Abstract
Newspaper cartoons are in essence a multimodal construct through which the cartoonist and the paper build levels of communication on a bedrock of signs, metaphor, and metonymy. Critics from Saussure to Barthes, Foucault and beyond have understood the importance of language in the formation of meaning, but it should not be underestimated how important metaphor and metonymy are to the visual. In this paper we consider their role in newspaper cartoons with specific focus on sign systems and visual metonymy in pocket cartoons. Specifically with the pocket cartoon, the use of an image along with text (the caption) works as a whole to create meaning by building on a shared knowledge with readers as well as an assumption of a shared belief system, often based on their respective newspaper’s editorial line. Through a study of a number of specific examples of Osbert Lancaster’s cartoons, this paper argues that the pocket cartoon represented not just a new form of visual satire in the British popular press, but also a key feature in the popularising of the country’s mass media through its use of the image as text.
Presenters
James WhitworthUniversity Teacher, Journalism Studies, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Cartoon, Pocket, Image, Text, Multimodal, Pocket, Visual, Satire, Popular, Newspaper
