Abstract
The article employs a cultural studies approach to counterpose the infamous 'Rape of LadyJustice' cartoon produced by the South African cartoonist, Zapiro (Jonathan Shapiro) on 7September 2009 against a cartoon produced 190 years before, to the day, by the 19th centuryBritish cartoonist George Cruikshank. The article employs the notions of 'transsubjectivetexts' and 'horizons of expectation', derived from Hans Robert Jauss, as a vantage point fromwhich to view these cartoons as cultural products which, despite the two centuries thatseparate them, are connected by visual continuities that have something to tell us about thecontinuing encounter between Africa and the Western world. Drawing upon the notion of'contrapuntal reading', derived from Edward Said, the article proposes that these cartoonsshould be examined not only in terms of the discourses that they include, but also those thatthey exclude. An Appendix provides selected excerpts of statements in response to the 'Rapeof Lady Justice' cartoon by South African leadership figures, journalists and members of thepublic.
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