Visual recycling and intertextuality: a neurocognitive perspective

Abstract

The phenomenon this article is studying is so common and important in the everyday world that its name should be known: it is visual/multimodal recycling. It occurs when editorial artists (cartoonists and illustrators) recycle or reuse non-verbal and compositional ideas they have developed earlier. Drawing primarily on neurocognitive theories—such as Teun van Dijk’s multimodal mental model theory, Daniel Kahneman’s theory of judgment, etc.—this article develops a multidisciplinary framework that can account for the fundamental properties of recycling. The paper addresses questions such as: How does recycling operate? Is it a deliberate or unconscious practice? Does it differ from one country or society to the next? What are its main patterns? Are there any gender differences in recycling? Multimodal scholars and cognitivists in various disciplines should find the phenomenon of recycling pertinent to their concerns.