What this lesson teaches
I can explain what globalisation is and how it links countries and people and makes them depend on each other.
Syllabus K230, Issue 3, Key Understandings. Globalisation shapes the interconnections and interdependence among countries and people.
Make a guess
A cartoon shows a tiny umbrella labelled 'law' held over people in a storm. What do you think the cartoonist's main point is?
- It is raining and some people have an umbrella.
- The law gives too little protection for the problem.
- People should be better prepared for stormy weather in future.
Show the answer
The law gives too little protection for the problem.
The message comes from what details stand for. A tiny umbrella in a big storm exaggerates how weak the protection is.
The message is the cartoonist's main point about the issue. Build it from the labels, the speech, the caption and what the figures do.
Cartoons appeared in most recent prelim case studies. A cartoon uses symbols, labels and exaggeration to make one main point about an issue. The question is usually "What is the message of the cartoonist?" or "Why did the cartoonist draw this?"
Start by listing the details: what is labelled, who says what, the caption, and what the figures are doing. Then ask what each detail stands for. A ship stuck in a canal might stand for a blocked trade route. An umbrella labelled "law" might stand for the protection a law promises.
Next, ask how the details work together. Look for a contrast (busy people beside a lazy one) or an exaggeration (a tiny umbrella in a storm). The contrast usually carries the point.
The caption often turns the picture into an argument, especially if it is a question. "PROTECTED?" means the cartoonist doubts the protection. Finally, say what the cartoonist wants readers to think or do, linked to the date and place in the provenance.
- Cartoon details
- Labels, speech or thought bubbles, the caption, and what the figures do. Ask what each one stands for.
- Message vs sub-message
- A sub-message comes from one detail. The main message is the overall point that all the details build.
Worked example: The message ladder for a cartoon
A cartoon shows a container ship stuck across a canal. Below it, shelves in three far-apart places say "SOLD OUT". The caption reads "ONE SHIP, MANY SHELVES".
- Level 1, describes: "The cartoon shows a ship stuck in a canal and empty shelves."
- Level 2, sub-message from one detail: "The cartoonist shows that shops have run out of goods."
- Level 3, main message with details: "The message is that countries depend on each other, so one blocked route can empty shelves around the world. The 'ONE BLOCKED ROUTE' label and the 'SOLD OUT' signs in three places show this."
- Level 4, message plus intended outcome in context: add "Published after a real blockage, it warns readers and businesses to prepare for disruptions, for example by using more than one route."
Watch out for this
The message of a cartoon is what it shows.
What it shows is a description. The message is the point the cartoonist makes about the issue, which you build from what the details stand for.
Check your understanding
A cartoon's caption is a question: "IS THAT ALL IT TAKES?" What does this usually signal?
- The cartoonist doubts the idea being shown in the drawing.
- The cartoonist does not know the answer either.
- The caption is a joke, so the drawing carries the message.
Show the answer
The cartoonist doubts the idea being shown in the drawing.
Right. A question caption usually invites the answer "no", which shows the cartoonist's view.