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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. Sarajevans were angered by a photography exhibit which featured photographs of their suffering alongside images of which other country's people?

2. Neither compassion nor moral indignation would be enough to do which of the following?

3. Overall, Sontag seems to believe that images are ultimately which of the following?

4. "Dead Troops Talk (A Vision After an Ambush of a Red Army Patrol near Moqor, Afghanistan, Winter 1986" was a photograph taken by which of the following types of photographer?

5. Sontag notes that although museums remembering atrocities are common practice, there is no museum in the United States dedicated to which of the following atrocities?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Sontag mean when she said that photographs transform?

2. Ultimately, Sontag notes that to discuss the desensitization of all television viewers is a provincial move, at best. Why does she argue this?

3. Sontag proposes that perhaps we place too much value on memory. What does she mean? Why does she posit this?

4. Sontag discusses Sebastiao Salgado's series entitled "Migrations: Humanity in Transition" and points out one very problematic effect of the series. Discuss this effect.

5. How does our contemporary view of suffering differ from earlier, more traditional Western views?

6. In her discussion of the emotional impact of artistic renderings of suffering, Sontag referrs to Kabuki or Bunraku plays. What are these plays? Why does Sontag include this example?

7. Sontag discusses two widespread ideas about the influence of photography. Sontag notes that the second idea might seem to be the converse of the first. What is the second idea? Discuss the second idea using support from the book.

8. Discuss the significance of the photograph's intended purpose. If a photograph is intended to convey a message, but because of the context in which it is displayed does not, is the photograph still successful?

9. Why does Sontag say that "it is not necessarily better to be moved?" Discuss the negative aspects of sentimentality.

10. Why does Sontag refer to the argument that image-glut desensitizes us to images of suffering as "conservative"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Throughout the book, Sontag discussed various photography exhibits centered on tragedies and atrocities. Some examples include the "Here is New York" exhibit following the attack on the World Trade Center and an exhibit on lynchings of African Americans in the South during the early 20th century. Sontag argued that, at times, museum exhibits are not the most appropriate venue for images of atrocity because they allow casual observers to pass by images without giving them due reverence. Do you agree with Sontag's argument regarding museum exhibits throughout the book? Why or why not? Be sure to provide evidence to support your discussion of this type of representation.

Essay Topic 2

Although the public often reacts with disappointment or even outrage upon learning that a moving image has been staged, is there anything inherently less true about an image staged for a photograph than there is in a still life composed for a painting? Does a photograph need to capture spontaneous truth as it unfolds in order to have any validity. Provide support for your argument and discuss relevant examples.

Essay Topic 3

Sontag asserted that acknowledging the human capacity for unthinkable cruelty is a step toward intellectual and moral maturity. Do you agree? Why or why not? Further, why is intellectual or moral maturity a desirable outcome of war photography? How does this new-found maturity benefit the world? Is this perhaps vital to the production of a functional society? Why or why not?

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