Against Interpretation
Against Interpretation
Sontag Susan
Harry Styles
Harry Styles was seen carrying this book.
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Against Interpretation

Against Interpretation and Other Essays

Sontag Susan
By
Sontag Susan
4.2
642
ratings on Goodreads

In "Against Interpretation," Susan Sontag boldly challenges the prevailing norms of critical analysis, arguing for an experience of art that transcends the shackles of interpretation. Through a series of electrifying essays, Sontag invites readers to engage with art on a more intimate level, to appreciate its form and sensation rather than dissecting its meaning. From the provocative "Notes on Camp" to her rigorous examination of figures like Sartre, Camus, and Godard, Sontag weaves a tapestry of thought that questions the very foundation of how we understand art and culture. This seminal work, first published in 1966, continues to ignite debates and inspire readers with its call for a more sensual, less intellectually constrictive approach to art. Sontag's collection is not merely a critique but a profound exploration of the human condition through the lens of visual culture, literature, and philosophy. Her essays traverse a landscape of diverse topics, including existentialism, the allure of science fiction movies, and the depth of psychoanalytic thought, all the while advocating for an engagement with art that prioritizes feeling over interpretation. "Against Interpretation" remains a cornerstone of contemporary cultural criticism, challenging each generation anew to embrace the raw power of art in its most unadulterated form.

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Released
1964
1 Dec
Length
312
Pages

1

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Harry Styles was seen carrying this book.
Today is such a time, when the project of interpretation is largely reactionary, stifling. Like the fumes of the automobile and of heavy industry which befoul the urban atmosphere, the effusion of interpretations of art today poisons our sensibilities. In a culture whose already classical dilemma is the hypertrophy of the intellect at the expense of energy and sensual capability, interpretation is the revenge of the intellect upon art.Even more. It is the revenge of the intellect upon the world. To interpret is to impoverish, to deplete the world - in order to set up a shadow world of 'meanings.' It is to turn the world into this world. ('This world'! As if there were any other.)The world, our world, is depleted, impoverished enough. Away with all duplicates of it, until we again experience more immediately what we have.
— Sontag Susan, Against Interpretation

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