Robert Capa: Cyborg identity in the post-ideological narrative of a war photographer

Abstract

The exercise of war photography has been historically analyzed from all human sciences. In these studies, the photographic image has generally been privileged over the narratives that structure the existence of war pho-tographers. This happens because the narratives that the technical images propose can be classified using the Flusserian term: “post-ideological;” this is, narratives that can potentially house any ideology. This article seeks to identify emerging narratives that enable the constitution of the photographer as a post-ideological subject. Due to the extensive documentation on his life and work, the famous photographer Robert Capa is used as a case study to identify these narratives. To carry out this study, it is necessary to categorize Robert Capa as a cyborg, taking into account that part of the narratives that comprise him come from the photographic ins-trument and others from his experience as a human being. His experience is compared with his contemporary cyborgs such as Leni Riefenstahl, and with those of people who experience his legacy in an identity narrative way. In this analysis, some of the narratives that emerge in the identity constructions of photographers are identified. Because these narratives are directly associated with the photographer's relationship with the camera, they enable post-ideological structures. These narratives become complex identity constructions that transcend the individual and become structural elements of the system where the photography is produced. It can be concluded that the ideology associated with this practice comprises both human and machine narra-tives and ideologies.