Falling stars and sinking ships: Framing and metaphor in cartoons about Brexit

Abstract

The present study provides a systematic analysis of 119 satirical cartoons on Brexit, published by European and non-European artists between 23 May and 30 June 2016. Particular attention is paid to the cartoonists’ use of ‘metaphor scenarios’ (Musolff, 2017) and their role in framing the causes and consequences of Brexit. Our analysis yielded the following key findings: (1) Most cartoons take a generic stance against or in favour of Brexit, without directly engaging with specific arguments. (2) Several Remain and Leave cartoons engage with the same scenarios, turning them against each other through the rhetorical strategy known as trumping. (3) Personification is far more frequently used to depict the UK than the EU; this may be due to the greater difficulty of representing the EU through one single character. (4) In most Remain cartoons, metaphor scenarios point towards extreme and irreversible outcomes for the UK, thus mirroring the hyperbolic rhetoric used by Leave supporters.