A cartoon is a piece of art, usually humorous in intent.
There are several different types of cartoons:
How to analyse a cartoon
There are several different types of cartoons:
- A single-panel gag cartoon consists of a single drawing with a typeset caption positioned beneath
- A comic strip consists of a short series of cartoon illustrations in sequence
- An editorial cartoon is more serious in tone and uses visual metaphors and irony to satirise social or political situations. They often include speech bubbles and, sometimes, multiple panels. Political cartoonists, in particular, make use of satire to comment on the actions, philosophies and policies of political figures or parties. Most of us don't like to face ugly truths about ourselves or the society in which we live. What satirists do is force us to confront these issues through humour. They use wit, irony or sarcasm to mock or expose people, events or attitudes which they feel we, as a society, need to think about.What they hope to achieve is change. They hope that in viewing their work, we will realise how ridiculous we're being, and that these moments of insight will cause us to change our attitudes and actions, or put pressure on others to do so.
- A graphic novel (e.g. Tintin) is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in a comic format.
How to analyse a cartoon