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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. An audience cares about the subject being photographed, yet wants little to do with the _______________.

2. Collecting photographs is easy. What is NOT one of the reasons for the ease of collecting photographs, according to this chapter?

3. The __________ are not the same between painting and photography, though the devotion may be.

4. In a sense, according to Sontag, photography actually helps to ____________ beauty as society defines it.

5. Most continue to claim that photography is entirely _________, according to the research of Sontag.

Short Essay Questions

1. What do the Chinese tastes prefer to see in their films, which made the Italian director a poor choice for the documentary on Chinese life?

2. Why is it so simple for people in society to collect photographs, according to the text in this chapter?

3. What does modern photography seem to say about this subject of the photograph and its importance?

4. What does this chapter seem to believe the current definition of modern society is in relation to images and things?

5. How are photographs presented as art in the modern society, according to this chapter of the book?

6. What do most claim about the intentions of photography, according to the long essays in this chapter?

7. What do some philosophers - namely Balzac - have to say about the idea or the act of taking photographs?

8. What does photography have the power to do to truly beautiful things, according to this chapter?

9. What did the film Chung Kuo include that helped to present an accurate, though not flattering, picture of Chinese life?

10. In 1839, why was photography briefly attacked by those in society, according to the history lessons of this chapter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Plato's cave, the prisoners are only able to see the shadows of what is real, not the actual objects.

Part 1: Why do you think Sontag used this image to begin a discussion of photography?

Part 2: How would life be different if you could only see shadows?

Part 3: Do you think you'd like a world in which all you saw were the shadows? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Photography brings up a lot of emotions and reactions from those who take photos and from those who look at photographs.

Part 1: Why do you think photography creates such intense reactions in those who view it?

Part 2: Why do you think Sontag is so passionate about photography and spreading knowledge about it?

Part 3: How do you think photography hold so much power over those who view it and those who take pictures?

Essay Topic 3

Sontag points out that some photographers are like scientists, documenting and examining the world.

Part 1: Why do you think photographers could be called scientists?

Part 2: Do you think photography is necessary in science? Why or why not?

Part 3: Why do you think it's important to document the world? Or isn't it?

(see the answer keys)

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