Looking down, looking up. A critique of transparent war

Abstract

In the contemporary scenario, one of the key aspects of the cultural mythology of transparency has to do with the pervasive role of vision machines and technologies in every aspect of life. This is particularly true in the context of warfare, where a new set of narratives connected with the use of drones and their capacity to see better and to hit surgically helped to reshape the physiognomy of armed conflicts. As many theorists noted, the whole idea of visualizing war and its consequences needs to be deeply problematized.
Moving from these premises and adopting the framework of visual studies, the essay highlights the political nature that the theme of transparency acquires in contemporary warfare narratives. Various types of images (from drones to contemporary jihadism) will be analyzed to stress how the myth of absolute vision is built upon the radical exclusion of the physical consequences of the war.