Commenting on "In Plato's Cave"

September 4th, 2022

In Plato's Cave Comments

By: Connor Albaugh

            

            "In Plato's Cave" in Susan Sontag's book On Photography provides multiple viewpoints on the meaning of photography, its impact through several generations, and its development over time. One description of photography and its far-reaching capabilities merely sells such a delicate, but unique subject short of the many things it can resemble and provide for people. "In Plato's Cave" offers multiple interpretations of photography and how one can perceive such a creative field. With this being said, there were various portions of the text worth commenting on which can be seen below. 

            The first sentence that I found to be interesting in nature in regards to photography comes from the following line in "In Plato's Cave": "In teaching us a new visual code, photographs alter and enlarge our notions of what is worth looking at and what we have a right to observe" (Page 1).  The line in bold came from the beginning of this reading. Everyone in their approach to capture something is different. Whether it be an answer to a problem or one pushing to find something meaningful to live for in life, each person has a different way and/or approach of coming to a solution or feeling of content. With photography, opportunities to capture an image in time or a particular event are endless. One's desire or appetite can form an image. Photographs can be small or large, both having significant meaning in their respective sizes. When one takes an image and experiences an event, someone may either be excited or let down by the experience of witnessing something for the first time and the photograph may reflect this. If a person is captivated and inspired by their discovery, their images will reflect their experience and will show visual detail and emotion. This is merely because they are proud and changed by their overall experience within the photographic image. However, if one doesn't see their situation to photograph someone as important or worthwhile, their photograph (their memory) of the event or situation at hand will mimic their beliefs or notions of their experience. It will often lack sharp expression and someone who views the photograph may be slighted in their ability to gain something important or meaningful from the time captured in that photograph. "To alter or enlarge our beliefs" merely could be from how one experienced the event or could be from one's conceptual understanding and if this is intuitive or not. Some things that are photographed are hard to see due to the rarity of the circumstance such as seeing a bear. The viewer of a photograph like this may not take away the emotion or understanding as the person who took the photograph who likely had adrenaline or personal achievement for capturing such a moment in time, for example. It is especially hard to comment on something like this, especially because the meaning of photography to people varies. 

            The second section of "In Plato's Cave" that I deemed important comes from the following paragraph: "The one who wears a different expression holds a camera to his eye; he seems self-possessed, is almost smiling. While others are passive, clearly alarmed spectators, having a camera has transformed one person into something active, a voyeur: only he has mastered the situation. What do these people see? We don't know. And it doesn't matter. It is an Event: something worth seeing-and therefore worth photographing" (Page 7). In this short paragraph, there are two different types of people: a passive spectator and one who holds a camera. Both of these people are experiencing something different. Although these two people may be in the same circumstance experiencing the same situation, they are both taking away something different. The passive spectator is taking it in and something such as a camera may distract them of their "full experience" or particular interpretation or developed meaning of the situation. However, for the person taking the photo, there is something that this person sees and deems to be visually entertaining or gives them some sort of meaning. They have already made their mind up of the importance and idea as to what they are capturing in time. The only person that could tell you about what they see and why they may have photographed is the person who took the photo. Hence, "he has mastered this situation" and that "there is something worth seeing". It could be as simple as freezing something in time to send to a loved one about a trip they are taking, for example. Another reason for the photo could be to capture simple detail the public eye dismisses as important and fails to take account of. Whatever it may be, each person is their own photographer in the sense that a mental picture or a physical picture is more valuable to achieving some sort of meaning or feelings for what they are experiencing. "Something worth photographing" doesn't necessarily mean that one has to have a photo of a time, event, or experience to harp true feelings or emotions about it. It is merely up to the person who experiences the event and how they choose to remember the event. This is why photography is such an interesting phenomenon because personal interpretation and remembrance of a time in people's lives is up to them to decide. In whatever they choose, they will have taken something away from an experience or they may look and move on without any sort of thought. Personal decision and interpretation varies. 

               The third and last excerpt from "In Plato's Cave" that I found to be worthwhile comes from the following sentence:" "Of course, photographs fill in blanks in our mental pictures of the present and the past" (Page 17). When reviewing this particular sentence, it provides such a simple explanation for things one may not know "about their present and their past". For example, lets take ancestral photographs for example. A lot of people when they are born and eventually grow up don't know much about their family history unless their older family members are alive and present. However, a lot of ancestors and people in their generations often pass before someone like me, for example, gets to see, meet, and learn about them. With photos, someone like my father or my mother could "fill in the blanks" so to say for family ancestry and give me an idea of my uncles and grandparents through the use of photos. Often times, these members tell stories about them which may give one a good idea of who older generations of their family were like. But, with pictures, seeing the person and circumstances where their older family interacts with others helps to paint a better picture of what they were like. Additionally, having the older generations still present in our lives tell stories about things they experienced themselves through pictures and how they felt during what they experienced helps to give one a better understanding of their ancestors, the type of person they were, and the time they were in. Photographs do an excellent job of showing the changes in times. For example, a photograph of a car during the industrial revolution and a photograph of a modern car such as a tesla can show the technological development of transportation. They started out with basic engines and models and their advancement with new technology made them safer, more durable, and accessible. A lot of the things we see in the past and the present all have some sort of meaning to them. Seeing them in photo form may give us a better understanding of an event we experienced, the people we were with, or allows us to notice things we didn't take account of. We gain more insightful information from a simple photograph from something we experienced or something we are seeing for the first time. The way photographs can capture different moments in time and its visual representation are crucial to human development. As simple as some photos may be and the things they may show or resemble, there is always a piece or information, feeling, or emotion one can take away that can enhance one's understanding of a captured moment in time. 

            All in all, "In Plato's Cave" was a great passage to read in regards to photography and how incredibly important it is to our society. Whether the captured artifact is simple or complex, there is always a special meaning to take away from each photo and different meanings taken away from each photo from person to person shows why photography is such a unique and intricate subject to follow and study.