The Study Of Susan Sontag's View On Camp

As one of the most famous novelists,critics,film directors and feminists in 20th century America,Susan Sontag endeavored to be involved in a variety of cultural and political events.Writing about areas and fields of conflict while speaking for marginalized individuals,she has been described as "The Conscience of Americans" as well as the three most important female intellectuals in contemporary western world.In 60s,the development of science and technology changed people's life greatly.Under the principle of commodity exchange and mass culture,the criticism began to be replaced with enjoyment and appreciation,consumption.Cultural products have been mass-produced,and art has lost its sanctity.In her early essay "Notes on 'Camp'",Sontag wrote with irritation about the fact that the aesthetic field had been distorted and misshaped by the ill trend of interpretation theory,and how this newly discovered concept of camp,as an abnormal taste rooted in subculture and marginal group,could help as one possible solution to fix this situation.In her view,camp was not only a modern style of aesthetic approach,but a fresh new kind of taste too,and thus could inspire sensibilities and led to some unique perspectives to traditional art,new art and anti-art.With an energetic and rebellious gesture,camp made its way through the domain of elitist taste where moral and ethical standards were the dominant value,and meanwhile had its audiences' sensibility and perceptibility being provoked and activated.So to speak,camp sensibility is an important example of her "new sensibility"theory."Notes on 'Camp'" gave rise to a heated discussion on camp in aesthetic and cultural theory.When writing,Sontag preferred notes and essays.Her thoughts and theories are expressed dispersedly in her books and public speeches.Without any systematic theory written down to refer to,this dissertation takes her "New Sensibility" theory and "notes on 'cawp'" as a leading clue to find out about her points and views on camp as well as on its accompanying issues.This dissertation consists of 4 parts.The introduction briefly outlines the history of researches on Sontag and her camp views both at home and abroad.The first chapter mainly focuses on the history of camp to find out how this cultural phenomenon gradually turns into an abnormal yet workable taste.The second chapter illustrates the route that camp sensibility takes to fit in the "new sensibility"framework and concludes three most important aesthetic features that camp sensibility holds.The third chapter aims to analyze how camp contradictorily shows the spirit of rebellion and a tendency to compromise at the same time,then explores the influence and significance of camp in contemporary world.As an important part of her aesthetic theory,Sontag's camp view fully embodies the new sensibility theory.Sontag attach great importance to the vulgar style of so-called failed work,and this fully embodies her caring of the theory of mass culture and art as one modern intellectual and scholar.