Represented schemas from China: In cartoons of the Western discourse after the prevalence of Corona

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
, Saeedreza Ameli 1
Faeze Jabarpour 2
Faeze Hoseinzade
1 Full Professor of Communication Science , Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran
2 Master Student of Communications Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran
10.22034/jcsc.2021.141681.2288
Abstract
This article aims to study how China is represented and how it is constructed as Other in cartoons published by the Western discourse during the Corona crisis.
In this study, 45 cartoons have been selected and evaluated and analyzed by social semiotics using three Representational, Interpersonal, and Compositional meanings of Kress and Van Leeuwen.
To analyze the research results, labeling theory by Edgar and Sedgwick, representation theory Stuart Hall as well as cultural schema theory have been used.
By examining cartoons related to China's role in the corona prevalence, the politics of representation in these cartoons can be divided into two general categories: "the abject other; Representation of the yellow peril" and "the power-hungry other; Representation of the red threat."
The cartoons in the first category represent China as the potential enemy and abject other that needs to be trained and followed by the West. In contrast, in the cartoons fall into the second category, China is portrayed as a threat to the world in a way that induces the need for control policies and the preservation of Western hegemony.
Based on the results of this study, it can be said that the media (here, published cartoons) by reproducing pre-existing stereotypes about China and equating this country with peril and threat, pave the way for people to believe in a negative bias towards China’s issues.
This bias can infiltrate intercultural relations through racist actions and even pave the way for possible military confrontations.

Highlights

 

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Keywords

 
B & T Magazine, (2020) Downright Offensive!” Petition Calls for News Corp Papers to Apologize over Coronavirus Headlines, Visit: 4/9/2020.
Benabdallah, L (2015), Political representation of China–Africa: the tale of a playful panda, or a threatening dragon?, Africa Review, 7:1, 28-41, DOI: 10.1080/09744053.2014.977587.
Hall, S. (1997), The Work of Representation, Representation: Cultural and Signifying Practices, London: Sage.
Mazzoni, A (2020), 'You brought corona here... you Asian dog!' Disgusting moment foul-mouthed youth screams racist abuse at two young women before SPITTING at them on the streets of Sydney, Daily Mail Australia, 30 March 2020, visit:6/4/2020, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8167131/Woman-screams-racist-abuse-two-Asian-women-SPITTING-amid-coronavirus.html.
Ooi, S.M. and D’Arcangelis, G (2017), Framing China: Discourses of othering in US news and political rhetoric, Global Media and China, 2 (3-4), 269–283, DOI: 10.1177/2059436418756096.
Paner, I (2018), The Marginalization and Stereotyping of Asians in American Film, Honors Theses and Capstone Projects, Dominican University of California.
Ramli, v, S.M. and Muhammad, M (2019), Cartoon Controversy: Semiotic Analysis of Political Cartoon by Zunar Portraying the Issue of 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Journal of Media and Information Warfare, 12 (1), 73-116. 
Swanson, A. & Rappeport, A (2020), Wilbur Ross Says Coronavirus Could Bring Jobs Back to the U.S., New York Times, Jan. 31, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/business/economy/wilbur-ross-coronavirus-jobs.html.
TÉLÉOBS,(2020), Courrier picard" apologizes after its racist on "Yellow Alert" Published on Sunday, the front page of the regional daily shocked social networks. Visit: 4/9/2020. https://www.nouvelobs.com/medias/20200127.OBS23995/le-courrier-picard-s-excuse-apres-sa-une-raciste-sur-l-alerte-jaune.html.
Thestories,(2020), Chinese Social Media Users Target Denmark after Danish Newspaper’s Coronavirus Cartoon, visit: 4/9/2020, https://supchina.com/2020/01/30/chinese-social-media-users-target-denmark-after-danish-newspapers-coronavirus-cartoon.
Yang, M.M., (2017), American Political Discourse on China, Routledge, New York, 1 edition.
Cultural Studies & Communication
Volume 16, Issue 61
Winter 2021
Pages 227-259