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Title "Representation of Ecological Issues in American, Chinese and Pakistani English Editorial Cartoons: A Multimodal Analysis"

Author(s) Sheeren Zainab

Abstract Title: Representation of Ecological Issues in American, Chinese and Pakistani English Editorial Cartoons: A Multimodal Analysis This study aims at scrutinizing the representation of ecological issues through the visual and linguistic elements of editorial cartoons in three countries’ English newspapers; USA Today (America), China Daily (China), and Dawn (Pakistan). It comparatively analyzes the editorial treatment of climate change in developed and underdeveloped countries and how it influences the readers’ perspective. Ten editorial cartoons from each newspaper have been used as a sample for the data analysis of the study. A multimodal analysis is done by using Kress and Leeuwen’s (2006) visual grammar model and four aspects of Stibbe’s (2015) ecolinguistic theory as a theoretical framework to study ecological issues and blame game in editorial cartoons. These theories focus on the colors, symbols, metaphors, and triggering words to frame a concept in the minds of the viewers. Purposive sampling technique has been used to collect theme based editorial cartoons for a qualitative research. The researcher has focused on the variant patterns of representation of ecological issues, how these three countries deflect blame game on each other and how they project similarities and differences in the selected sample. Through the analysis of these linguistic and visual elements, the researcher has identified a pervasive use of metaphors in constructing the framing of climate change. A realistic approach in Pakistani editorial cartoons has been identified in raising awareness about vulnerability of developing countries to climate change and its effect on economy. American consumerism and Chinese blame-shifting strategy has foregrounded the theme of blame-game and helped the researcher to get the perspective of the producers. The frequency of appearance of these issues varies across the editorial cartoons. The study suggests a new perspective to look at the editorial cartoons and proposes further studies on how the comparative multimodal analysis can influence the critical thinking of the readers regarding crucial issues.

Type Thesis/Dissertation

Faculty Languages

Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2024-09-24

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Contributor(s) Dr. Azhar Habib

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