Satirical Depictions of the European Union : A Semiotic Analysis of Political Cartoons on the 2004 Enlargement and 2009-2012 Eurozone Debt Crisis
(2012) EUHR18 20121European Studies
- Abstract
- This study examines the visual representations of the European Union (EU) in political cartoons on the 2004 enlargement and the 2009-2012 Eurozone debt crisis, and the interactions between these depictions and Europe’s socio-political order. Carried out on fourteen political cartoons (out of a 300-cartoon corpus), the visual analysis is based on the theories of traditional semiotics, social semiotics, and metaphor. The analysis results show that the cartoonists’ depictions of the EU bear a strong resemblance to the popular discourse. The EU is often depicted as a disunited political entity, whose orientation and action are decided by pragmatism and national egoism of its individual member states. The EU’s power structure and national /... (More)
- This study examines the visual representations of the European Union (EU) in political cartoons on the 2004 enlargement and the 2009-2012 Eurozone debt crisis, and the interactions between these depictions and Europe’s socio-political order. Carried out on fourteen political cartoons (out of a 300-cartoon corpus), the visual analysis is based on the theories of traditional semiotics, social semiotics, and metaphor. The analysis results show that the cartoonists’ depictions of the EU bear a strong resemblance to the popular discourse. The EU is often depicted as a disunited political entity, whose orientation and action are decided by pragmatism and national egoism of its individual member states. The EU’s power structure and national / regional stereotypes are also emphasised in the political cartoons. These satirical representations form a dissenting voice against the EU, but can also contribute to the naturalisation of Europe’s socio-political order. This complex process depends on both the viewers’ interpretation and the whole media “ecosystem” surrounding the cartoons. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/3046060
- author
- Pham, Tra LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- EUHR18 20121
- year
- 2012
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- political cartoon, metaphor, stereotype, semiotics, social semiotics, European Union, EU enlargement, debt crisis, European public sphere
- language
- English
- id
- 3046060
- date added to LUP
- 2012-08-31 12:14:31
- date last changed
- 2015-12-14 13:23:23
@misc{3046060, abstract = {{This study examines the visual representations of the European Union (EU) in political cartoons on the 2004 enlargement and the 2009-2012 Eurozone debt crisis, and the interactions between these depictions and Europe’s socio-political order. Carried out on fourteen political cartoons (out of a 300-cartoon corpus), the visual analysis is based on the theories of traditional semiotics, social semiotics, and metaphor. The analysis results show that the cartoonists’ depictions of the EU bear a strong resemblance to the popular discourse. The EU is often depicted as a disunited political entity, whose orientation and action are decided by pragmatism and national egoism of its individual member states. The EU’s power structure and national / regional stereotypes are also emphasised in the political cartoons. These satirical representations form a dissenting voice against the EU, but can also contribute to the naturalisation of Europe’s socio-political order. This complex process depends on both the viewers’ interpretation and the whole media “ecosystem” surrounding the cartoons.}}, author = {{Pham, Tra}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Satirical Depictions of the European Union : A Semiotic Analysis of Political Cartoons on the 2004 Enlargement and 2009-2012 Eurozone Debt Crisis}}, year = {{2012}}, }