Visual Intertextuality as a Backbone of Political Cartooning: Homogenous and Heterogeneous Visual Juxtaposition

This paper delves into the intricate realm of the communicative role of intertextuality within political cartoons, examining the humorous effect of satire and irony in visual intertextuality, termed here as Intervisuality. The study discerns two contrasting categories: homogeneous, which is marked by the ‘supportive and co-thematic’ relations between Source Character (SC) and Target Character (TC), whilst heterogeneous, distinguished as ‘ironic and contrastive’ relation between SC and TC. For examining these categories within the cartooning discourse, a sample of UK cartoons related to the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, was selected particularly those visually inspired by historical characters. The results reveal that these intervisual references are either identified overtly when both characters are visually present or covertly when the SC is visually unobservable but inferred from related events, or paintings. Moreover, the results highlight that UK cartoonists prefer direct heterogeneous intervisuality in their works to highlight elements of hypocrisy and deception during Johnson’s tenure.