A Semiotic and Critical Discourse Analysis of Selected Editorial Caricatures on Drug Addiction

Abstract

This study analyses selected editorial caricatures focusing on drug abuse. Depending on the theoretical frameworks of Roland Barthes' semiotics (1957) and Norman Fairclough's CDA, the researcher applies a descriptive qualitative approach. The study concentrates on the linguistic messages, denoted non-linguistic elements, and connoted connections between textual and denoted elements. Furthermore, the analysis investigates how visual and linguistic elements converge to support or challenge social ideologies surrounding drug abuse and addiction. It gives a deeper understanding of how the visual media participates in the ideological construction of drug-related narratives and their broader social implications. The results indicate that these caricatures efficiently express intricate messages through visual symbols and simple language and that the role of editorial caricatures is not only humorous or artistic expression, but they are influential discursive instruments that sustain or contest prevailing ideologies of drug addiction.