America, Seen Through Photographs, Darkly

In this essay from her seminal work 'On Photography,' Susan Sontag contrasts Walt Whitman's democratic vision of beauty in all things with the evolution of American photography toward depicting the mundane, weird, and grotesque.

She discusses early photographers' inclusive intentions, exemplified by Edward Steichen's 'Family of Man' exhibit, and critiques Diane Arbus's voyeuristic portraits of societal outsiders as aggressive and lacking compassion, reflecting a darker, more despairing view of America.