Editor’s Note: Donald Sargeant has since left the British Council
and is now working in the Middle East
What is a cartoon?
Most of us probably think of
cartoons as funny pictures containing characters such as Donald Duck or Mickey
Mouse, or more seriously as satirical drawings that lampoon such well known
personalities as the handbag-wielding iron lady or a sad Major with his
underpants outside his trousers. However, cartoons were originally drawings
made to be used as patterns for tapestry, painting or mosaics. In this paper I
will consider their use for mainly conveying political commentary and editorial
opinions in newspapers and for social comedy and visual wit in magazines.
§
Fun: Cartoons are funny. They make students
laugh and as they say, ‘laughter is the best medicine’. If you have to study,
why not make it fun?
§
Generally Simple: The drawing is
clear and simple and most cartoons try to get over one point, so they are good
for getting ideas across to students.
§
Making a point: Most cartoons
try to make a point and this can be worth a thousand words. For example, the
cartoon of Margaret Thatcher clad in armour made the point that this was a
leader who was not to be trifled with. This cartoon did Margaret Thatcher no
harm. It enhanced her image. But it is hard to take John Major in his
underpants, or a bald-headed William Hague in his short schoolboy trousers as
serious politicians.
§
Cheap: They can be cut out of newspapers and
provided you don’t make too many copies, can be photocopied for use in class.
§
Authentic material: They are
authentic, though students may not understand the references in cartoons that
are more than several years – or even a few months – old.
§
Culturally
specific: Many cartoons contain cultural stereotypes, such as a bowler-hatted
British bulldog. These may no longer be true, but the teacher can still use
them to explain different aspects of the culture.
§
Soundbites: To be effective, a cartoon
needs a pithy punch line. Many of these contain what Michael Lewis would call
prefabricated forms such as ‘so far, so good’ seen in a recent cartoon of John
Prescott, ‘Holding the baby’. Some cartoon captions, like ‘The curate’s egg’
have become part of the language.
§
Politics: Most cartoons are about politics. Students can learn about the political
allegiances of newspapers by looking at how party leaders are treated in the
cartoons.
§
People: Famous people, and not just politicians,
are lampooned in cartoons. Students can
compare their photographs with their cartoon representations and see how true
to life they are. Another approach could be to compare how the characteristics
of one politician are transferred to another. Thus, we often see Tony Blair
holding a handbag, a reference to his alleged similarities to Margaret
Thatcher.
§
History: Some cartoons like Kaiser Whilem II sacking
Bismark, ‘Dropping the Pilot’, have become a part of history. Historical
landmarks such as Number 10 feature in many cartoons.
§
Manners: Some of the old
Punch cartoons, by such cartoonists
as Graham, gave wonderful insights into good and bad manners.
§
Literature: Many cartoonists refer to
literary characters to illustrate points.
Every Christmas you are certain to find well-known contemporary figures
portrayed as Scrooge from Charles Dickens’s A
Christmas Carol. Last year it was the turn of William Hague to have that
honour.
§
Customs: British festivals and customs are frequently
used in cartoons. A recent one of Bonfire Night showed a lady looking at a guy
on the fire with the comment “He failed to blow up Parliament, so every year
he’s burnt in effigy”.
§
Likes and
dislikes: British likes, dislikes, habits and prejudices all feature in
cartoons. A famous series is one called ‘The British Character’. Here,
different supposedly British traits such as ‘Importance of not being
intellectual’, or ‘Love of writing letters to “The Times”’ are made fun of.
§
Matching
cartoons: Cartoons can be pinned up round the wall and students can be asked to
sort them into different categories.
§
Matching cartoons
and texts: The texts can be cut off from the cartoons. Both texts and cartoons can
then be put up at random around the room. Students are asked to match cartoon
to text.
§
Writing new
captions: Students try to write their own captions. These can then be compared to
the original ones.
§
Language
Analysis: Cartoons can be used in a variety of ways to analyse language, such as
whether the language used in a caption is appropriate to the situation
portrayed in the cartoon.