Flashback Arrest - Ep. 6 - Susan Sontag On Photography 1.1

Summary

This video script discusses Susan Sontag's 'On Photography', focusing on the first chapter and its relevance today. It explores how photographs shape our perception of reality, the changing values of the medium, and the impact of technology on photography's scale and physicality. The video also delves into photography's role as evidence, its aggression, and its evolution from a social right to a mass art form, highlighting Sontag's insights on the medium's complex relationship with truth, desire, and historical context.

Takeaways

• 📚 The speaker discusses Susan Sontag's 'On Photography', focusing on the first chapter and reflecting on how the internet has changed photography since the book's publication in 1977.
• 👋 A personal anecdote about the book being gifted and the speaker's delayed reading of it, leading to a discussion about updating the book's content.
• 🌐 The speaker ponders if Sontag's views on photography still resonate with today's audience, considering the evolution of technology and societal trust in photographic media.
• 📸 Sontag's analogy of Plato's cave is used to discuss how photographs shape our perception of reality, a concept that the speaker feels remains relevant.
• 🏞️ The manipulation of scale in photography is explored, from historical techniques to modern digital practices, showing how it can alter our view of the world.
• 🖼️ The physicality of photographs is considered, with a reflection on the nostalgia for tangible prints and the current digital shift.
• 📈 The role of photography as evidence is questioned, with a discussion on how society's trust in images has been impacted by digital manipulation and the prevalence of video.
• 📹 The contrast between the static nature of photographs and the dynamic flow of video content is highlighted, with implications for how we consume and remember visual information.
• 👨‍🎨 Sontag's view that photographs are not interpretations but parts of reality is examined, with the speaker reflecting on the act of photography as a form of collecting the world.
• 🤔 The speaker challenges Sontag's ideas about the aggression inherent in photography, proposing a more nuanced perspective on the act of taking pictures.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video script?

The video script focuses on discussing Susan Sontag's 'On Photography', particularly the first chapter, and how the ideas presented in the book relate to the current state of photography and its influence on society.

Why did the speaker read 'On Photography' after four years of receiving it as a gift?

The speaker finally got around to reading 'On Photography' after their friend, Chichi, who had gifted the book, suggested discussing how the internet might have changed the ideas presented in the book since its publication in 1977.

What is the significance of Plato's Cave allegory in the context of 'On Photography'?

Plato's Cave is used as an allegory to compare the effect of education and the lack of it on our nature, and Sontag draws parallels between the shadows seen by the prisoners in the cave and photographs, which shape our perception of reality.

How does the speaker view the impact of technology on the scale of photography?

The speaker notes that technology has allowed for the manipulation of scale in photography, from large format cameras to digital post-processing, and how this can affect the viewer's perception of the subject.

What is the speaker's opinion on the physicality of photographs in the digital age?

While acknowledging that digital photographs do not fade like physical prints, the speaker remains attached to the physicality of photographs, especially in books or negatives, and suggests that there is a resurgence of appreciation for physical photography.

How has the role of photography as evidence changed over time, according to the script?

The script suggests that photography's role as evidence has been complicated by the advent of digital manipulation and the skepticism it has engendered. While forensic photography and viral mugshots exist, the public is more likely to trust an image when it aligns with their pre-existing beliefs.

What is the speaker's view on the aggression implicit in the use of a camera?

The speaker does not personally believe in the inherent aggression of photography. They suggest that the perception of photography as an aggressive act may depend on the context and the intentions of the photographer.

How does the speaker interpret Sontag's idea that photographs are not interpretations but parts of the world?

The speaker interprets this idea as a reminder that taking a photograph is a form of collecting a piece of reality, capturing a moment or person in a way that can be owned and preserved.

What is the significance of the resurgence of film photography mentioned in the script?

The resurgence of film photography is seen as a potential indicator of a desire for authenticity and a less digitally mediated experience, suggesting that people may value the tangible and process-oriented nature of film over the immediacy and convenience of digital photography.

How does the speaker view the role of photography in shaping desire and conscience?

The speaker questions Sontag's assertion that photographs can universally awaken desire, suggesting that cultural and historical contexts play a significant role in shaping what is considered desirable. They also note that photographs can reinforce moral positions and help build nascent ones.

What is the speaker's take on the comparison between the impact of still images and moving images?

The speaker acknowledges Sontag's point that still images can be more memorable due to their neat slice of time, contrasting this with the flow of moving images. However, they also note that in the digital age, video content tends to create more engagement than still images.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Reflections on 'On Photography' and Its Relevance Today

The speaker begins by expressing their enthusiasm for Susan Sontag's 'On Photography', focusing on the first chapter and reflecting on how the book impacted their views on photography. They acknowledge their friend Chichi for gifting the book and discuss the idea of an updated edition considering the internet's influence. The speaker reminisces about their initial encounter with photography in the 80s and questions whether the same experience applies to people today due to the changes in how we interact with photography and the medium's trustworthiness. They highlight Sontag's intelligence and knowledge on photography despite not being a photographer herself and mention the influence of 'On Photography' and 'Camera Lucida' by Roland Barthes on their perception of the medium. The chapter 'In Plato's Cave' is discussed, drawing parallels between the allegory and the influence of photographs on our perception of reality.

05:01

🌆 The Role of Photography in Shaping Perception and Scale

This paragraph delves into Sontag's discussion about how photography shapes our view of the world, comparing it to the shadows in Plato's cave. The speaker talks about the brainwashing effect of photographs in advertising and how they influence our sense of beauty and desirability. They mention the work of Luigi Ghirri and the tilt-shift effect, discussing how scale can be manipulated in photography for artistic expression. The evolution of photography from large format cameras to digital post-processing is noted, and the impact of scale on the perception of photographs is explored. The speaker also touches on the physicality of photographs and their role as evidence, contrasting the skepticism of photographs today with the past when they were rarely seen by the public.

10:02

📷 The Physicality and Evidence of Photography in the Digital Age

The speaker reflects on Sontag's views about the physical nature of photographs, such as prints that age and fade, and their role in packaging and albums. They express their attachment to the physicality of photos, especially in books and negatives, while acknowledging the shift to digital storage. A personal anecdote about a 13-year-old printing photos for a friend's birthday is shared, suggesting that physical photography might still hold value. The paragraph also addresses the changing perception of photography as evidence, with video now playing a more significant role in documentation due to its perceived authenticity and the ease of capturing events.

15:03

🌟 The Aggression of Photography and Its Impact on Social Behavior

In this paragraph, the speaker discusses Sontag's idea that there is an inherent aggression in photography, comparing it to the first decades of photography when the world was seen as a set of potential photographs. They express skepticism about the camera-gun parallel and discuss the social implications of photography, such as its role as a defense against anxiety and a tool for power. The speaker also touches on the resurgence of film photography and the potential reasons behind it, including the trust associated with analog photos. They conclude by examining the impact of photography on social behavior, including tourism and the commodification of experiences into social media content.

🔍 The Power of Photography to Mobilize Moral Conscience

The final paragraph focuses on the power of photography to raise moral consciousness, using historical examples such as Matthew Brady's Civil War photos and Dorothea Lange's images of Japanese American internment. The speaker discusses how these images did not prevent the events they documented but instead reinforced existing moral positions. They also mention the censorship of Lange's work and how it was not recognized as evidence of a government crime until decades later. The paragraph concludes with a reflection on the memorability of still images versus moving images and the changing landscape of media consumption from print to digital platforms.

Keywords

💡Susan Sontag

Susan Sontag was an American writer, filmmaker, philosopher, and political activist known for her works on photography, culture, and politics. In the video, the speaker discusses Sontag's influential book 'On Photography,' which is the main subject of the video. The book is mentioned as having a profound impact on the speaker's understanding of the medium of photography.

💡On Photography

This is the title of Susan Sontag's book that the video script revolves around. It is a collection of essays that explore the nature and impact of photography on society. The video focuses on the first chapter, discussing how Sontag's ideas have shaped the speaker's views on photography and its role in shaping perceptions of reality.

💡Plato's Cave

Plato's Cave is an allegory from the Greek philosopher Plato, used in the video to draw a parallel between the prisoners in the cave who only see shadows and the way photographs can shape our understanding of reality. The script discusses how photographs can be the only representations of reality for some, much like the shadows in Plato's allegory.

💡Scale

In the context of the video, 'scale' refers to the size and perspective of photographs and how they can influence our perception of the world. The script mentions how photography can manipulate scale, making objects appear larger or smaller, and how this can affect the viewer's interpretation of the image.

💡Tilt Shift Effect

The tilt shift effect is a photographic technique that makes a scene appear like a miniature model. The video script discusses how this effect can play with the viewer's perception of scale, making landscapes or cityscapes look like dioramas, which is relevant to Sontag's discussion on how photography can alter our sense of reality.

💡Physicality of Photos

The physicality of photos refers to the tangible aspects of photographs, such as prints that can age and fade. The video script contrasts this with digital photographs, which do not fade but can be corrupted. The speaker reflects on the continued relevance of physical photographs in a digital age.

💡Photography as Evidence

The script discusses the role of photography as evidence, noting how its trustworthiness has evolved over time. While photographs can incriminate, the speaker mentions that skepticism towards them has increased, especially with the advent of digital manipulation tools like Photoshop.

💡Fiction vs. Reality in Photography

The video explores the blurred lines between fiction and reality in photography, where images can be both truthful and constructed. The speaker suggests that it is more interesting to appreciate the truthfulness of fiction in photography rather than focusing on whether an image is real or staged.

💡Aggression in Photography

Sontag's idea that there is an implicit aggression in the act of photography is mentioned in the script. The speaker reflects on this notion, questioning whether taking a photograph is inherently aggressive or if it depends on the context and intention behind the photographer's actions.

💡Tourism and Photography

The script touches on the relationship between tourism and photography, with Sontag noting that travel becomes a strategy for accumulating photographs. The speaker reflects on this idea, questioning whether the commodification of travel into social media content has changed the nature of tourist photography.

💡Historical Photos

Historical photos are discussed in the context of their impact on society and their ability to raise awareness or reinforce existing beliefs. The video script references specific historical events captured in photographs, such as the Japanese American internment during World War II, and how these images were perceived at the time versus later.

Highlights

Introduction to Susan Sontag's 'On Photography' and its impact on the perception of photography.

Discussion on the book's first chapter and its relevance to modern photography.

Reflection on how the internet has changed the way we interact with photography since the book's publication in 1977.

Comparison of the impact of photographs in the 80s versus today's digital era.

The role of photography in shaping our perception of reality, as explained through Plato's Cave allegory.

Critique of the current trust in photography due to manipulation capabilities like Photoshop.

Analysis of Sontag's insights on photography despite not being a photographer herself.

The influence of 'On Photography' and 'Camera Lucida' on the speaker's view of the medium.

Exploration of photography's ability to manipulate the scale of the world and its implications.

Discussion on the physicality of photographs and their role as objects, including in packaging and photo albums.

The resurgence of film photography and its significance in the digital age.

Examination of photography as evidence and the public's skepticism towards its authenticity.

Comparison between the roles of photography and video in documenting and influencing public opinion.

Reflection on the aggression implicit in photography and its comparison to other mediums.

Critique of the social right aspect of photography and its evolution into a more personal and less formal practice.

Observation of tourists' photography habits and their role in shaping travel experiences.

Discussion on the power of photographs to incite desire versus raising moral consciousness.

Analysis of the impact of historical photographs on public opinion and social change.

Reflection on the memorability of still images versus the fleeting nature of video content.

Conclusion and call to action for viewers to read 'On Photography' and engage with its ideas.

Transcripts

what's up uh i want to talk about susan

sontag's on photography

a little bit um i'm only going to focus

on the first chapter

and i wanted to say hello to my friend

chichi she gave me this book four years

ago

and i finally got to read it last year

and after i was done i gave her a call

and she was like wouldn't it be amazing

to have an updated edition with how the

internet might have changed things up

and that would be amazing i think this

book was published in 1977.

it really reminded me of the way i first

encountered photographs while growing up

in the 80s and what made me fall in love

with the medium

in the first place but i'm not so sure

if this holds true for

people today you know it's not only the

way we come in contact with photography

that has changed but the values

with the medium itself and how much we

trust it you know we all know what

photoshop is capable of doing so

basically

i've actually picked some ideas of her

and i'll flag them as real event or

they might need revising i absolutely

love this book

um i think it's very easy to read and

the ideas are very clearly laid out

um sometimes the structure can be a

little bit predictable but

that's fine it's not a biggie she's as

smart as they come

and i really don't know how sontag has

accumulated this amount of knowledge

about photography

and form this rock-solid opinion about

the medium

without being a photographer herself

there are many ways in which

this book and camera lucida by roland

barthes

have completely changed the way i feel

about the medium and i don't think

there's going back

the first chapter is called in plato's

cave plato's cave is an allegory

presented by the greek philosopher plato

in his work republic to compare quote

the effect of education and the lack of

it on our nature end quote

thanks wikipedia basically some people

have been prisoners in a cave pretty

much their entire lives and all they can

see are shadows projected on the wall

these are the only representations of

reality they have

it seems natural to compare these

shadows to

photographs and sontag goes back to the

importance of photographs in shaping the

way we see the world

at different points in this chapter this

idea still holds true today

um whether it's on the ipad given to a

kid at

a dinner table or advertising posters we

see while commuting

back and forth from work we're still

brainwashed to believe something is

beautiful and desirable

i don't think this is ever going to

change unfortunately slovak jj has

something interesting to say about this

link here and down in the video

description if you want to see it later

he's asked about john carpenter's movie

day leave

in which john nada finds a box of

sunglasses that reveal the hidden

messages in signage and advertising

photography is just as good at

brainwashing today as it was in 1977

and what gig refers to as today's

ideological discourse has been around

since suntax time

sontag then talks about how photography

fiddles with the scale of the world

scale is an interesting one because it's

something that can go unnoticed

because it seems kind of obvious luigi

giri the italian photographer has

written about the little man

when landscapes are photographed in this

collection of essays recently translated

to english

at some point like i think 15 years ago

people started using either large format

cameras or

digital post-processing to emulate the

tilt shift effect and

shooting cityscapes or even landscapes

from above

and making them look like dioramas it's

such a gimmick but

you know it's another way of playing

with scale actually scale is yet another

variable to play

with within context like for example in

an installation or exhibition like

wolfgang tillman's

does when he makes a lifeline look as

large

and hopefully as meaningful as a

beautiful sunset at the beach

or an ass and a scrotum larger than a

car

finally scale can be used with subtlety

in a book displacing rhythm

like for example recently i got this

book on the mail by henry wessel

and i was struck at how this photograph

looks kind of like a miniature

maybe because the houses look so

homogeneous but also because i had been

habituated to a different sense of scale

by the rest of the book

we have also to consider that scaling

photography was largely limited by

technology during suntax time like a

fine art large print was a novelty in

the 70s and the culmination for the

quest for larger photographs reached its

peak the same year this book was

published

a 35 millimeter photograph taken by

ernst haas was blown up with analog

methods

of course requiring a five hour exposure

using the kodak

colorama process the transparency was

five and a half by 18.2 meters and was

backlit by 61 000 watts of light

still environmentally friendly if we

compare it to bitcoin mining

i'm mixing representation of scale and

size of print here but i think they are

kind of intertwined although today

we just need a gesture with the fingers

to maximize our device's screen

and get as close as we can to what

interests us in a photo

this in itself is another way of playing

with scale in photography so yeah

maybe not as much because of the

technological thing but still relevant

sontag then goes on to write about how

photos are physical objects you know

like prints

uh that age and fade and she also

mentions that they are used in packaging

but want to be packaged themselves like

in photo albums so my first reaction to

this was like it's not really

necessarily

applicable to today because photos don't

really

fade in a cloud or in a hard drive

although i've had photos being corrupted

in an sd card i am still attached to the

physicality of photos

when they're in books or negatives but i

think that might have to do with a the

fact that i'm a photographer and b

my age so when i was reading this

chapter i was at the bar and dave behind

the counter actually was telling me a

story about his daughter she's 13 and

she got a

bunch of photos printed for her friend

that it was her birthday

so i was like maybe it's not so

possessed i might think

i know this seems anecdotal but the

massive resurgence of film photography

that we're all seeing like the lab where

i get all my stuff my collar stuff

developed is opening a branch in the

city

so you know i'm not saying the physical

photography is making a comeback and

it's going to replace digital nothing

like that but i think people are complex

enough to appreciate

analog photography beyond convenience

mind you there's

quite a few hipsters in melbourne anyway

it's still relevant

something that has definitely changed is

how photography can work as

evidence in the eye of the average

layman

we know there's forensic photography and

we've seen celebrity mug shots go viral

but this is not because of photography's

value as evidence but because of how

we've internalized accountability

of whoever's sharing the image when a

mugshot becomes viral we know

it's legit sontag says that even if

photographs are able to incriminate

we're skeptical of them having this

power until we see them which was really

rare in the 70s you know unless you were

a cop you wouldn't see incriminating

photographs

she says that we know something has

happened if there is a photo of it

today video has taken a much more

important role in criminating

partly because it's much harder to

tamper with video

but also because it takes less skill to

describe

something that's happening with footage

than it does to catch the

decisive moment photographically also

there's more people with video

capabilities in their pockets now than

ever

video gives us clearer disclosure but

i'm not

so sure it's more insightful once we

know what has actually gone down

a pretty obvious example is the very

detailed image of lee harvey oswald

being shot contrasted to the

impressionistic footage of the event

on the flip side we don't trust

something has happened because there's a

photo of it

from instagram influencers altering the

way their body looks

to professional magnum accredited

photojournalists like steve mccurry

altering his images photography's

reputation as a communicator of the real

has been tarnished to the point that it

seems a medium just as good as fiction

these days

a status a lot of the art worlds

gatekeepers are unwilling to accept

it seems more interesting to me to

appreciate how truthful

the fiction is not whether it is real or

constructed

so this bit needs to be revised one of

the big ideas in this chapter

is the notion that photographs are not

interpretations of the world

but a part of it like this seems an

obvious thing

to write but i've realized that the fact

that photography has become increasingly

fictitious

has made me personally forget that

taking a photo

is a form of collecting the world a

piece of it capturing a person and the

way they look and owning it like in your

pocket or in your drawer which is a

disturbingly powerful way of looking at

it

quote what is written about a person or

an event

is frankly an interpretation as are

handmade visual statements

like paintings and drawings photographed

images do not seem to be statements

about the world

so much as pieces of it miniatures of

reality that

anyone can make or acquire end quote

the same photons that bounced off a

person's face and went through the lens

alter the emotion forever but then she

notes that even during the 30s

editing and directing was an important

part of what a photograph

is able to document quote they immensely

gifted members of the farm security

administration photographic

project of the late 1930s among them

walker evans dorothea lange benshan

russell lee

would take dozens of frontal photos of

one of their sharecropper subjects

until satisfied that they had gotten

just the right look on film

the precise expression on the subject's

face that supported their own

notions about poverty light

dignity texture exploitation

and geometry in deciding how a picture

should look

in preferring one exposure to another

photographers are always imposing

standards on their subjects

end quote both of these ideas are very

much still relevant today

especially when using traditional

methods that is possibly one of the

reasons why

analog photography might have had a

comeback you know when you look at a

photo that is blatantly taken on film

you're less likely to doubt it

uh as opposed to a photo that looks

super sharp and clean like a digital

capture right

sontag is of the opinion that quote

there is an aggression implicit in

every use of the camera this is as

evident in the 1840s

and 1850s photography's glorious first

two decades

as in all the succeeding decades during

which technology

made possible an ever increasing spread

of that

mentality which looks at the world as a

set of potential photographs end quote

there are still people that believe um

in this opinion

so it's still relevant um i don't

believe in this aggression

and for all its poetic persuasiveness

the parallel between

cameras and guns that is often drawn

doesn't amount to much

suntec also draws a parallel between the

way cars are advertised and cameras are

advertised

i don't know i am quite skeptical of

analogies in general

i think they're good to convince people

certain things or to help memory like as

a mnemonic device

but not so insightful in general guns

destroy

cameras perpetuate henry wessel has a

beautiful way of putting it

pressing the shutter is saying yes to

the world i only perceive

taking a photograph as an act of

aggression if the person behind the

camera is wearing a uniform

or looks violently unartistic

although i'm sure a lot of people would

say that about me so whatever

quote recently photography has become

almost as widely practiced an amusement

as sex and dancing which means that

like every mass art form photography is

not practiced by most people as an art

it is mainly a social right a defense

against anxiety

and a tool of power needs revision

either people were having a ton of sex

in the 70s or were taking way too many

photos today

but the differential for people i know

is quite significant like pretty much

everyone

also we take way more photos now of

course than people ever did with

analog cameras now the social right

aspect of photography

i think has largely disappeared and you

know taking photographs is a seamless

part of any day

memorable or not finally if if anything

images are more anxiety inducing today

than

a defense against it mostly because of

exposure through social media and how we

get numbers and how we can

compare our engagement with others she

has a really funny bit about tourists

taking photos that

is still very much relevant apparently

tourism like large groups of tourists

was a novelty back in the 70s and until

before kovid much of what she observed

remained unchanged

her succinct line is quote travel

becomes a strategy for accumulating

photographs end quote

i wonder if digital nomads today would

go through the aggravation of travel if

it couldn't be commodified into a social

media following

sontek describes the typical tourists as

someone without an opinion

that uses the camera to certify their

trip

quote this gives shape to the experience

stop

take a photograph and move on the method

specially appeals

to people handicapped by ruthless work

ethic

germans japanese and americans end quote

okay this video is a bit contentious

she contrasts photos that incite

masturbation like pornography

and even advertising to images that

raise moral conscience you know turn on

versus sterno

i always thought that this was only a

voice thing

mainly because i grew up in an

environment where there was a quite a

bit of shame associated with female

sexuality and honestly most

objectifying done by the media seem to

cater to a male audience

sontag says that there's no history of

desire because it stands in the

immediate foreground of

all experience and it is awakened by

archetypes

as opposed to images that quote unquote

mobilize conscience that are always

linked to a specific historical

situation

we'll talk about these historical images

quite a bit more in a minute

i just wish she went a bit further with

this idea of desire because it seems

like a psychological theory that i don't

know much about you but

i i thought she was basically implying

that say a russian oligarch and um

an irish farmer from two centuries ago

would be turned on by the same images

uh completely untethered of how they

were culturally nurtured

and i'm not so sure if i agree with this

um

i don't know if you know anything let me

know

uh instead she focuses on political

photos taken

like the ones by matthew brady of the

american civil war

and how they didn't make people not

participate in it

how andersonville photos of famished war

prisoners

only inflamed the opinion the north

already had of the south

and dorothea lang's photographs of

second generation japanese americans

being moved to concentration camps in

1942

were not recognized as documents of the

american

government committing a crime against a

group of citizens until the 1960s

she claims that this is because the

1940s were overwhelmed by a pro-war and

anti-japanese sentiment in the states

and lang's photographs were unable to

raise awareness

quote photographs cannot create a moral

position

but they can reinforce one and can help

build a nascent one

end quote the mention of dorothea lang

is very interesting i am linking

down in the video description an

abridged version

of the introductory essay to impound the

dorothea lang

and the censored images of the japanese

american internment

in it and in other articles i've read

online there is

a claim that 97 of these images were

censored by the us army until they

resurfaced

two years after susan sontek's death in

2006.

so she was basing this observation on

the three percent that would have

actually been used in the 40s that

slipped through censorship

we have to assume that this was because

they were diplomatic and

you know they wouldn't have really

captured the suffering of the japanese

americans being quote unquote relocated

this is exactly what i mean with this

woman that is such a niche

insightful and nuanced reading of

photographic history

that you gotta wonder how she ever had

time to do anything else i know

photography was one of her big interests

but she also wrote fiction

and wrote about some other subjects as

well so it's pretty impressive

amongst these mentions of how different

historical events were photographed

she notes that quote photographs may be

more memorable than moving images

because they are neat slice of time not

a flow

television is a stream of underselected

images

each of which cancels its predecessor

end quote and then she exemplifies

with the public revulsion the running

vietnamese girl photo had

contrasted to hundreds of hours of

televised barbarities

i've already talked about what i think

how you know video has kind of

replaced photography in a lot of ways

today but it's worth reiterating in 1977

printed media had a wider proliferation

that video content we still have the

medium in which nick oots

the terror of war would have been

printed newspapers magazines books

posters flyers but let's face it printed

media in general is being replaced by

our phones

and according to much research done by

different outlets

video creates more engagement than still

images in the digital realm

so needs revising i'll go on with this

chapter in another video

i haven't dealt with all the subjects

she writes about but just the ones that

jumped out to me

you should all go and read the book

because your reading might catch a lot

of stuff i missed

um so yeah like the video subscribe

and i'll see you next week