I’m always excited to read more of Sontag’s work—which is convenient, because it seems there’s always more to read. Sunday 23 October 2011 08:10. Susan Sontag's essay "On Style" ( Against Interpretation ) contains many passages to warm an aging aesthete's heart. Illness as Metaphor. Either art needs no moral justification to strengthen its appeal or it is an impetus to moral action after all. We are going to clash about which essays are best. Academic criticism has gone in precisely the opposite direction, dismissing form altogether in order to focus on the "subject-matter" that satisfies the critic's pre-established theoretical disposition, while there's very little "critical theory" at all in general-interest publications of the sort that once published writers like Susan Sontag. Luckily, her diaries record her fascinating and intimate reflections upon the origins of literary creativity and the writing life. . To hold a (good) book in your hand is, as Anne Michaels wrote in Fugitive Pieces, to be  “a pilgrim at the gates of a new city.” Susan Sontag‘s Against Interpretation, particularly the opening essays, is exemplary of just such a book. Related Topics. Just as Susan Sontag’s creative output is varied, complex, and unique, so are the processes and guidelines we employed to research and compile this bibliography of her works and their reception. The pieces in Against Interpretation, and Other Essays are shorter, more specific, and less philosophical on … . Complete summary of Susan Sontag's Against Interpretation and Other Essays. These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. This is Sontag's 'take' on pop culture, that it can be selectively accredited with some importance. a celestial emporium of benevolent knowledge, Why style is the most important element in a work of art. The issues with beauty standards is an important topic to … The most serious problem with "On Style," in my opinion, is that Sontag can't finally unburden her argument of the criticisms of aestheticism made by the moralists she otherwise castigates. By: Benjamin Moser. "The moral pleasure in art, as well as the moral service that art performs, consists in the intelligent gratification of consciousness.". Change style powered by CSL. 2. Academia.edu is a platform for academics to share research papers. Susan Sontag (1933–2004) was a novelist, playwright, filmmaker, and one of the most influential critics of her generation. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click on … Sontag: Her Life and Work (2019) written by Benjamin Moser, totally captures the complexities of this dark literary lady and cultural icon. “Against Interpetation” is an essay presenting ideas which I was familiar (i.e. Pickpocket Like all discourse about totalities, talk of style must rely on metaphors. NOOK Book (eBook) $ 9 ... Objects/Places, Themes, Style, Quotes, ... View Product [ x ] close. The Books of Susan Sontag, Ranked A Fickle Superfan’s Guide to the Dark Lady of Letters. Works Cited "A Woman's Beauty." . Susan Sontag. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. In the end, however, attitudes toward style cannot be reformed merely by appealing to the "appropriate" (as opposed to utilitarian) way of looking at works of art. Essentially, the debate over the fraught relationship between "style" and "content" is about where Sontag left it. Against Interpretation is a collection of essays by Susan Sontag published in 1966. Susan Sontag’s seminal mid-60s essay has come up several times at this site. Sontag's style is quite academic in form; she routinely references historical figures, authors, and philosophers to support and/or contest her arguments, such as Plato, Freud, Woolf, and many others. Sontag proceeds with a healthy quantity of skepticism. .is already to grant something that should not be granted--namely, that there exist two independent sorts of response, the aesthetic and the ethical, which vie for our loyalty when we experience a work of art. Last Updated on May 6, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Against Interpretation, By Susan Sontag. By Susan Sontag * It would hard to find any reputable literary critic today who would care to be caught defending as an idea the old antithesis of style versus content. eNotes plot summaries cover all the significant action of Against Interpretation and Other Essays. Susan Sontag Writing Styles in In America. ... "On Style" … Susan Sontag-On Photography In Platos cave – summary - StuDocu André Bazin, one of the greatest critics of film style and form, believed the opposite, that content determined form. Simply copy it to the References page as is. Here, Jennifer Hodgson explores just a few of her insights. SONTAG. By Susan Sontag * It would hard to find any reputable literary critic today who would care to be caught defending as an idea the old antithesis of style versus content. Sontag, who died in 2004, was remarkably prolific, especially if you count her journals, which I consider ecstatic texts in and of themselves. 26 Nov. 2013. . A sensibility (as distinct from an idea) is one of the hardest things to talk about; but there are special reasons why Camp, in particular, has never been discussed. Complete summary of Susan Sontag's Against Interpretation and Other Essays. Although Sander claimed merely to be documenting the social order, Sontag says he in fact "adjusted his style to the social rank of the person he was photographing." If you need more information on APA citations check out our APA citation guide or start citing with the BibGuru APA citation generator. Susan Sontag. On Photography Summary. Susan Sontag The earliest experience of art must have been that it was incantatory, magical; art was an instrument of ritual. Part of the answer lies in the fact that for a work of art to have "content" is, in itself, a rather special stylistic convention. the paintings in the caves at Lascaux, Altamira, Niaux, La Pasiega, etc.) Illness As Metaphor Summary. And metaphors mislead. [Update: I posted a follow-up to this post, here.] 0 (1 (! Susan Sontag. by Susan Sontag Published in 1964. Born Susan Rosenblatt (1933-2004) to Lithuanian Jewish parents, Susan and her only son David Rieff would unapologetically change their given family name to Sontag. Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (The Ladies of the Park) . The sixth and final essay, "The Image-World," returns to the idea of the image as a representation of reality and a substitution for the real world.Susan Sontag claims that photographs are not just an interpretation of reality but serve as an imprint of reality. Spiritual Style in the Films of Robert Bresson. 3. Expert essay Susan Sontag Best Essays writers: Individuals who are expert in their individual fields and know what they are doing. Camp is an aesthetic style and sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its bad taste and ironic value. In fact, such a disjunction is extremely rare. Susan Sontag We don’t ever really hear about men being called beautiful. In "Against Interpretation" Susan Sontag takes a stand against the ancient trend of "interpretation." 2016. Sontag was unfortunately denied her wish that critical theory might move "to examine in detail the formal function of subject-matter." Behind the ambivalence toward style is, ultimately, the historic Western confusion about the relation between art and morality, the aesthetic and the ethical. I’ve been busy rereading it since Xmas, and want to take this chance to set down some thoughts regarding it. . October 4, 2019 . The problem with today’s perception of beauty has caused great disagreement and is beginning to semi-change. The first essay in the collection, "In Plato's Cave," uses Plato's notion that human beings see the world around them as if they were trapped in a cave with only projected shadows to represent the world.All they can know is what they see in the cave: an indistinct representation. Susan Sontag's purpose in ''AIDS and Its Metaphors'' is to show how the way we talk and think about AIDS makes the disease even worse than it actually is. 2, ( "! This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. standards. On Photography by Susan Sontag l Summary & Study Guide. Plot Summary + Chapters Summary and Analysis Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Free Quiz Characters Objects/Places Themes Style Quotes Topics for Discussion. The point is that they inform each other. As Cocteau writes: "Decorative style has never existed. There is no way for this not to be a throwdown. Platos Cave by Susan Sontag Summary | by Sarina Horn | Medium Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Photos can be altered. Reviewed, Brandon Robshaw. In fact, immediately after making the observation she begins to back off, assuring skeptics that "Of course, we never have a purely aesthetic response to works of art--neither to a play or a novel, with its depicting of human beings choosing and acting, nor, though it is less obvious, to a painting by Jackson Pollack or a Greek vase. First, a selection: Indeed, practically all metaphors for style amount to placing matter on the inside, style on the outside. In Regarding the Pain of Others, Susan Sontag examines the manner in which war is perceived, taking into account such factors as sex, culture and status. I don't object to the formulation itself--John Dewey would probably have found it usefully synonymous with his own notion of "art as experience"--but to insist that it must have a moral dimension seems to undo almost completely Sontag's case--which she admits she has made "uneasily"--for the autonomy of art: But if we understand morality in the singular, as a generic decision on the part of consciousness, then it appears that our response to art is "moral" insofar as it is, precisely, the enlivening of our sensibility and consciousness. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own. All that imagination really means for them, anyway, is the supersensitive rendering of "reality." A work of art encountered as a work of art is an experience, not a statement or an answer to a question. Order our In America Study Guide. 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