ABSTRACT

The political cartoon has proven to be an effective means not only to mock but also to criticise the government of the day and to expose its abuse of power. The visual nature of cartoons, combined with humour, enables cartoon artists to bring across their message in a succinct manner. Cartoonists also employ references to events that their readership can relate to, making cartoons a mode of communication whose impact should not be underestimated. This article considers how cartoons that appeared in English-language South African newspapers viewed the Verwoerd government’s policies, specifically the implementation of those regarding the Bantustans or homelands. The article focuses on how cartoon artists used two phenomena of the time, the Space Race and the Beatles, to convey their criticism of the National Party government. The article also considers the effectiveness of the cartoons artists – like jesters in the royal court, masking their moral judgement behind witty remarks – to unmask the true intentions of the government’s homeland policy.

摘要

事实证明，这幅政治漫画是一种有效的手段，不仅可以嘲讽，还可以批评当时的政府，揭露其滥用权力的行为。卡通的视觉特性与幽默相结合，使卡通艺术家能够以简洁的方式传达他们的信息。漫画家还引用了他们的读者可能与之相关的事件，使漫画成为一种交流方式，其影响不应被低估。本文考虑了出现在南非英语报纸上的漫画如何看待维沃尔德政府的政策，特别是关于班图斯坦或家园的政策的实施。文章重点介绍卡通艺术家如何利用太空竞赛和披头士这两种当时的现象来表达对国民党政府的批评。