Revolt into style: Images of 1970s West German 'terrorists'

This dissertation studies the Red Army Faction (RAF), a left-wing West Germany terror group most active during the 1970s. It focuses on two-dimensional print imagery related to the RAF. Since this era, due to a confluence of cultural forces, public conceptions of the RAF have shifted in significant ways. Images relating to the RAF that were villainized in the West German news media have developed other associations in the field of culture. The study argues that from their inception, these Leftist signs were unstable signifiers, and as such, prone to patterns of cultural play. Understanding the ways this type of imagery moves through the community reveals a great deal about a society's interaction with "politically-taboo" subject matter.; The study discusses the history of RAF imagery in relation to theories concerning visuality and terror from the disciplines of Cultural Studies, Art History and Media Studies, considering the perspectives of among others, Benjamin, Hall, Bourdieu, Ranciere and Jameson.