Pseudo-feminist tripe ~~"Against Interpretation: And Other Essays"

Against Interpretation: And Other Essays

Susan Sontag
Picador
Sales Rank: 276711

See details at Amazon.de

 

 Pseudo-feminist tripe, 2000-04-24

I fail to understand all of the hoopla about Susan Sontag. While I have only read a limited selection of her work, in these essays, "Against Interpretation" being the ultimate example, Sontag emerges as a simple-minded, arrogant ignoramus. In her utterly unreasoned invective, Sontag ignores (or is just unable to understand) two critical facts. First, some works of art and theory are difficult to understand (in varying degrees) without the help of interpretation. Sontag's flawed analysis of the supposed ruination of the works of Kafka by interpretation demonstrates that not only is she among this crowd, she has clearly reached new and unheard of misguided heights. Second, Sontag ignores the fact that works of art in other languages cannot be understood in translation without the help of interpretation and criticism that demonstrates the extent to which aspects of a certain culture are imbedded in the original language. This couldn't possibly be clearer than in poetry. Weinberger's excellent "Nineteen Ways of Looking at Wang Wei", which adroitly considers the subject, hadn't been released when Sontag published this essay but it probably wouldn't have made a difference. What was she thinking? The only good aspect of the essay (and why I give it 2 stars instead of 1 or zero) is the fact that it has given me ample opportunity to win arguments against individuals who are flawed in their thinking enough to enjoy Sontag's writing.

Reviewed By A2FHOM3A5IKAT1

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