OUGD405 - ‘Regarding the Pain of Others’ by Susan Sontag

OUGD405 - ‘Regarding the Pain of Others’ by Susan Sontag

The purpose of this book by Susan Sontag, is to question the morality of war photography and generally gruesome imagery that as a society we are exposed to. Sontag delves into this idea by exploring humans reactions to this sort of imagery, how it effects us and how we should respond to it. 

In chapters 6 and 7, Sontag attempts to explain our morbid curiosity to violent images and why we are attracted to them in a sense. She sums this up with 3 different reasons:

1. To steal oneself against weakness
2. To make oneself more numb
3. To acknowledge the existence of the incorrigible (behaviour unable to be changed or reformed)

Sontag puts forward the question - How should we respond tom these images?’ With sympathy or suspicion? As a viewer there is a certain level of detachment from these images; we are privileged because we are not effected by it, we cant do anything about it and we are not to blame for it. For these reasons we cannot respond with sympathy. 

However Sontag also states how we cannot respond with suspicion either. She firstly does this by quoting a passage from English poet Baudelaire’s journal, who’s discernible opinion on the matter can be summarised by certain quotes such as - “Every newspaper from the first line to the last is nothing but a tissue of horrors”. He describes the subsequent image of the world based off of these stories as a ‘universal orgy of atrocities’. Sontag brings up the point that exposure to these images is removing our capacity to react and that we live in a ‘society of spectacle’ - every situation must be turned into a spectacle to become real. 

Sontag summarises by saying the only way we can react to this sort of imagery is with emotional freshness and ethical pertinence. 

I found this section from Regarding the Pain of Others very informative, sobering and thought provoking.  As a designer and general visual thinker, it’s interesting to think about the power of imagery; while these images are used to first and foremost demonstrate the severity of violent events and to evoke empathy, one does not tend to consider the adverse effects.