--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The camera can be lenient; it is can also…" description: "\"The camera can be lenient; it is can also expert at being cruel. But its cruelty only produces another kind of beauty, according to the surrealist pref..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/susan-sontag-332_beauty_the-camera-can-be-lenient-it-is-can-also_370696.jpg" --- # The camera can be lenient; it is can also expert at being… ![“The camera can be lenient; it is can also expert at being cruel. But its cruelty only produces another kind of beauty, according to the surrealist preferences which rule photographic taste.” quote by Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/susan-sontag-332_beauty_the-camera-can-be-lenient-it-is-can-also_370696.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/susan-sontag-332_beauty_the-camera-can-be-lenient-it-is-can-also_370696.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/susan-sontag-332_beauty_the-camera-can-be-lenient-it-is-can-also_370696.jpg) > “The camera can be lenient; it is can also expert at being cruel. But its cruelty only produces another kind of beauty, according to the surrealist preferences which rule photographic taste.” [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Photography can be both forgiving and harsh; its harshness can reveal a different, unsettling beauty aligned with surrealist taste. **In simple terms:** Photos can be kind or cruel, showing strange beauty. Key Takeaway Embrace both sides of the lens. Themes art perception beauty surrealism photography Mood reflective introspective Type critical analytical When to use this quote - gallery curation - photojournalism - art education - personal photography - media analysis Key Concepts Aesthetic theory visual culture surrealist critique Questions to Reflect On - How does harshness affect your view of reality? - When does cruelty become artistic? A Different Perspective The cruelty may alienate viewers or distort truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Camera Lenient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/camera-lenient-3382813/) [Cameras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cameras/) [Cruel Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruel-cruelty-2293264/) [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [Experts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experts/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Lenient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lenient/) [Photographic Taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photographic-taste-3382814/) [Photography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photography/) [Preference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preference/) [Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce/) [Surrealist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrealist/) [Surrealist Preferences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrealist-preferences-3382815/) [Taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taste/) ## Related quotes > [Beauty is cruel, cruelty is beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-cann/beauty-is-cruel-cruelty-is-beautiful/) [Kate Cann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-cann/) > [There is an immense trout in Loch Awe in Scotland, which is so voracious, and swallows his own species with such avidity, that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-gingrich/there-is-an-immense-trout-in-loch-awe-in-scotland-which-is-so/) [Arnold Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-gingrich/) > [“The game is cruel; but its cruelty is sensual and stirs George into hot excitement. 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They are sly, occasionally vicious, pathologically stupid.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/sheep-are-not-the-docile-pleasant-creatures-of-the-pastoral-idyll-any/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [With a few exceptions, the critics of children's books are remarkably lenient souls… Most of us assume there is something goodin every child; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-sergeant-angell-white/with-a-few-exceptions-the-critics-of-children-s-books-are-remarkably/) [Katharine Sergeant Angell White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-sergeant-angell-white/) > [Well, I always say the law was meant to be interpreted in a lenient manner. 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