Satire P 70 satire Paragraph 1 Satire is

Satire P. 70

satire Paragraph 1: Satire is a witty, intelligent form of humour that involves mockery. Beneath the humour lies a serious intention. It is didactic as it aims to teach a moral or lesson and seeks change. Paragraph 2: Satire uses four phases in order to convey its message. Paragraph 3: The target of the cartoon is the ANC Youth League leaders. Paragraph 4: The flaw that is being mocked in this cartoon is the deteriorating quality of the character of the ANCYL leaders. The earlier leaders of the ANCYL are clearly depicted in a respectable manner. However, as time progresses, the leaders are depicted in an increasingly mocking and degenerate manner.

Paragraph 5: Verbal Clues The cartoon has several verbal clues that convey its message. Firstly, there is a banner with ‘ANC YOUTH LEAGUE’ written on it. This helps to clearly identify the cartoon’s target. Each ANCYL member has their name above their head. Most leaders are depicted as holding something. Sisulu is holding a book titled ‘Justice’ and Mandela is holding a document titled ‘Freedom Charter. ’ This clearly shows how leaders like Sisulu and Mandela were honourable men who fought for and accomplished significant things during their leadership. However, as the leaders evolve, they are holding documents of less worthy reputation. For example, Mokaba is depicted holding a newspaper that says ‘AIDS DENIAL’ which hints at the low moral standing of current leaders. Thus there are very strong verbal clues in this cartoon that enhance the idea that ANCYL leaders are not what they used to be.

Paragraph 6: Visual Clues All ANCYL leaders have been drawn in a line, resembling the typical line of evolution. However, instead of evolving, the leaders are drawn as degenerating. The earlier leaders, such as Lembede, Sisulu, Mandela and Tambo, are all depicted as wearing neat, professional suits, which makes them look respectable. Sisulu is wearing glasses which makes him appear educated and intelligent. Nokwe is depicted in a less professional way as his suit is shabby and he has no tie. From Mokaba onwards, the way in which the leaders are depicted deteriorates chronically. Mokaba’s clothes are messy, his arms and legs are hairy, his posture is bent, all making him look more monkey-like than human. His mouth is gaping open and his eyes are half closed, making him look unintelligent. Mbalula is depicted more like a monkey, with his arms up like an orangutan, and his tongue is sticking out his mouth making him look stupid. There are credit cards floating above his head, indicating some money issue he was involved in. He and Malema have been drawn with shower heads as they were strong Zuma supporters. Malema is last in this line of evolution and there is nothing about him that resembles a human. He is also holding an AK 47, symbolising his pro-violence attitude.

Paragraph 7: It is clear that the cartoonist believes that current ANCYL leaders are not of the calibre of character that they used to be. The cartoonist repsects leaders like Lembede and Mandela because they fought for change and made a difference. However, more current leaders such as Mbalula and Malema, have been involved in corruption and scandal, and they have brought no positive changes about during their leadership. The cartoonist’s message is that, if something significant does not change with regards to ANCYL leaders, then there can be no hope in the leaders because they will only be worse than Malema. The current leaders have been people that are hard to respect (which is shown in how they were drawn) and the cartoonist wants us to look back at what ANCYL leaders used to be, and thus change the current situation. Thus, this cartoon can be considered as an excellent example of satire as its message is loud and clear – the cartoonist is mocking the leaders in order to make them aware of how far they have drifted from what the original leaders stood for.