Work Sample: Regarding the Pain of others Chapters 6-9
I chose this for my work example because I feel that my analyzation skills and challenging ideas from the book are really strong. I believe I embody a strong argument for this first QCQ, and I stand my ground on it. Being able to challenge the book was a skill that I obtained from the beginning of the year while we were working on annotations, so I believe this is showcased well here. With the second QCQ, I believe I pull ideas in from my current knowledge of the world with social media and how that affects so much in our world. Making these connections are outlined in the learning outcomes of this class, and I feel I do it well on the second QCQ.
- Quote: “Edmund Burke observed that people like to look at images of suffering. ‘I am convinced we have a degree of delight, and that no small one, in the real misfortunes and pains of others’” (Sontag 97).
- Comment: I do not agree with this statement from Burke. I can get behind the notion that some people feel curiosity from looking at gruesome and horrifying images, but not necessarily images related to human suffrage and the “pain of others.” I just think you have to be crazy to get enjoyment out of watching people suffer, and maybe that is just a personal opinion. I want to add a related quote found a few sentences later “love of mischief, love of cruelty, is as natural to human beings as is sympathy” (Sontag 98). This notion of cruelty and mischief is a little different from human suffering and pain mentioned in the previous quote. I can agree with this more, because there is possibly a small twinge of satisfaction and again, curisotiy, and the inability to look away from these sorts of gruesome photos. These two things are not one in the same.
- Question: Do people actually get delight out of watching people suffer, and the pain of others? When does this go too far?
- Comment: I do not agree with this statement from Burke. I can get behind the notion that some people feel curiosity from looking at gruesome and horrifying images, but not necessarily images related to human suffrage and the “pain of others.” I just think you have to be crazy to get enjoyment out of watching people suffer, and maybe that is just a personal opinion. I want to add a related quote found a few sentences later “love of mischief, love of cruelty, is as natural to human beings as is sympathy” (Sontag 98). This notion of cruelty and mischief is a little different from human suffering and pain mentioned in the previous quote. I can agree with this more, because there is possibly a small twinge of satisfaction and again, curisotiy, and the inability to look away from these sorts of gruesome photos. These two things are not one in the same.
- Quote: “The first idea is that public attention is steered by the attention of the media – which means, most decisively, images. When there are photographs, a war becomes “real” (Sontag 104).
- Comment: This whole concept about “seeing is believing” and how the images show that something may need to be done is so hugely overlooked. Wars have the ability to be forgotten without images, media, and news sources – because when we aren’t seeing it – we are just going about our everyday lives. This is a sad, yet true statement. This is why war photography and media presence is such a key detail in wartime to bring awareness to what is going on in the world. We as human beings, are going to be more attentive and interested when we actually see images rather than reading a news article. I think this statement is even more relevant now in the present day with social media.
- Question: What would our life be like without images and media about wars?
- Comment: This whole concept about “seeing is believing” and how the images show that something may need to be done is so hugely overlooked. Wars have the ability to be forgotten without images, media, and news sources – because when we aren’t seeing it – we are just going about our everyday lives. This is a sad, yet true statement. This is why war photography and media presence is such a key detail in wartime to bring awareness to what is going on in the world. We as human beings, are going to be more attentive and interested when we actually see images rather than reading a news article. I think this statement is even more relevant now in the present day with social media.
