Sontag's overall statement is that she rejects the idea, one posed by herself and others in the past, that the over saturation of images reduce their power. Instead she posits that it is not the amount of imagery, or the horror of those images but the lack of agency around how to respond.
Instead she argues for the ethics of looking - Asking Questions, such as
Who caused what the picture shows?
Who is responsible?
Was it inevitable?
Is it excusable?
Is there some state of affairs which we have accepted up to now that ought to be challenged?
She goes on to say that these questions and what they raise, do not in themselves provide courses of "action." Just as empathy or compassion in themselves do not result in knowing how to respond.
Therefore, I would ask,
What is the role of empathy as it pertains to the construction of the image?
-Holen Sabrina Kahn
No comments:
Post a Comment