately, Sontag notes that to discuss the desensitization of all television viewers is a provincial move, at best. Why does she argue this?
3. Sontag discusses two widespread ideas about the influence of photography. Sontag notes that the second idea might seem to be the converse of the first. What is the second idea? Discuss the second idea using support from the book.
4. Discuss the photograph that Georges Batailles kept on his desk. Why does Sontag discuss this particular photograph?
5. Describe the scene which Sontag refers to as the first description of bodies in anguish and identify the source of this description.
6. According to Sontag, how does Goya's "The Disasters of War" differ from most depictions of mutilated and tortured bodies?
7. Sontag suggests that there is a rise of sadism in contemporary culture. Discuss this assertion using specific examples.
8. How does Sontag refute claims that photography is somehow inherently more voyeuristic than other forms of observation?
9. In her discussion of the emotional impact of artistic renderings of suffering, Sontag referrs to Kabuki or Bunraku plays. What are these plays? Why does Sontag include this example?
10. Sontag proposes that perhaps we place too much value on memory. What does she mean? Why does she posit this?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Sontag commented extensively on the ways in which war photography and atrocity centered journalism has evolved from the inception of photojournalism. Discuss your views on the evolution of war photography. Do you agree with Sontag's assertions? Why or why not? Draw on specific historical and contemporary examples to support your analysis.
Essay Topic 2
Sontag suggested that galleries as venues for war photography and images of atrocity may not produce the proper reverence for the subjects and their suffering. Her main contention was with the environment which cultivates casual interest. Do you agree? Does displaying images of atrocities in public places diminish their effect? Are we, as Sontag suggests, less likely to linger and contemplate? Support your discussion with evidence and relevant analysis.
Essay Topic 3
Why might a group of people be more sensitive to images of its members in pain? For instance, why might Americans be more sensitive to images of American citizens in pain? Why, do you think, people are less sensitive to the suffering of "others" outside their own social, cultural, or national grouping?
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This section contains 1,099 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
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