Notes on Camp
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- Create Date：2021-05-29 11:55:03
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Susan Sontag
- ISBN：0241339707
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Summary
'The ultimate Camp statement: it's good because it's awful。'
These two classic essays were the first works of criticism to break down the boundaries between 'high' and 'low' culture， and made Susan Sontag a literary sensation。
Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series， with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary， international flavour。 Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin， Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Stevie Smith; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan， New York's underground scene to the farthest reaches of outerspace。
These two classic essays were the first works of criticism to break down the boundaries between 'high' and 'low' culture， and made Susan Sontag a literary sensation。
Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series， with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary， international flavour。 Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin， Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Stevie Smith; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan， New York's underground scene to the farthest reaches of outerspace。
Reviews
Renuka
，
Actual rating: 3。5 starsNotes on Camp: 3。5 starsOne Culture and the New Sensibility: 3。5 stars
Georgia
，
Sontag has a way with words。 Gotta read more of her。
Ričards Sergejevs
，
"The whole point of Camp is to dethrone the serious，" "The whole point of Camp is to dethrone the serious，" 。。。more
ainsley
，
4。75 stars。I found a PDF of Notes On Camp on twitter and read it on a whim， so here we both are。 I’ve been meaning to read this since I was soundly disappointed by about 75% of the attendees of the Met Gala in 2019， but again， here we are， me parked in front of my space heater， plowing through a 13-page pirated essay on my ipad。I was surprised by the readability of this essay， Normally， I find these sorts of quasi-academic essays pretentious， tedious and wordy for no reason， but I got through th 4。75 stars。I found a PDF of Notes On Camp on twitter and read it on a whim， so here we both are。 I’ve been meaning to read this since I was soundly disappointed by about 75% of the attendees of the Met Gala in 2019， but again， here we are， me parked in front of my space heater， plowing through a 13-page pirated essay on my ipad。I was surprised by the readability of this essay， Normally， I find these sorts of quasi-academic essays pretentious， tedious and wordy for no reason， but I got through the whole thing in about 25 minutes。 For the most part， there were no hang ups; some parts did feel a little excessive， but they weren’t too bad and I only had to reread them once or twice。 The points were very clear （I wish all essays were structured like this） but I did find them a touch abstract and contradictory at times。 Camp is a very big and abstract concept， but I wish the points were narrowed-in-on and detailed even further。 However， the writing was excellent; the craft was evident， and it was clear， concise and to-the-point。 Now I feel like a Camp scholar， and I can confidently say， now that I am educated， the vast majority of the 2019 Met Gala attendees outfits still disappoint me。 。。。more
Lily Young
，
ok read just the first essay but i’m marking as read anyway。 so fascinating i’m open to discussion。 ok i’m done procrastinating my laundry
Chloe Anderson
，
After getting a hold of these essays I couldn’t put them down， they’re battered with notes and annotations and I have no regrets。This was more insightful than I expected and has actually changed my perspective on books， movies， clothing。。。 anything that’s ‘in’ or popular。 Why is this seen as a bad or desirable thing， why do we want to follow these trends or avoid them to not be like the rest？Sontag’s analysis of camp has just made me thing why stop yourself liking things because they’re consider After getting a hold of these essays I couldn’t put them down， they’re battered with notes and annotations and I have no regrets。This was more insightful than I expected and has actually changed my perspective on books， movies， clothing。。。 anything that’s ‘in’ or popular。 Why is this seen as a bad or desirable thing， why do we want to follow these trends or avoid them to not be like the rest？Sontag’s analysis of camp has just made me thing why stop yourself liking things because they’re considered cool， when it takes away from the enjoyment of these things and pleasure in life in general。 。。。more
Tanzila
，
Aanrader！！ Als je ook het MET gala van 2019 zag en niet helemaal wist wat ‘camp’ is。 Heel veel verwijzingen naar films， auteurs， kunstenaars etc。 waardoor je je in een korte essay heel hard kunt verdiepen en uren kan verder opzoeken om de essentie van het woord te vatten。 De eerste alinea pakt ook meteen je aandacht :‘Camp is esoteric - something of a private code， a badge of identity even’ 。。。 ‘It has hardly broken into print。 To talk about Camp is therefore to betray it。 If the betrayal can be Aanrader！！ Als je ook het MET gala van 2019 zag en niet helemaal wist wat ‘camp’ is。 Heel veel verwijzingen naar films， auteurs， kunstenaars etc。 waardoor je je in een korte essay heel hard kunt verdiepen en uren kan verder opzoeken om de essentie van het woord te vatten。 De eerste alinea pakt ook meteen je aandacht :‘Camp is esoteric - something of a private code， a badge of identity even’ 。。。 ‘It has hardly broken into print。 To talk about Camp is therefore to betray it。 If the betrayal can be defended， it will be for the edification it provides， or the dignity of the conflict it resolves’ 。。。more
Leen
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ahead of her time， camp， even。
Lois Carr
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- Interesting， Articulate， Insightful - Two essays are included in this book and I found each very intriguing to read- A lot of thought-provoking observations made by Sontag and it makes me want to read more of their essays*Full review to come*
Hilal
，
a couple of days ago i randomly thought of the 2019 met gala and now here i am。 this was an interesting read and i truly think susan sontag is a smart cookie。（（also， after doing some more research on all things campy， i can say that （i think） very few celebs bothered to actually show up to the met gala with a campy outfit， i can’t believe they didn’t bother to read a 35 page essay。。。））
Sydney Goodfield
，
“camp taste draws on a mostly unacknowledged truth of taste: the most refined form of sexual attractiveness （as well as the most refined form of sexual pleasure） consists in going against the grain of ones sex” &“camp sees everything in quotation marks。 it is not a woman， but a “woman”。 to perceive camp in objects and persons is to understand Being-as-Playing-a-Role” yeah ❤️
tash
，
Both of these essays were so interesting！ For Notes on Camp I had my laptop handy to google half the things she was referencing， which took longer but I'm definitely happy that I did！ One Culture and Sensibility feels like something I read in school for one of my Communications classes。 I definitely liked the first essay better and will probably revisit that one again but the second one was still interesting！！！ Both of these essays were so interesting！ For Notes on Camp I had my laptop handy to google half the things she was referencing， which took longer but I'm definitely happy that I did！ One Culture and Sensibility feels like something I read in school for one of my Communications classes。 I definitely liked the first essay better and will probably revisit that one again but the second one was still interesting！！！ 。。。more
Gerben
，
Camp: *chefs kiss*Culture & New Sensibility: bit simplistic and too zeitgeisty for me to fully enjoy it。 Also， weirdly critical of novel（ists） for some reason。
amberley
，
3。5a very quick read， a couple of useful and interesting essays on Camp culture。 I would say that the first essay was great， full of inconsistent， stupid and hazy points which all are so good。 The second essay I didn’t quite enjoy as much but still a great read。
Ivette Rodriguez
，
The first essay was very interesting。
Braden
，
girl this is everything
Maxella
，
"But the purpose of art is always， ultimately， to give pleasure - though our sensibilities may take time to catch up with the forms of pleasure that art in a given time may offer。And， one can also say that， balancing the ostensible anti-hedonism of serious contemporary art， the modern sensibility is more involved with pleasure in the familiar sense than ever。 Because the new sensibility demands less 'content' in art， and is more open to the pleasures of 'form' and style， it is also less snobbish "But the purpose of art is always， ultimately， to give pleasure - though our sensibilities may take time to catch up with the forms of pleasure that art in a given time may offer。And， one can also say that， balancing the ostensible anti-hedonism of serious contemporary art， the modern sensibility is more involved with pleasure in the familiar sense than ever。 Because the new sensibility demands less 'content' in art， and is more open to the pleasures of 'form' and style， it is also less snobbish， less moralistic - in that it does not demand that pleasure in art necessarily be associated with edification。"Yeah， I now totally see why this is considered such a brilliant essay and an important one but I can't help but feel a little bit uneducated on the subject matter while reading this。 Could be because english isn't my first language but I felt quite a bit lost in some parts。 I felt like the language was way too complicated and the matters could have been explained in a way simpler language。 Even in the essay Susan Sontag touches upon the subject of snobbery in literature and how totally unnecessary and unrelevant it is in our time。 I however did not feel that in her writing。 The essay made me feel quite dumb and uneductated。However I really did enjoy the theme of Camp and what it actually means to be 'camp'。 I feel like a big part of our world right now can seen as camp。 Especially the politics and the "woke" culture。 Quite a thought provoking piece of literature。 Would reccomend （if you aren't scared of big and important-sounding words）。 。。。more
sonich 🍉
，
i went oh yeah that's harold styles that's harold styles that's harold styles throughout the entire thing i went oh yeah that's harold styles that's harold styles that's harold styles throughout the entire thing 。。。more
Isuru
，
Camp is a vision of the world in terms of style – but a particular kind of style。 It is the love of the exaggerated， the ‘off’， of things-being-what-they-are-not。 Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay titled ‘Notes on Camp’ attempts to describe the cultural sensibility known as ‘Camp’， for which no clear definition exists nor possible—thus a long list of notes on what would qualify as Camp。The prime of Camp culture described here has died down since sixties。 With the societal and technological changes since， Camp is a vision of the world in terms of style – but a particular kind of style。 It is the love of the exaggerated， the ‘off’， of things-being-what-they-are-not。 Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay titled ‘Notes on Camp’ attempts to describe the cultural sensibility known as ‘Camp’， for which no clear definition exists nor possible—thus a long list of notes on what would qualify as Camp。The prime of Camp culture described here has died down since sixties。 With the societal and technological changes since， it would be of interest to explore what would count as Camp today （testing Sontag’s notes）: Is Bo Rhap Camp （although it is pop culture）; Would Ali G， Borat or General Aladeen be Camp; What part of Harry Styles is not Camp？ In the world from twitter to tik-tok， what is Camp？The second essay on the two cultures—the high art with emphasis on having a message of morality and a low art with pure emphasis on sensory pleasures—nicely complements the notes on Camp。 May be， today is not a whole lot different from the sixties。I adore simple pleasures; they are the last refuge of the complex。 。。。more
Evan
，
“Notes on Camp” is a very effective and informative essay， especially so， I imagine， for those who haven’t grown up with “camp” as part of their cultural lexicon。The second essay “One Culture and the New Sensibility” muses on the differences between science-minded （or cultured） and art-minded （or cultured） individuals and movements， and comes to the conclusion that they aren’t so different and aren’t mutually exclusive。
Paul
，
I’m pretty sure that only 1/3 of the people that went to the met gala 2019 have read the book
Tiyasha Chaudhury
，
First Sontag and this great？！
Anel Musanović
，
Zanimljiv uvid u to šta predstavlja termin "Camp" i kako ga treba shvatiti。Izuzetno kratak esej koji je lijepo pročitati i proširiti znanje o ovom pokretu u umjetnosti。 Zanimljiv uvid u to šta predstavlja termin "Camp" i kako ga treba shvatiti。Izuzetno kratak esej koji je lijepo pročitati i proširiti znanje o ovom pokretu u umjetnosti。 。。。more
Zoé
，
Quite easy to read， but needs a lot of knowledge ！ There are so many references to music， art， cinema， etc。 To put it simply "The whole point of Camp is to dethrone the serious。 [。。。] One can be serious about the frivolous， frivolous about the serious。" Quite easy to read， but needs a lot of knowledge ！ There are so many references to music， art， cinema， etc。 To put it simply "The whole point of Camp is to dethrone the serious。 [。。。] One can be serious about the frivolous， frivolous about the serious。" 。。。more
Beth Donohoe
，
SO I read this for a number of reasons: 1。 Jack Edwards read it in his Harry Styles video and said it was good so there's that 2。 I hear Michelle Visage say "Its so camp， I love it" so much， and I decide I love it too even though I'm not entirely sure what it means 3。 I look at the Met Gala looks from when the theme was camp a lot and would a lot of the time just think。。。what？So yeah， I decided to read this and it made me think things， and I'm not fully entirely sure what those things are yet。 I SO I read this for a number of reasons: 1。 Jack Edwards read it in his Harry Styles video and said it was good so there's that 2。 I hear Michelle Visage say "Its so camp， I love it" so much， and I decide I love it too even though I'm not entirely sure what it means 3。 I look at the Met Gala looks from when the theme was camp a lot and would a lot of the time just think。。。what？So yeah， I decided to read this and it made me think things， and I'm not fully entirely sure what those things are yet。 I definitely have a better grasp on what camp means and how to understand it （although I am now 100% convinced that 95% of the celebrities who went to the Met Gala had not read this， and their designers didn't either as when I was reading this my brain was brimming with ideas of what I could have worn and then they still turned up。。。like that （Karli Kloss x）） To be honest， this might take another read to fully cement the idea in my head but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this。 。。。more
Mar Villanueva Clar
，
S'ha resumit en un PDF d'11 pàgines i pocs marges。 S'ha resumit en un PDF d'11 pàgines i pocs marges。 。。。more
G
，
Sontag says “gay rights！” I like this and how it delegitimizes（quietly， perhaps indirectly） the place of the straight man and his novel in the canon of interesting and notable art。 Wonderful stuff！ She’s so clever and funny and gravely serious as well。 RIP。
fer
，
not me reading all the books harry styles reccomended
Racheal
，
I knew I enjoyed campy things， but I only really understood the idea of Camp in a nebulous sort of way。 After having read this， I can confidently say that Camp is exactly what I love about all the things I love the most。It's my very favorite thing about wrestling-- the OTT gimmicks， the enthusiastic ploys （i。e。 the "slowmo bomb" at 321 Battle that had performers and audience alike acting out their various roles in full on slow motion）， the exaggerated emotions， etc。It's my very favorite horror m I knew I enjoyed campy things， but I only really understood the idea of Camp in a nebulous sort of way。 After having read this， I can confidently say that Camp is exactly what I love about all the things I love the most。It's my very favorite thing about wrestling-- the OTT gimmicks， the enthusiastic ploys （i。e。 the "slowmo bomb" at 321 Battle that had performers and audience alike acting out their various roles in full on slow motion）， the exaggerated emotions， etc。It's my very favorite horror movies-- why I thought the first Prom Night was a snoozefest， but Prom Night 2， with its animatronic carousel horse frothing at the mouth， its chalkboard turned into a black pool waiting to suck in its terrified lead， its rattling chest of doom， delighted me。It's why I love the Fast and the Furious movies such an ungodly amount， with their ridiculously hulking men， sky jumping cars， and over earnestness。It's the combination of the extravagant mixed with an abundance of passion and exuberance。 It's ridiculousness that invites you too enjoy， have fun， to let go of your cynicism。 I'm still digesting for now， but I plan to revisit this very soon 😊 。。。more
R。
，
yes， susan， the most important thing in my life right now is learning "how to be a dandy in the age of mass-culture"！ this is honestly pretty cool。 i re-read this today after a little over a year since my first time for my， yes， quite unlikely harry styles recommendations challenge。 i loved it， or at least a lot more than i did before。worth noting that while i usually， take famous people's reading lists with skepticism since i assume they're assembled by pr teams， oh boy， i'm sure he read this o yes， susan， the most important thing in my life right now is learning "how to be a dandy in the age of mass-culture"！ this is honestly pretty cool。 i re-read this today after a little over a year since my first time for my， yes， quite unlikely harry styles recommendations challenge。 i loved it， or at least a lot more than i did before。worth noting that while i usually， take famous people's reading lists with skepticism since i assume they're assembled by pr teams， oh boy， i'm sure he read this one。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Notes on Camp
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Notes on Camp&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Notes on Camp&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0