Migration Depicted in Cartoons

Abstract

This paper examines the depiction of migrations from Kosovo and Metohija during the 1980s in cartoons published in Yugoslavia’s most prominent satirical newspaper – Jež (Hedgehog). During that time, readers were consistently exposed to emotionally charged drawings illustrating the departure of emigrants. What was significant in these illustrations was the wearing of the Serbian national hat, šajkača. Previously, this hat symbolized social status, representing the rural population and peasants. However, during the crisis, its significance shifted, becoming a symbol of Serbian nationality. In public life, particularly among intellectual circles, this era saw the resurgence of neo-traditionalist narratives glorifying Serbia’s past. The visual representation of these narratives can be observed in cartoons, notably from 1986 onward, coinciding with the proliferation of cartoons featuring emigrants. These constructed neo-traditionalist narratives were appropriated and utilized by Slobodan Milošević’s populist machinery as a means to maintain power. The cartoons, as a direct product of the burgeoning Serbian nationalist policy at that time, played a role in propaganda and mobilization.