A semiotic analysis of political cartoons on the first 100 days of Anies Baswedan government

Abstract

Nowadays, information can be conveyed not only through words, but also through images. An image is also a form of one-way communication because, through an image, people can convey the meaning. This study aimed to describe Anies Baswedan�s political cartoons on his first 100 days as a governor. This study employed a qualitative research approach, and the content or document analysis as the research design. The researchers collected and analyzed the data dealing with the relationship between the utterances and Anies� cartoons on his first 100 days as Jakarta�s governor. In analyzing the data, some steps were taken: first, categorizing the sign into icon, symbol, index using a typology of signs; second, interpreting the meaning of the political cartoons; last, drawing conclusions based on the result of the analysis. The study found that the signs in those political cartoons had powerful meanings to convey the aspiration of Indonesian people freely towards Anies� government. Also, the fact that the cartoons were in the forms of images eased the readers in understanding the meanings behind them, and the political cartoons deal with the relationship between visual and verbal signs of cartoons because it will be helpful for the researchers to know about events depicted in those cartoons.The study also offers some potential use of cartoons for language teaching, even though the challenges of employing them are evident.

Beyond the written word: Newspapers as critical literacy teaching tools in the South African classroom

“…Studies on media discourse have emphasized the importance of the political cartoon to express points of view or ideas (Marín-Arrese, 2019;Mondry, 2017;Hasanah, & Hidayat, 2020). A).…”

“…A). Cartoons often have exaggerated, entertaining and informative content (Hasanah, & Hidayat, 2020). The cartoon provides a link between image and text, what Fairclough (2014) terms 'intertextual analysis' of news discourse within the paradigm of CDA.…”

“…A caption on a photo in one newspaper read, "Crucifiction: Zuma insists that the media and his detractors want to nail him to the cross" (Sowetan 24 March 2006). Commenting on the caption the students equated it to propagandistic journalism (Benkler, Faris, & Roberts, 2018) meant to sensationalise the case, which Hasanah and Hidayat (2020) consider as just portraying the view of cartoonists about a specific topic or current issues. The students made interesting comments regarding the showerhead on the cartoon, which depicted what was reported Zuma said in his defence for having unprotected sex.…”

Depiction of Raden Joko Kaiman as a Superhero Using Barthes’ Semiotics

“…Since he is the founding father of Banyumas regency, Raden Joko Kaiman is the most central and essential sign in Banyumas culture as he is the first leader of Banyumas regency after it is parted from Wirasaba regency. To get an insightful meaning of Raden Joko Kaiman, semiotics, a study of sign can be applied as it has been widely used to depict the characteristics of a superhero, namely courage, strong moral codes, tolerance towards pain, and responsibility (Bainbridge, 2017;Hasanah & Hidayat, 2020;Muñoz-González, 2017). Semiotics is the study of signs in human life that is not questionable (Balci & Özgen, 2017;Hadiati, 2020;Pratiwi & Amri, 2020).…”

“…To get an insightful meaning of Raden Joko Kaiman, semiotics, a study of sign can be applied as it has been widely used to depict the characteristics of a superhero, namely courage, strong moral codes, tolerance towards pain, and responsibility (Bainbridge, 2017;Hasanah & Hidayat, 2020;Muñoz-González, 2017). Semiotics is the study of signs in human life that is not questionable (Balci & Özgen, 2017;Hadiati, 2020;Pratiwi & Amri, 2020). It indicates that anything that exists in human lives is seen as a sign, something that people have to give meaning or something that stands for something else.…”