Semiotic Analysis of Political Cartoons During Russia-Ukraine War
Keywords:
Political cartoons, Russia-Ukraine war, Semiotics, Russian powerAbstract
Political cartoons play a vital role in analysing the truth and hidden realities. It represents the message as a whole, consisting of more than one meaning in just one image or caricature. Political cartoons are based on themes that are universal and reflect situations at the national and international level. During war situations, the conflicts between the different states are delineated by political cartoons and represent the chronological changes during the war. The Russia-Ukraine war was a major emerging conflict around the globe in the year 2022. The researcher and authors depicted the war by raising their voices in different ways. In the same way, the political cartoonist also depicted the war situation by portraying cartoons in creative and satirical ways. The present study aims to analyse the semiotic meaning generated by political cartoons on social media during the Russia-Ukraine war. Semiotic theory is used as a theoretical framework for this study. Moreover, the meanings generated by political cartoons during the Russia-Ukraine conflict are analysed using Barth’s model. The data for the semiotic analysis was taken from Tribune Content Agency. A total of 10 political cartoons are deeply analysed through the literal, denoted, and connoted meanings they show. The findings of the study show that the political cartoons reflecting the Russia-Ukraine war were mostly ironic and satirical about how Russia is using power to invade Ukraine. The findings also revealed that many political cartoonists depicted “Bear” in their cartoons, which showed how serious and persistent Russia is about destroying Ukraine. The aggression, power, pride, and egocentrism of Russia are criticised by political cartoonists.
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