Sontag, War Photography and Why We Feel Numb When We Shouldn’t
In Regarding the Pain of Others (2003), Sontag draws on Virginia Woolf’s question in Three Guineas:
“How do we prevent war?”
And asks whether looking at images of war can change anything at all.
She argues that repeated exposure to violent imagery creates a kind of numbness:
Compassion, stretched to its limits… going numb.”
The physical and psychological distance between viewers and conflict zones reinforces this detachment:
“Wherever people feel safe… they will be indifferent.”
This creates an ethical dilemma. Images of suffering are essential for raising awareness, yet repeated exposure can dull our emotional response.
Many war photos have stayed with me, but one stands out:
Nick Ut’s Napalm Girl (1972), showing Phan Thị Kim Phúc fleeing a napalm attack.
It is a clear example of how a single photograph can influence public opinion. It helped fuel disapproval of American involvement in Vietnam.Credit: Nick Ut
But as war imagery became more widespread, audiences grew increasingly desensitised.
This raises questions about whether photographs still have the power to shift political attitudes.
At the same time, Sontag sometimes overgeneralises; people don’t all react to suffering in the same way. Desensitisation varies depending on personal experience, culture, and exposure to violent content.
Now, with so many conflicts happening around the world, Sontag’s question remains powerful:
What does it mean to look at the suffering of others, and what responsibility comes with that act?
Sontag isn’t convinced that images inevitably desensitise us or that they always inspire action.
She asks us to sit with that uncertainty, leaving us with a challenge: not simply to look, but to go deeper.
To ask what looking demands of us. In an era of endless images, that question matters more than ever.
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On spectatorship, numbness, and the responsibility of looking