Research Blog on Regarding the Pain of Others
The work Regarding the Pain of Others by Sontag has explored how the war is perceived and lots of factors including sex, culture, and status have been considered. The visual representation of war and violence has been considered from Goya’s The Disasters of War to photographs of the American Civil War and some contemporary wars such as Palestine and Israel wars were considered. The documentary and the photography of the pictures of wars were quite impressive. It is quite interesting that instead of using pictures to criticize the cruelty of wars from visual representation, Sontag tried to discuss how photographs of wars influenced the perception of people towards violence.
In fact, I found that photographs have strong power in impacting the perception of people towards wars and many other issues. One of the most impressive events for me is the use of pictures to arouse the sympathy of people is a drowned boy by the sea, which shows the cruelty of the Syrian war. The picture was so striking that it aroused the great sympathy of lots of people. When the picture was shown online, it stole the attention of the netizens online and arouse a heated discussion. In fact, I think it might be the catalyst for the EU to determine receiving refugees from Syria.
At its best, the book Regarding the Pain of Others offers an intriguing history of some war photos and it started from the innocent times to the unbearable battlefield realities such as the Vietnam War about the combats of photos. I used to visit Vietnam and the Vietnam museum about the Vietnam wars. I was quite struck by the photos about how those people were destructed by the Vietnam War. For instance, lots of people got sick after the war because of the use of different weapons. For me, photos might speak a thousand words. Even though we are exposed to television and online violence a lot, we are still impressed by photos in real life. Sontag first problematize how people read photos and proposed that an image would reveal a captured moment of reality, and the interpretation of photos are quite subjective and to some extent, they reaffirm our beliefs and understandings by stating that “mages of dead civilians and smashed houses may serve to quicken hatred of the foe” (p. 10).
In general, Regarding the Pain of Others could be considered as a persuasive investigation of the complexities of how to look at the suffering of others. Sontag has offered enough data and facts that persuade readers that photography depicting pain and suffering might change a person’s perspective on history. For instance, Sontag mentions that by means of photography depicting cancerous lungs, strokes of clotted brains or damaged hearts to produce the “shock” image to persuade smokers to quit smoking. It is true that photography might persuade people to do something to some extent. For instance, I remember that when I was a primary school student, my school always encouraged students to watch videos or the actual photos of those taking drugs and it left a deep impression on me. It is a root that developed in my heart that taking drugs is horrible and would destroy our life. But some people might still be not touched by those photos that might only leave a temporary impression in the minds of some viewers.
However, since photography is so powerful, Sontag also worried that it might be misused and misguided, with which I completely agree. For instance, lots of politicians or some social media might use photos to touch people and displayed completely different facts. Hence, we need to consider a fact that did the photos we see really demonstrate the fact?
References
Ariella, A. (2005). The Ethic of the Spectator: The Citizenry of Photography.
Afterimage. 33(2), 38 – 44
Balken, D. (2019). Alfredo Jaar: Lament of the Images’ essay in Lament of the Images,exh. cat. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT List Visual Arts Center.
Kathy, B (2010). Models of thinking: Alfredo Jaar. (Interview). Art Monthly, 342,1-4
Okwui, E. (2018). Alfredo Jaar’s Art of Illumination’ essay in book Alfredo Jaar. The Sound of Silence, Paris: Kamel Mennour, 18-29.
Feinstein, C. (2005). Destruction has no covering: artists and the rwandan genocide.
Journal of Genocide Research, 7 (1), 31-46
Sontag, S. (2003). Regarding the Pain of Others. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux
Thank you for this thoughtful and well-developed context presentation. I really enjoyed your inclusion of how people react differently to violent TV shows and real-world violent images. It amazes me how I personally am affected in a drastically different manner when looking at a real-life photo versus an intense and graphic show. There is an apparent mental border at work between distinguishing the real world from a fantasy that causes this change in emotion and it is incredibly powerful.
I really like your sharing. You used a very easy-to-understand method to help us look at the refugee problem again. At the same time, I think refugees have always been a problem in this world that we need to face directly. As you mentioned, some politicians and media may use these photos incorrectly, causing some photos to convey an incorrect message. Therefore, we should call on more people to pay attention to and face the problem of refugees. At the same time, I also hope that the media and politicians will not pay attention to these “Others Pain” for profit, but for how to actually help them.
Thanks for this wonderful context presentation. I think you make an excellent point regarding the way that visual imagery can impact us. I think it’s also important to think about how our near-constant exposure to violent or upsetting images desensitized us to the suffering of others in context with this week’s material.
Wow this is a great post. I really liked your statement “In fact, I found that photographs have strong power in impacting the perception of people towards wars and many other issues.” this really shows how much that affects people I know I definitely get affected and am more compassionate with touching images too.
Thank you for the great post! The image you decided to include was a fantastic representation of the power that an image can hold. There is such a clear lack of hope in that photo, and it is devastating. Many times it is hard to grasp the magnitude of a certain situation without truly seeing it, and photography allows this to happen. You are right to say that this can be misused, though, especially due to the context provided for certain photos (it can be easy to use them as something to push a certain agenda).
The blog that you are presenting is really important and is done incredibly because it is truly a picture that has a more impact on a lot of things because this is something that can be seen and can not be altered to form a lie from the truth. Throughout history, I have seen a lot of pictures of pain and suffering because it presents a clearly into the topic and it is sad and painful to see and learn because these were people who went through pain and permanent changes that would hurt the world and the society it is happening to.
This is a really interesting post! I think you bring up a really important point about the power of photography at the end. War and the refugees who suffer and are displaced by it has been a recurring tragedy throughout human history. Photography I think has been an essential tool in forcing people to pay attention, because we are no longer just hearing about things passively but instead actively viewing the horrific outcomes. However, it is also very easy to twist the stories behind photographs to fit personal goals or tell untrue tales, so it is also very important that we do our own research into the things we see as well. Great post!
This is a very insightful viewpoint. I think images do play a big role in how people view certain events. Pictures may even relate back to the “single story” narrative that we viewed earlier in the semester. As pictures capture a single moment in time, they may be shared in a context that does not depict what actually was happening during that moment. This may lead others to form opinions on certain events or groups based on wrong information. Pictures play a powerful role in media and can influence the viewpoints of many. Great job!
Hi! I really enjoyed reading your post, I believe you chose the perfect photograph to represent how images can draw very strong emotions. I know I felt taken back after viewing the photo. I also agree that there are pros and cons to photography. It can be used to strike an emotion, to inform, and to provide real visuals. But it can also be manipulated, and photoshopped which can misguide viewers. Nice job!
Hello, This was a great post. The thought of how images are used to persuade and manipulate reactions. By creating an image with strong emotional standings there can be manipulations to skew a person’s view for a situation. Where images should be used to show you a reality of a situation this isn’t always the case. Certain parts of the images can be left out its like hearing a partial story without full context.
Thank you for your post! I found it very interesting! I agree that photos can cause emotional reactions and influence people’s perceptions. I found it interesting to think about how we often use photographs to reaffirm our own beliefs instead of using a photograph to try to understand a perspective other than our own or different belief other than our own. I like how you talked about how it can change our perspective of history. I think this shows that we can use our interpretations of photos to further hatred for others by making someone else out to be the enemy or we can use photos to better understand the opposite perspective and see the ways that we are acting as their enemy.
Great post! I agree that pictures can be very convincing in what message is intended to get across. I still remember the videos we watched in Health class on drugs/alcohol/smoking, and I still think about the videos I watched on drink drivers today, had a lasting impact. Through videos and photographs, we can get a message across and even change other’s perspective.
Great post! I think you did a great job of explaining the power that a photo can hold. I agree that an image can be very influential for a person in many different ways. As you mentioned it can lead someone to make a decision in a certain way in the case of a person seeing the effects of smoking. Additionally, it can also lead to someones perception of world events being altered as you mentioned with politicians and social media. It is very important for a person to consider what the image is trying to make a person feel or think.