{"id":28,"date":"2008-02-13T11:23:18","date_gmt":"2008-02-13T18:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=28"},"modified":"2018-08-12T12:04:44","modified_gmt":"2018-08-12T16:04:44","slug":"sontag-vs-kael-opposites-attract-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=28","title":{"rendered":"Sontag vs. Kael: Opposites Attract Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"log_sontagkael.jpg\"
\nCraig Seligman begins by saying “I didn’t want to write a book with a hero and a villain, but Sontag kept making it hard for me.”, a statement which reflects my primary objection to this book: too much Craig Seligman.<\/p>\n

“She [Sontag] is not a likeable writer — but then she doesn’t intend to be. She’s elitist and condescending towards those less-informed than she is (i.e., everbody) and gratingly unapologetic about it.” By using this “shoot from the hip” style, Seligman is simply emulating his heroine Kael<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Pauline Kael is my favorite film critic, not because of her approach to criticism which is undisciplined and ideosyncratic, but because she is right almost all the time. I love Kael’s line about Richard Chamberlain: “He keeps us conscious that he’s acting all the time. His toes act in his shoes”.<\/p>\n

This approach to writing falls apart quickly though when the instant conclusions don’t resonate.\u00a0 \u00a0In contrast I was struck by the principled approach Sontag took to larger issues, such as her early comment about the complexity of the issues surrounding the 9\/11 attacks:<\/p>\n

“Where is the acknowledgment that this was not a “cowardly” attack on “civilization” or “liberty” or “humanity” or “the free world” but an attack on the world’s self-proclaimed superpower, undertaken as a consequence of specific American alliances and actions? How many citizens are aware of the ongoing American bombing of Iraq?”<\/em><\/p>\n

This statement prompted the misguided Andrew Sullivan to create the “Sontag Award” for those who oppose the war on terrorism. Is this the signal example of the old vs. new public intellectual? The real scandal is the death of half a million Iraqi children, prior to 9\/11, due to U.S.-sponsored sanctions:<\/p>\n

from a 60 Minutes interview (5\/12\/96)<\/p>\n

“Lesley Stahl on U.S. sanctions against Iraq: We have heard that a half million children have died. I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?<\/em><\/p>\n

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright: I think this is a very hard choice, but the price–we think the price is worth it.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Sontag and Kael weren’t opposites, Kael was a brilliant pop writer for whom judgments about personal style were paramount (her own style excepted). She wrote about popular culture within the bubble of popular culture. Sontag’s imperious personal style may have been an important defense mechanism against the oppressive male high culture crypt-keepers of the day. If you remove the personality factor, and look into the substance of Sontag’s writings, to me she comes across as brave and warm-hearted.<\/p>\n

“Opposites Attract” is, in fact, inapposite: Kael and are not opposite personalities — for Sontag personality was oblique, an accoutrement, her inner thoughts revealed only in the context of her writings, and in the times in which those writings were created (e.g. 9\/11). Analyzing ideas in within these layers is a challenging task, and just as Edmond Morris did in his Reagan biography “Dutch”, I think Seligman may have taken the easy way out.<\/p>\n

\"dutch.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Craig Seligman begins by saying “I didn’t want to write a book with a hero and a villain, but Sontag kept making it hard for me.”, a statement which reflects my primary objection to this book: too much Craig Seligman. …<\/p>\n

Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-intellectuals"],"yoast_head":"\nSontag vs. Kael: Opposites Attract Me - eKrap - Roy Zornow<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sontag vs. Kael: Opposites Attract Me - eKrap - Roy Zornow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Craig Seligman begins by saying "I didn't want to write a book with a hero and a villain, but Sontag kept making it hard for me.", a statement which\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=28\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"eKrap - Roy Zornow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-02-13T18:23:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-08-12T16:04:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/log_sontagkael.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Roy Zornow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Sontag vs. Kael: Opposites Attract Me - eKrap - Roy Zornow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Craig Seligman begins by saying "I didn't want to write a book with a hero and a villain, but Sontag kept making it hard for me.", a statement which\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/log_sontagkael.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Roy Zornow\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=28#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=28\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Roy Zornow\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c026b4f19b8d2a3a4a9e37269af97c4e\"},\"headline\":\"Sontag vs. Kael: Opposites Attract Me\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-02-13T18:23:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-08-12T16:04:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=28\"},\"wordCount\":514,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c026b4f19b8d2a3a4a9e37269af97c4e\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=28#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2008\\\/02\\\/log_sontagkael-2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"intellectuals\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=28#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=28\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=28\",\"name\":\"Sontag vs. Kael: Opposites Attract Me - eKrap - Roy Zornow\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=28#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=28#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2008\\\/02\\\/log_sontagkael-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2008-02-13T18:23:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-08-12T16:04:44+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=28#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=28\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=28#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2008\\\/02\\\/log_sontagkael-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2008\\\/02\\\/log_sontagkael-2.jpg\",\"width\":122,\"height\":160,\"caption\":\"Orange book cover with large text.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=28#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sontag vs. Kael: Opposites Attract Me\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"eKrap - Roy Zornow\",\"description\":\"Krapping out diamonds since 2007\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c026b4f19b8d2a3a4a9e37269af97c4e\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c026b4f19b8d2a3a4a9e37269af97c4e\",\"name\":\"Roy Zornow\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/royzsmiledec10.jpg\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/royzsmiledec10.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/royzsmiledec10.jpg\",\"width\":629,\"height\":556,\"caption\":\"Roy Zornow\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/royzsmiledec10.jpg\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.usergoals.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/royzornow\\\/\",\"admin\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sontag vs. Kael: Opposites Attract Me - eKrap - Roy Zornow","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sontag vs. Kael: Opposites Attract Me - eKrap - Roy Zornow","og_description":"Craig Seligman begins by saying \"I didn't want to write a book with a hero and a villain, but Sontag kept making it hard for me.\", a statement which","og_url":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=28","og_site_name":"eKrap - Roy Zornow","article_published_time":"2008-02-13T18:23:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-08-12T16:04:44+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/log_sontagkael.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Roy Zornow","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Sontag vs. Kael: Opposites Attract Me - eKrap - Roy Zornow","twitter_description":"Craig Seligman begins by saying \"I didn't want to write a book with a hero and a villain, but Sontag kept making it hard for me.\", a statement which","twitter_image":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/log_sontagkael.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Roy Zornow","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=28#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=28"},"author":{"name":"Roy Zornow","@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c026b4f19b8d2a3a4a9e37269af97c4e"},"headline":"Sontag vs. Kael: Opposites Attract Me","datePublished":"2008-02-13T18:23:18+00:00","dateModified":"2018-08-12T16:04:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=28"},"wordCount":514,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c026b4f19b8d2a3a4a9e37269af97c4e"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=28#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/log_sontagkael-2.jpg","articleSection":["intellectuals"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=28#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=28","url":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=28","name":"Sontag vs. Kael: Opposites Attract Me - eKrap - Roy Zornow","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=28#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=28#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/log_sontagkael-2.jpg","datePublished":"2008-02-13T18:23:18+00:00","dateModified":"2018-08-12T16:04:44+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=28#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=28"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=28#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/log_sontagkael-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/log_sontagkael-2.jpg","width":122,"height":160,"caption":"Orange book cover with large text."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=28#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sontag vs. Kael: Opposites Attract Me"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/","name":"eKrap - Roy Zornow","description":"Krapping out diamonds since 2007","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c026b4f19b8d2a3a4a9e37269af97c4e"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c026b4f19b8d2a3a4a9e37269af97c4e","name":"Roy Zornow","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/royzsmiledec10.jpg","url":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/royzsmiledec10.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/royzsmiledec10.jpg","width":629,"height":556,"caption":"Roy Zornow"},"logo":{"@id":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/royzsmiledec10.jpg"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.usergoals.com","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/royzornow\/","admin"],"url":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":753,"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28\/revisions\/753"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}