PODCAST:Past Present Future
TITLE:History of Ideas 8: Susan Sontag
DATE:2024-01-01 00:00:00
URL:
MODEL:gpt-4-gizmo
The podcast "Past Present Future," episode 8, titled "History of Ideas 8: Susan Sontag," hosted by David Runtzmann, explores Susan Sontag's essay "Against Interpretation." The episode, part of a series on influential essays, delves into the significance of Sontag's work and its impact on intellectual culture.
The podcast begins by discussing the title of Sontag's essay, "Against Interpretation," which at first glance appears abstract and intellectual, yet captures the imagination of many, including A.O. Scott, a former film critic for the New York Times. Scott's fascination with Sontag's work and her ability to challenge conventional intellectual thinking is highlighted.
Runtzmann discusses how Sontag's essay critiques the prevailing intellectual culture of her time, which heavily focused on finding deeper, hidden meanings in art, literature, and other creative expressions. This tendency to over-interpret, according to Sontag, detracts from the direct experience and appreciation of the art form itself.
Sontag criticizes writers and artists who cater to this intellectual trend by creating works that encourage over-interpretation rather than focusing on the art itself. Notably, she criticizes the novelist Thomas Mann for this reason. Runtzmann relates a personal anecdote of Sontag's encounter with Mann as a teenager, where her expectations of the celebrated writer clashed with the reality of their meeting.
The podcast also touches on Sontag's views on the avant-garde in art and her preference for cinema over other art forms like fiction and theater. Sontag appreciates cinema for its directness and ability to resist over-interpretation, a quality Runtzmann finds mirrored in the style of her own essay.
Runtzmann further explores how Sontag's arguments in "Against Interpretation" could apply to contemporary politics, particularly the tendency to seek hidden meanings in political events rather than focusing on their actual form and experience. He draws parallels with the political career of Donald Trump and the nature of conspiracy theories in modern politics.
Towards the end of the podcast, Runtzmann reflects on Sontag's later life and career, discussing how she viewed her early essays, including "Against Interpretation," as juvenile works. He also mentions her attempt to be recognized more for her fiction writing than her essays.
The episode concludes by examining the famous last line of Sontag's essay, "In place of a hermeneutics, we need an erotics of art," and Runtzmann's reluctance to apply this concept to politics.
Overall, the podcast provides a thorough analysis of Susan Sontag's "Against Interpretation," exploring its content, style, and broader implications in both the arts and politics.
