Four historic milestones as portrayed through cartoons in Maltese newspapers

Abstract

This research study provides a detailed account of, and understanding about four of Malta’s four historic milestones – Independence Day, Republic Day, Freedom Day, and Malta’s Accession to the EU – through political cartoons. This study starts by providing an overview of caricatures and political cartoons. It also focuses on the techniques used in political cartooning. Another objective of this study is to investigate the importance that political cartoons play in today's world, using technology. This study explains how the evolvement of technology has helped cartoonists to produce their artwork. The importance of semiotics in political cartoons is also under the investigation in this dissertation. Moreover, a semiotic interpretation analysis is undertaken on some of the political cartoons in this dissertation. The participants explained how Maltese cartoonists portray satire and humour. They also highlighted essential features from the political cartoons and shared their knowledge on Malta's four historic events - Independence Day, Republic Day, Freedom Day, and Malta's Accession to the EU.