Linguistic and visual representations of a political figure in editorial cartoons

Abstract

This study investigated the representations of a political figure in editorial cartoons. The data for this study were taken from the Malay editorial cartoons published by the famous local cartoonist, Lat. The cartoons were selected based on several criteria. Firstly, the cartoons must have the image of Tun Dr. Mahathir and were published in The New Straits Times from 1979 to 2004. In addition, the cartoons must have both multimodal modes which are, visual and linguistic. The visual elements were analysed using multimodality, whilst the linguistic elements were analysed using Systemic Functional Linguistics. In visual analysis, the cartoons were analysed based on the representation component, in which the participants and the process types were examined. The transitivity analysis of systemic functional linguistics, on the other hand, was carried out to examine the participants, process types and circumstantial elements found in the linguistic elements. Besides that, this study also aimed to identify the relationships between the two modes using the framework of Text-Image Relations. Based on the visual and linguistic analyses, the findings show that Tun Dr Mahathir is represented as a leader who is firm and full of confidence. Moreover, Tun Dr Mahathir is portrayed as a leader who thinks out of the box, values time and focuses on the infrastructural development. Interestingly, all the three types of Text-Image Relations, Relay, Anchorage and Illustration, are found in the editorial cartoons. Nonetheless, the relay relationship is the most common type found compared to the other two. Findings of this study also suggest that the highlights on the positive representations of Tun Dr. Mahathir as a leader, the use of visual metaphors in presenting views and criticisms as well as the inclusion of humourous element lead to the acceptance of Lat’s editorial cartoons by the society.