Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay, "Notes on 'Camp'," offers a provocative and influential exploration of a specific aesthetic sensibility. Far from a mere list of stylish objects or behaviors, Sontag frames camp as a complex way of experiencing the world, a mode of perception that prioritizes artifice, exaggeration, and a particular kind of detached affection. She argues that camp is not an ideology, but a sensibility, a lens through which certain experiences are filtered and appreciated. This distinction is crucial; it allows Sontag to analyze camp as an enduring, albeit often unconscious, feature of cultural life, rather than a transient trend. Her definition, while seemingly focused on aesthetic examples, ultimately reveals a deeper commentary on taste, sincerity, and the very nature of appreciation in the modern era.
Sontag identifies several key characteristics of camp, chief among them being its relationship with artifice and theatricality. Camp delights in the exaggerated, the ostentatious, and the deliberately unnatural. It finds beauty not in organic perfection but in its opposite: the calculated, the artificial, and the often-clumsy attempt to create something grand or dramatic. This is evident in her examples, such as the exaggerated gestures of opera divas or the elaborate costumes of drag queens. These are not appreciated for their realism or naturalness, but for their sheer, unadulterated performance. Sontag notes that "camp is a solvent of morality." This is because camp’s focus on style over substance, on surface over depth, inherently destabilizes conventional moral judgments. A camp sensibility is not concerned with whether something is "good" or "bad" in a moral sense, but with whether it is interesting, amusing, or aesthetically compelling in its artifice. This detachment from moralistic judgment allows for a more open and playful engagement with cultural artifacts.
Furthermore, Sontag posits that camp is inherently about a certain kind of love or affection, albeit a paradoxical one. It is a “love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration.” This love is not an endorsement of the sincere or the authentic; rather, it is an appreciation for the effort, the intention, and the sheer audacity behind the creation of something so overtly manufactured. It is a love for the failed attempt at grandeur as much as for its success. The unintentional camp, which Sontag calls “naive camp,” is particularly potent. This occurs when something is so serious, so earnest in its attempt at grandeur, that it becomes unintentionally hilarious. Think of certain overly dramatic historical films or the grandiose pronouncements of self-important figures; their very sincerity, when presented with a certain distance, becomes the source of camp amusement. This contrasts with “deliberate camp,” where the artifice is recognized and even celebrated by its creator or audience.
The historical context of Sontag’s essay is also vital to understanding her argument. Written during the 1960s, a period of significant cultural upheaval and questioning of traditional values, "Notes on 'Camp'" can be seen as a way to articulate a sensibility that was emerging in opposition to the prevailing emphasis on sincerity and earnestness. In a world increasingly saturated with mass media and artificial images, camp offered a way to engage with these phenomena without succumbing to them, a way to find pleasure in the very artificiality that threatened to overwhelm genuine experience. It provided a vocabulary for a mode of appreciation that valued wit, irony, and a playful, often subversive, engagement with cultural norms. Sontag’s work helped legitimize an aesthetic that had often been dismissed as frivolous or lowbrow, by framing it as a sophisticated and complex sensibility.
In conclusion, Susan Sontag’s "Notes on 'Camp'" is more than just a witty essay; it is a philosophical intervention that defines camp as a fundamental sensibility. By foregrounding artifice, exaggeration, and a detached affection, Sontag provides a framework for understanding how we can find pleasure and meaning in the manufactured and the theatrical. Her analysis challenges conventional notions of taste and sincerity, offering a powerful lens through which to view the aesthetics of modern culture. The enduring relevance of her essay lies in its ability to articulate a way of seeing that continues to resonate, reminding us that beauty and meaning can often be found in the most unexpected, and often the most artificial, of places.