Red lines: Political cartoons and the struggle against censorship (information policy)
Project Description
A global interdisciplinary study of cartoon censorship
In this award-winning book, Cherian George conducts a global study of censorship as experienced by political cartoonists. He analyses the multiple motivations and methods around the restrictions and reprisals they face and documents their playful and courageous resistance against the suppression of their work.
Presented entirely in graphic narrative form by cartoonist Sonny Liew, Red Lines captures the lived experience of censorship through interviews with more than sixty cartoonists across every populated continent. These case studies are interwoven with theoretical perspectives from multiple fields including media studies, art history, legal studies, political science, political sociology, critical race studies, and gender studies.
The book explains the paradox that simple sketches by lone cartoonists are able to threaten the most powerful leaders and provoke violent retribution. It shows how cartoons’ elasticity of meaning is both a strength and a weakness. Cartoons use visual metaphors, inviting viewers to co-create meaning. This is one reason why they have such an impact. But their creators have little control over how their work is interpreted. Cartoons can trigger unintended and accidental offence, sometimes with violent consequences.
This is a comprehensive and global study of challenges to freedom of expression. It includes cases of extreme repression such as jail terms for insulting national leaders, economic pressures that deter news organisations from publishing critical work, and algorithmic censorship by internet platforms. The decision by the New York Times to cease publishing editorial cartoons entirely is analysed as a symptom of self-censorship by professional news media that increasingly perceive the opinionated political cartoon as a liability in culture wars.
The book was selected as one of the top three scholarly titles in both the Media & Cultural Studies and Graphic Nonfiction categories of the Association of American Publishers PROSE Awards 2021.
Praise for Red Lines
“Surely belongs on the syllabus of any media studies class as it sets the standard for discussion of this topic.” – Rob Salkowitz, Department of Communication, University of Washington.
“The political cartoon is the art form of our deeply troubled world, and this brilliant, disturbing, and ultimately hopeful book is far and away the definitive guide.” – Vincent Mosco, author of The Political Economy of Communication and The Digital Sublime.
More about the book: here
Project Investigator
Professor Cherian GEORGE (Department of Journalism)
