In On Photography, Susan Sontag discusses what she believes photography does to society in the modern day. Of course, this modern day was the 1970's, but many of the key elements described in the collection of essays still remain relevant. For the most part, she describes the relationship between photography and capitalism in society. She believes that photographs are an important commercial and industrial driver, and often exploit consumers.
One of the many examples discussed is propaganda during the Great Depression. While millions of farmers around the United States were in a state of deep poverty, the Farm Security Administration issued photographs of successful farmers and high crop yields. Obviously, this was far from fact, but it was simply used to show that times would get better soon - even though they didn't.
Among the artists of the 1970's, Sontag criticizes Andy Warhol, who she says dramatized the events of the country. She also says that Walt Whitman's poetry and essays made America look too much like a perfect society despite the fact that, compared to other countries, it is.
In conclusion, Sontag wraps up the argument that she believes photography has hurt the country, for the most part. She does admit that this was not the intended use of the camera, but says that the media spreading so many images at once makes people feel less of a need to do something. Because there are so many images widely available to the public of drastic events, people have become immune to them and no longer consider those events to be of urgency.
