A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of Political Cartoons in Ghana: A Focus on Ghana’s Parliamentary and Presidential Elections in 2016

Abstract

Communication has, over the years, taken new trends to suit how people interact because the creation of meaning is increasingly becoming multimodal across different contexts (Ademilokun & Olateju, 2016). This study sought to investigate the ideologies of political cartoons in Ghana with Akosua, a political cartoon published in the Daily Guide, as the focus. Specifically, it explores what the artist (Akosua) projected in the (political) cartoons prior to Ghana’s December 2016 Parliamentary and Presidential Elections (PPEs). The study employed a multimodal critical discourse approach (MCDA), as pioneered and championed by the works of Kress and van Leeuwen (1996, 2006), to explore the issues engraved in one hundred and fifty (150) cartoons of Akosua. This study found six (6) themes based on common issues that dominated the discourse in Ghana. Unsurprisingly, the theme of electoral process dominated since the period chosen for the study marked the peak period in the elections as several issues were published in the media that bordered on preparations and organisation toward the elections. The study revealed that some of the political actors were represented in the cartoons in a way that projected them as more appealing to win the elections over others. The study has implications for studying critical multimodal discourse analysis and political cartoons (PCs), especially, taking into consideration, the Ghanaian context.