Multimodal representations of violence in Chinese cartoons

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss the findings of a study done on the violence representations found in Chinese animated cartoons. This study used the theory of multimodal discourse analysis (MDA) as the analytical framework. The data for this study were 80 episodes chosen from Chinese children's animated cartoons entitled Boonie Bear to investigate the visual modality of the violent plots. The representational meaning and interactive meaning of the visual modality have been analyzed in detail using Visual Grammar and Visual Narrative analytical framework. It has been found that although the cartoon is made for the children, the visual representation of the violence is vivid and emphasized on the forceful attackers. The cartoon portrays the violent side as a powerful and condescending image, while the victims are always neglected. The viewers of the cartoon need to observe the violent scenes from the attacker's viewpoint.