Iconology
… such as the photographs produced by and of the IS, was produced in, while possibly comparing them to other photographs from other terrorist organizations or even popular culture. For example, some photographs are inspired by comic books cultivating armed heroes such as a jihadist photograph adapted from a Marvel Universe drawing of The Punisher, which is a popular character and famous for his violent vigilante campaign against organized crimes.

In this case, the designer resorts to the familiar symbolism of the comic character to reimagine a jihadist as a hero in a menacing and an unmistakable way to be relatable and attractive to young men engaged in popular culture on the Internet.

Moreover, possible questions to ask in this level could be: “What might the role of this photograph have been in society? How is it situated in society? What does this photograph tell us about the society this picture has been made in?”

This step communicates characteristics that the producer of the photograph may not have consciously been thinking about. And through the knowledge of the world and the connection of elements and cultural codes in the photograph, this level allows to reveal underlying “basic attitude of a nation, a period, a class, a religious or philosophical persuasion – unconsciously qualified by one personality and condensed into one work”. For Panofsky, this level or step is the “ultimate goal of iconology” .