Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag introduces herself as a photographer and thinker, and she makes it clear that this book of essays represents her personal point of view. Her political view is highly relevant to her writing, because she views photography as a public function, given that the ability to show photographs helps dramatically in someone's attempt to communicate a narrative. She scrutinizes some of the political ways that people have used photography.
Andy Warhol
The passages pertaining to art and photography turn to Andy Warhol's use of photography, which she felt was bombastic and licentious. She feels he is an example of someone who likes photography and is skilled at the craft, but without a broader consideration for the effect on the zeitgeist that a picture can have. This is especially true of Warhol, she feels, because his art was designed to elicit drastic responses from his audience.
The government
Sontag allows the U.S. government to come under scrutiny, because she feels that in the history of photography, the government has used the power of photography to shape social perception of current events, releasing misleading photographs. She details one particular case, a year of severe drought. Deciding that it was not in the best interests of the nation to admit the truth about the difficult food crisis, the government used photographs to cover up the drought. The farmers who needed help were left helpless, as involuntary martyrs for the government's interests.
