As humans we convey information, thoughts, feelings, ideas through different modes of communication which include speaking, writing, drawing, sign languages, facial expressions etc. Communication is the exchange of meaningful information between two or more people or group of people in a community or society. Velentzas and Georgia (2014) explains that to communicate means to ‘make common’ or ‘to make known’, ‘to share’ and it includes verbal and non-verbal and electronic means of human interaction. The two basic types of communication are the Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication. The Verbal Communication is the communication that happens through the use of verbally or oral, vocally, or written words to express ideas and thoughts and to convey messages to other people. The Non-Verbal Communication happens when the person communicating use signs, facial expressions, images, and symbols to pass across information to people, it’s a communication that happens without words, or spoken words and also without written languages. Communication may be intentional or unintentional, may involve conventional or unconventional signals, may take linguistic or non-linguistic forms, and may occur through spoken and other modes Mehrabian (as cited in Velentzas & Georgia, 2014).
Cartoons, today in Nigeria print media are used to communicate effectively to the readers. Cartooning has been one of the most important tools in promoting the cultural tradition in Nigeria. Olaniyan (2018) opines that “Cartooning is defined precisely by some distance to actuality, which is achieved mostly by amplifications through simplification” (p.1). Most daily newspapers and weekly magazines publish various cartoons and comic strip. The Punch, The Guardian, New Nigerian, Nigerian Tribune, Tell, Newswatch, The News, etc. all publish cartoons and comic strip on social, political, and economic affairs of the country or as illustrated of some editorial matter (Onakpe, 2014). The human subject of the cartoons are usually recognisable public official, like the presidents, governors, the influential people and the poor men or women, the farmer, police officers etc. Editorial cartoons in Nigeria have served as a very important source in understanding both the local and national politics throughout Nigerian history (Jimoh, 2010). Cartooning in this period and time is a very important part in a newspaper. Cartoon or caricature first emerged in Italy during the 16th century. It has become an important part of the Newspaper discourse in this era. Cartoons have the capacity to amuse, to criticice and can be used to explain social events. (Hassan, 2019) Cartoon is the concised way of transmitting messages to the readers.
Save your time!
We can take care of your essay
- Proper editing and formatting
- Free revision, title page, and bibliography
- Flexible prices and money-back guarantee
Visual images in newspapers have become a trend as it is used as a mode of communication and it has gained significance in modern communication. Editors of newspapers use visual images to pass across information relating to happenings in the country. Ariyo (2017) states in his journal that “editors of newsmagazines and newspapers find this mode more subtle and reliable to voice their thoughts and messages on important issues in the political landscape” (p. 2). This means that Editors of newspapers communicate or express their thoughts on political issues using visual images as they find it as an easy way of communicating their thoughts concerning political issues to the people.
Political Cartoon is defined as a graphic presentation of typically designed in a one-panel, non-continuing format to make an independent statement or observation on political events or social policy (Edward & Wrinkler, as cited in Jimoh, 2010). A background knowledge of the subject matter is needed in order for the reader to understand the message the editors are trying to pass across. Lawate (as cited in Ariyo, 2017) also stated that political cartoons for any newspapers are indispensable and it is a visual medium that engages the audience, and helps them understand and interpret the political, social and economic scene in the country and the world. Political cartoons are used by these editors to express their thoughts concerning the political issues in the country and the ability of readers to understand these cartoons properly is to have a background knowledge of the subject matter.
This study, therefore, takes a look at the various political cartoons by analysing them using the theory of Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA) as explained by Gunther Kress and Theo Van Leeuwen. However, it is strange that the visual images we see every day in newspapers are a form of discourse analysis as it serves as a mean of language or communication that can affect or influence the thought and behaviour of human lives. Gee (2011) explains that “discourse analysis is based on the details of speech and gaze and gestures and action or writing that are arguably deemed relevant the context and that are relevant to the argument the analysis is attempting to make” (p. 117). Some of the different branches of discourse analysis include Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), Contrastive analysis (C.A), and Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA) etc. This study is centred on the theory of Multimodal discourse analysis.
Multimodality tries to investigate how different semiotic modes or resources are combined within a given socio-cultural domain in order to create a semiotic event (Kress & Van Leeuwen 2001). This theory is based on the concept that verbal communication can never be completed or through without mentioning the non-verbal communications like painting, images and colours etc. Ariyo (2017) asserts that “Multimodal discourse analysis is essentially concerned with the theory and analysis of semantic resources at the semantic expansion which occur as semiotic choices combined in multimodality phenomena” (p. 2). Political cartoons are one of the most effective multimodal media that combine linguistic and non-linguistic semiotic elements to relay meaning and they are a sub-genre of the news discourse analysis.
Multimodal discourse analysis is concerned with 'Visual modality'. It can be found in the definition of Bell (2001) as he defines MDA as 'the represented realism of an image' (pp. 10-34). This theory is based on whether the image is portrayed as realistic, or if it is identified as something imagined or caricature. MDA is a branch of discourse analysis that is concerned with the analysis of semiotic resources which gives multiple meaning to a mode of communication. Van Leeuwen (2004) explains that semiotic resources are the actions, materials and artifacts we use for communicative purposes, whether produced physiologically. Semiotic materials are the mode in which communication is passed across, it could be through colours, images, vocal apparatus, facial expression etc. Technologically, semiotic resources could be pen and ink, computer hardware and software. In terms of visual modality, it can portray things, people, and images like they are real.
The researcher's use of cartoons is to explain the embedded messages in the selected political cartoons and to see the functions of the use of the linguistic and non linguistic semiotic resources in the political cartoons and how they are used to express hidden discourse in politics or political system. This is why the researcher is interested in taking A Multimodal Analysis of selected political cartoons in Nigerian newspapers as the title of this research.
Stuck on your essay?
