Visual Metaphor as a Weapon:Conflict Imagery in NorthernIreland Political Cartoons (1900-2009)

Abstract

This study set out to explore how political cartoonists use visual metaphor as a 'weapon' in their 'cartoonists' armoury (Gombrich, 1963). It analyzed cartoons from 1900-2009 which depicted leading political figures and important political issues which affected the development of a nascent Northern Ireland and in the recent Northern Ireland conflict. The findings show that political cartoons are a form of 'conflict imagery' (Loftus, 1982). The findings also reveal that visual metaphor as a weapon was employed to generate and manipulate public opinion in Ireland and in Britain and to reinforce each conflict group's own version of Irish history. Furthermore, many visual metaphors expressed Ulster Protestant and Britsh superiority over Nationalist Catholics. Additionally, each cartoon contained various examples of binary oppositions which underscored the very complex nature of the Northern Ireland conflict theories: ethnocentrism, the psychological enemy image, the psychological need to establish enemies, sanctification and demonization, and dehumanization. It is apparent that visual metaphor as a weapon is effective in many ways. For example, supporting the established model of authority, by challenging or threatening it or by removing the 'mask' of the intended object to reveal its true face, or by allowing us to look beyond the literal and to generate deeper levels of meaning. This is revealed in the great diversity of visual metaphors as weapons in the selected cartoons. Such an ingenious array of imagery not only shows that political cartoons are ”dark and dangerously close to magic” (Coupe, 1962, p.65) but also underscores the extraordinary power of visual metaphor as a weapon in the cartoonist's armoury.