Analyzing Iraqi Political Cartoons

Abstract

Pictures have an essential effect on our thoughts and decisions. We have also noticed how these pictures produced in the form of cartoons affect our viewpoints. They do so since we are addicted to social media to the extent it can manipulate our thoughts unconsciously and obnoxiously. Besides, people don’t have the courage to express their viewpoints clearly, so they tend to use the satire to keep their face. This motivates the researcher to analyze the underlying structure of this satire presented in caricatures to read the message clearly. This research aims at revealing the way the political caricatures are produced and the main characteristics of political caricatures. Incorporating a methodology depending on selecting some samples, this paper is a semiotic analysis of political caricatures announced through the election campaign 2018 in Iraq. It concentrates on the format caricatures used as a communicative channel on net platform to come up with essential senses and prevailing political matters. This is carried out by adopting Barthes’ semiotic theory which is the first apparent semiotic approach. It is a good means to analyze the implied structure, including the dictionary and implied senses of creating influence of political caricatures. Besides, it provides us with a good means to interpret and understand political caricatures. This is quite important since political cartoons work as an approach to comprehend human consciousness.

Iconographic Analysis on Femi Fani-Kayode’s Visual Genre of Cartoons and Political Communication

“…Sani in Abdulwahid (2022) observed that visual metaphor is a powerful rhetoric, which can be creatively utilised to provide a better means of communicating important messages because it strongly appeals to the mind of the readers more precisely and succinctly than verbal expressions. Dweich & Al-Ghabra (2022) in their study found that the images of corruption, official irresponsibility, political failure and brutality are dominantly presented in that order.…”

“…The relevance of this genre of visual commentary has been the subject of considerable scholarly exertion in recent times. On the historical development of cartooning in Africa, scholars like Abdulwahid (2022) and Jimoh in Ndago, Irikidzayi & Makombe (2022) agreed that the emergence of this genre has been influenced by a need to have an alternative platform like editorial cartoons in expressing political opinion in the face of government or regime clampdown on opposition. Hence, Dweich & Al-Ghabra (2022) in relation to the level of iconicity in their studies discussed the stylistic characteristics of the language of cartoons in some Nigerian newspapers.…”