Visual Persuasion in Selected English and Arabic Covid-19 Editorial Cartoons (2020-2021): Vaccine Portrayal

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Department of English, Faculty of Al-Alsun, Ain-Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.

Abstract

Given the significant role of editorial cartoons in reflecting and shaping public opinion, it is important to examine visual persuasion in editorial cartoons related to Covid-19. By employing Cockcroft and Cockcroft’s (1992) model of persuasion and complementing it with Attardo's (2001, 2008) General Theory of Verbal Humor (GTVH) to investigate pathos, Wodak's (2001) topoi to investigate logos, and Birdsell and Groarke's (2007) theory of visual argument, the study attempts to examine how the creators of selected English and Arabic editorial cartoons, published in the years 2020 and 2021, attempt to dispel the misinformation associated with coronavirus vaccine and persuade their audience visually with their stance to enhance a certain behavior- namely, to get vaccinated against coronavirus. Data analysis attempts to examine how the selected cartoons attempt to achieve visual persuasion by highlighting the usefulness and advantages of the vaccine and stressing the disadvantages and dangers of coronavirus and of being unvaccinated. However, the effect of the cartoons on the target audience is beyond the scope of this study.

Keywords

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics