Death of a Republican Soldier
Sontag often references Death of a Republican Soldier as one of the greatest and most influential war photographs ever taken. Shot by Robert Capa, the photograph depicts a soldier in the moment of his death in battle, collapsing backward as the result of a bullet lodging in his body. The author sees this photograph as symbolic. It stands for what war photography can truly be: a masterful encapsulation of the horrors of war and mortality.
Krieg dem Kriege! (War Against War)
Published by German conscientious objector Ernst Friedrich, Krieg dem Kriege! (in English, War Against War!) is a book of war photographs with accompanying text. There is an especially important section called "Faces of War" in which Friedrich reproduces 24 brutal images of soldiers whose faces have been damaged and mutilated in the war effort. In the mind of Sontag, this collection represents the overall usage of war photography as an argument for pacifism. As in the case of Death of a Republican Soldier, the epitome has become the archetype.
Television
In the later sections of Regarding the Pain of Others, Sontag spends a bit of time describing the usage and effects of various media types in modern society. After explaining that hyper-saturation of violent images has resulted in a desensitization of the public's sensibilities, she writes a few words about the negative impacts and implications of the development of the television: it only serves to shorten already-short attention spans and exacerbate the problem caused by the overwhelming deluge of images appearing to the typical American every day. She sees the television as a sort of symbol of the moral degradation of society through its attention spans and greed for stimulation.
Lightweight Cameras
The technological development of lightweight cameras (i.e., cameras that were small, light, and portable, as opposed to the large, cumbersome beasts that came before) was the major factor that facilitated the ability to take photographs of war as it was happening. Sontag views these cameras as symbolic as well: in enabling this sort of photography, it has given man a new responsibility, danger, and opportunity, albeit one that will probably lead to his moral desensitization.
The Photograph
Sontag even sees photography itself as a symbol. In her view, the photograph is a unique form of art, capturing a moment in time and preserving it for eternity. It's different from a painting in that it represents a moment that has passed in the real world from one specific perspective, a moment that will never recur. In this sense, the photograph is a symbol for man's desire to hold on to the present, soon to become the past, and employ real life as a tool for persuasion.
