Susan Sontag

Susan Sontag claims that “A photograph passes for incontrovertible proof that a given thing happened” (467).   Sontag is trying to state that no matter what happens or what someone says as long as there is a photograph, that is proof that the event occurred and that it is indisputable. Sontag’s claim is false, but in order for her claim to be true, the photograph would have had to be taken while the event is taking place. There are many photographs in the world that have been altered somehow whether edited to some extent or even created. Just because there is a visual depiction one cannot jump to conclusions and automatically label it being true.
There are many holes in the false claim that a photograph is incontrovertible proof that an event occurred.
Sontag’s claim is true under certain circumstances. The fact that cameras were invented to capture the moment supports that fact. Photographs can be true to some extent but it also depends on how one interprets it. If a movie was being made with a scene of a bank robbery and someone walking by took pictures and showed them to others, it is completely up to the people viewing the photographs to interpret it in a way they want to. Some might think that a robbery was actually taking place while others may assume it was a scene from a movie. Yes it is true that whether the robbery was real or fake the event did take place, but pictures can be misleading and the viewer’s interpretations are just as important as the photographs themselves.
There are flaws to Sontag’s belief; she states that a photograph is real and the event taking place within the photograph is also real thus it cannot be disputed.   She fails to see that there are many photographs in the world that have been created.   There are programs nowadays that help with this; a program named Photoshop is one of several. Photoshop is a program that can allow the user to edit any digitized photo. The users are able to create things and input them onto the...