Visualizing some Iraqi Politicians Corruption in Political Cartoons: A Cognitive Semiotic Study

This study investigates the role of political cartoons as a tool that used not only to create fun or to make the others laugh, but to criticize, visualize and expose the politicians' corruption. The study tries to fill the gaps in the representation of political cartoons in Iraq, and how these simple drawings can make affect on people and hold a huge message. This study aims to: Highlighting the role of political cartoons in Iraq, which expose the corruption. Characterizing the cognitive aspects in semiotics. Illustrating how political cartoons are succeeding in introducing a clear message, and testing how political cartoons in Iraq are taken seriously by the Iraqi people. The data in this study are analysed by following the cognitive semiotic theory, by which the researcher adopts eclectic models: Facconnier and Turners' theory (2002) Blending Theory, Sonessons' theory (1989) Pictorial Concept, Van Dijks' theory (2006) Ideological Theory and Lakoff and Johnsons' theory (1999) Metaphorical Concept. In the collecting and analysing data the researcher follows the qualitative method. The data in this study are samples of political cartoons which categorized to serve the aims of the study. As a result, it is important to take political cartoons seriously, according to their role in criticizing, visualizing and exposing the corruption. This study also improves that all the aspects of cognitive theory are cooperating with semiotics, which provide full recognizing, interpreting and perception of new opinion, or ideas that may the audience cannot be found before.