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Photography Increases Anxiety In Susan Sontag's On Photography

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In her 1978 essay from her book, “On Photography”, Susan Sontag discusses the increase of cameras in modern American culture, arguing that taking pictures is much more than just capturing the perfect image but also an aesthetic form of reducing anxiety, which also grants us a source of power. Sontag’s reason why photography reduces anxiety is because it allows people to preserve the memories they’re fond of and it grants people a sense of power by However, Sontag does not take to account the negative impact that pictures have on individuals. I thus argue with Sontag that taking pictures does not alleviate anxiety and can be used as a tool of power; however, the power granted by photography is commonly power against us because we preserve the

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