2. Review of Literature
2.5 Research Questions
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significant difference in the presence of frames that relate to “timeframe, location, victims, race, emotional portrayal, officials, aerial depictions, death, and portrayals of officials” (p. 12).
However, frame studies for visuals have been focused only on photographic evidence in newspapers and magazines. This thesis intends to extend frame studies to cartoons as visuals by identifying the frames and symbols in the cartoon representation of the U.S.-Mexico border wall.
2.5 Research Questions
Essentially, the visual discourse in editorial cartoons provides evidence about a social issue. Through the use of metaphors, phrases and satires in a rhetorical metalanguage, the editorial cartoons frame the information and organize graphically the essence of a current issue.
As Gamson and Stuart (1992) have argued, political cartoons “offer a number of different condensing symbols that suggest the core frame” of the event (p. 60). Thus, the editorial cartoon helps the audience to condense and process large quantities of information in a faster and simplest way giving the discursive possibilities a direction to aim the understanding of a social issue.
The framing and presentation of events and news in the mass media can thus systematically affect how recipients come to understand these events (Price, Tewksbury &
Powers, 1995). In this sense, Entman (1993) pointed out “Frames call attention to some aspects of reality while obscuring other elements, which might lead audiences to have different reactions” (p. 55). However, the framing theory has been applied mainly in analyzing texts (Berger, 1991). The question of how issues are framed through the images such as cartoons has remained relatively underresearched (Bell, 2001). This disparity has to be corrected considering that just as in textual framing, images as modes of communication have properties that either
“enhance or mitigate their consequences” (Messaris & Abraham, 2001: 215) and therefore this thesis intends to contribute in the expansion of literature linking frames and editorial cartoons.
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Despite the historical construction of the separation wall between the United States and Mexico, its portrayal in editorial cartoons has not been analyzed yet. Therefore, this thesis intends to examine the political cartoons established in the following research questions:
1. How did the Mexican press frame the U.S.-Mexico border fence in political cartoons of the wall?
2. How did the American press frame the U.S.-Mexico border fence in political cartoons of the wall?
3. How did the American political cartoons differ from the Mexican political cartoons?
In order to answer the research questions this thesis intends to utilize a qualitative approach to political cartoon images published from 2003 to 2008 in major Mexican and American newspapers. The purpose is to identify the main frames in the newspapers cartoons’ in order to decode the different messages and symbolisms towards this social issue through which one can understand the U.S.-Mexico border as seen in the newspapers in the two countries.
From the review of existing body of literature, we find that political cartoons transform abstractions into visual symbols. As the main actors in the border wall issue, Mexico and the United States will make use of symbols to encode the American Security fence in the editorial cartoons, and both actors will also decode it in a certain manner through the encoding-decoding process. Each country has the liberty to express its own opinion and concerns towards the American-Mexican border wall, and the political cartoons in this case, serve as evidence of this fact.
In addition, Gamson (1992) refers to a frame as “an implicit organizing idea” which informs and shapes public discussion pointing what is relevant and what is not (p.3). Yet, there is a need to expand the empirical database since little has been done to study the relation between frames and editorial cartoons such as this analysis will address with the case of the U.S.-Mexico border wall because framing constructs the visuals and as a consequence, leads to the idea that different media may present different pictures of reality.
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Chapter 3 Method
This study utilizes a qualitative content analysis to answer the research questions. It is intended to identify the main frames and symbols through which to understand the U.S.-Mexico border wall issue as portrayed in editorial cartoons from both countries.
3.1 Collection of the Cartoons for Analysis
Content analysis has been developed as “the major systematic and empirical method for analysing visual material” (Ball and Smith 1992: 20). This research employs the same operational definition as Edwards (2001) used for a political cartoon: “Visual/verbal non-narrative commentary, typically in single-panel form created by a staff member or a newspaper or appearing originally on the editorial pages of a newspaper” (p.2149). A border wall structure may vary in materials and placement with regard to international borders or topography.
However, a wall serves as a kind of separation barrier built to limit the movement of people across a certain frontier or to separate two populations. The editorial cartoon is daily published in newspapers and acts as a means of expression through the use of humor, irony or satire containing a political or social message to point, critic or disagree with a current event or personality.
The sample consists of one-frame political cartoons published from 2003 to 2008 based in major dailies from Mexico and The United States of America. This time period was selected to coincide with the approval of the Security Fence Act of 2006 which authorizes the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security to construct “the infrastructure necessary to deter and prevent
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illegal entry on our Southwest Border, including pedestrian and vehicle fencing, roads and technology” (U.S. DHS, 2010); dividing the U.S.-Mexico border with a wall running from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.
The cartoon examination was realized in Taipei, Taiwan, from August to December, 2008 thru the use of English keywords such as “U.S.-Mexico border fence, separation barrier, security fence, border wall, walled border” and their equivalent in Spanish “U.S.-Mexico muro fronterizo, muro divisorio, frontera, muralla, barrera, valla” in Internet search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, bing and diverse cartoon databases since they were not readily available physically or accessible in libraries and other research depositories. Among these, all categories of the following were searched: cartoonweb.com, cartoons.nytimages.com, caglecartoons.com, cartoonstock.com, politicalcartoons.com, amureprints.com and editorialcartoons.net. This time period was selected because the tensions at the U.S.-Mexico border were heightening when a Border Patrol agent was the first to be tried for murder since 1994, raising huge controversy.
Arizona’s Border Patrol Nicholas Corbett’s defense portrayed the death of the 22-year-old Mexican migrant Javier Domínguez Rivera as a case of self-defense by the 40-year-old agent when he said the migrant tried to throw a rock on him. But the prosecution told a different story, because it revealed that while surrendering, the young man went down on his knees, put his hands in the air, and then he was shot from behind. Corbett had a history of domestic violence, assault on a civilian in Pennsylvania and a professed hatred of Latinos and even the eyewitnesses’ statements which were consistent with the autopsy, ballistics and forensics didn’t match with Corbett’s story, he had two trials but each ended in with the jury unable to decide, so both judges declared mistrials. From 2006 to 2008 U.S. Border Patrol agents killed 12 people but Corbett’s trial incensed again bitter national debates about immigration policies and his trial case was a political lightning rod in the United States (Nathan, 2008).
In total, 154 editorial cartoons depicting the U.S.-Mexico border wall were first selected.
However, 51 of them were published in foreign countries such as Austria, China, France, Philippines, Israel, Panama, Ireland, India, Brazil, Cuba and Canada. But since this thesis intends to analyze the cartoons published only by the two main actors in the American-Mexican border
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wall construction, they were eliminated as they did not entirely correspond to the sample required for this study. As a result, 69 Mexican and 34 American cartoons were used for analysis.
In view of the fact that the search process for the cartoons was realized thru the use of Internet search engines and databases, the scope of this research is limited to the availability of the samples published in major Mexican dailies such as El Universal [Universal], Milenio [Millennium], La Jornada [The Day], El Norte [The North], El Imparcial [The Impartial] and foremost American newspapers like The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Denver Post and The St. Louis Post Dispatch.
The cartoons chosen for analysis are from the dailies of impact in their respective country.
El Universal is considered the most influential and widely read newspaper in the country. During the 1980’s El Universal fought to end the governmental monopoly on newsprint. In 2001 it initiated its online version which offers free access to all content and is ranked the second most visited news site in Mexico with an average of more than 3 million unique visitors each month.
The circulation of its print edition counts more than 300,000 copies and reaches from middle class to urban educated people. La Jornada is Mexico’s leading left-wing newspaper read by elites. It has some of the country’s best political cartoonists, publishes more readers’ letters than most, and includes high quality coverage in its arts and provinces sections.It was described by the American linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky as “the one independent newspaper in the whole hemisphere” (French-Monge, 2010). It has a circulation of 107,291 copies and its website has approximately 180,000 daily pageviews. Milenio is a major conservative national newspaper published in eleven main cities across the country. It has a circulation of 103,000 copies and its readership is composed from middle to upper level class. Milenio online offers free access to its constantly updated information and also links the visitor to Milenio TV and radio, registering 1.5 million monthly visitors. The 3 newspapers mentioned are based in Mexico City and distributed in all the country.
In contrast with Mexico City where the newspapers’ readership can choose among more than 24 dailies, the situation outside the capital is very different because diversity has been replaced by virtual local monopolies (Sarmiento, 2005: 289). Such are the cases of El Norte and
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El Imparcial based in the states of Nuevo Leon and Sonora, respectively. Although they face some competitors, these single newspapers have almost total dominance in North Mexico (ibid, 290). For instance, El Norte is the leading newspaper in Mexico’s third largest city, following the independent journalism model it remains one of the newspapers with the most credibility. It has a circulation of 142,561 dailies and its Internet site currently requires a paid subscription for access. El Imparcial ranks in the first position in the Mexican Northwest and has an edition of 21, 426 copies. Both are local dailies, however, they occupy the first and the second largest penetration between national newspapers, respectively. Since both newspapers are based in states bordering the U.S., they are being directly affected by the construction of the American Security fence. Therefore, the national but also the regional Northern Mexican perspectives as portrayed in these newspapers’ cartoons are being included for analysis.
Besides, the American dailies also render diversity to the samples. In one hand, The New York Times and The Washington Post are the third and fifth largest newspapers in the United States in terms of circulation with 1’097,000 copies and 762,000, respectively. The New York Times is considered the most influential newspaper which sets a standard for quality journalism unparalleled throughout the country with daily readership of about 5 million people. Known for its general reporting and international coverage, its website receive more than 18 million unique visitors per month. The Washington Post has a particular emphasis on national politics, is America’s capital largest and oldest newspaper with an average weekday circulation of 582,844 dailies. In addition to the wide range of American audience these two papers reach, the provincial perspective is also considered for the cartoons analysis through The St. Louis Post Dispatch, a large metropolitan newspaper famous because after his acquisition by Joseph Pulitzer became a model of crusading urban newspaper to attack political corruption, wealth, and privilege, is also one of the largest newspapers in the American Midwest with a circulation of 255,057 reproductions. Finally, The Denver Post is the sole major newspaper and Internet website published in Denver, Colorado with an average weekday circulation of 255,452 exemplars and more than two million visitors each month on its online version. Both dailies rank
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in the top 50 largest-circulation newspapers in the U.S., occupying the 29 and 12 places, respectively.
The different sources of the cartoons sampled suggest that the present research has a comprehensive universe of the border wall cartoons for analysis. However, to clarify both nations’ newspapers’ visions, interests and concerns as portrayed in their political cartoons is necessary to come across briefly in the most significant characteristics and development of the press systems in the two countries.
3.2 The U.S. and Mexico Press Systems
The press in the United States, evolving through a long history of freedom and openness, has been a crucial factor in the formation of the American republic. Strict protections for the press were added to the United States Constitution in 1790, just two years after it was ratified.
Since its independence from England in 1776, the U.S. press has operated without fear of prior restraint and with little fear of lawsuits resulting from coverage of governmental issues or public officials and today in the twenty-first century continues operating within one of the most literate, rich and powerful societies in the world.
On the other hand, after being under Spanish rule for three centuries with an autocratic system opposed to any type of free press, Mexico achieved its independence in 1810 and in 1822 became a republic. Of the history prior to the 1910 revolution, the war between Mexico and the United States in the mid-nineteenth century needs to be mentioned because after Mexico lost 55 percent of its territory, this became a permanent source of friction in the relations between both countries. Printing presses existed in Mexico as early as 1536 and small circulation newspapers, such as the Gaceta in Mexico City began to appear about 1660. These publications used political cartoons as a medium for attacking the authorities of both the state and church. General education was not available and so illiteracy was high. Throughout the nineteenth century, amid political instability, journalists pleaded for a free press and frequently cited the American newspapers and constitutional guarantees as models worth emulating. However, following the
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1910 revolution, particularly in Mexico City, a number of new papers started for example, El Universal in 1916 and the Excelsior in 1917. During recent years, the Mexican media system has experienced significant modifications. These may be explained by the strong interdependence between the media and the country’s democratization process since after 71 years of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) dominance, in 2000, Vicente Fox won the presidential election with a new federal political party, the National Action Party (PAN). Nowadays, the government incorporates a mixture of U.S. constitutional theory and civil law system and it also has judicial review of legislative acts. However, with 61 journalists killed and eight missing in the last decade, Mexico is considered the continent’s most dangerous country for freedom of press (RSF, 2009).
3.3 Determining the Frames in Cartoons
Since framing involves selection and salience (Entman, 1993), the cartoons would be classified, after careful analysis according to the frequency of the main frames found in reference to the economic, political or social approach given to the issue. The more editorial cartoons, the more important role they play (Morrison, 1969). But “Content analysis by itself, does not demonstrate how viewers understand or value what they see or hear. Still shows what is given priority and what is not” (Bell, 2001:26). Therefore, the symbolism used to express the main concerns of both nations surrounding the border wall will also be considered. Will the American and Mexican frames’ differ? Which symbols are utilized in cartoons of both countries to portray their interests concerning the U.S.-Mexico border wall?
According to the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) The World Factbook (2009), the ongoing political, economic and social concerns during the last decade in Mexico included low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. Also, the war on drugs and the American intensification of security measures to monitor and control legal and illegal personnel, transport, and commodities across
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its border with Mexico. Per capita income remained roughly one-third that of its American neighbor and trade with the US and Canada has nearly tripled since the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994. On the other hand, the U.S.
remained the world's most powerful nation state with an economy marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology. The main political issues of the United States in the last decade included the debates on immigration with the increasing enforcement of existing laws with regard to illegal immigrants, the building of the border wall and the controversy of the economic, social, and political aspects of undocumented migrants regarding ethnicity, economic benefits, jobs for non-immigrants, settlement patterns, impact on upward social mobility, crime and voting behavior. Also, the wars against terrorism, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the separation of church and State and health care reforms had been setting the news agenda.
During the last decade, the political, economic and social scenarios in Mexico have been dominated by the problem of migration to the United States, which include the high number of cross-border related deaths and violations of migrant’s human rights. Also, the unsuccessful results in the fight against drug trafficking, the increase of social insecurity including kidnapping and extortion and the failed attempts of political reforms to improve the country’s economy.
Moreover, the economic crisis, the high rates of unemployment and poverty, the high levels of corruption and the lack of good quality programs and institutions of public health and education had been also some principal concerns of the Mexican society.
Among the bilateral issues between Mexico and the United States, most standing are the random migration from the South to the North and the recent programs to jointly combat the drug trafficking in which both countries recognize their responsibility. In one side, the United States is the main consumer and weapon provider for the drug cartels, in the other, Mexico is a significant supplier of marijuana, the primary transshipment country for US-bound cocaine from South America, and for having the major drug trafficking cartels operating on its territory.
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Finally, the renegotiation of the NAFTA, which even during his presidential campaign, the actual American President Barack Obama promised to renegotiate it, so far the issue has been postponed in his agenda. (Barceló, 2010).
Having roughly reviewed the main social, political and economical issues in the United States and Mexico, after careful inspection of the cartoons and due the frequency of its use, six frames were clearly evidenced. The first one concerns Freedom. This frame utilizes the symbol of the statue of liberty to express the limitation or modification in the border accessibility after
Having roughly reviewed the main social, political and economical issues in the United States and Mexico, after careful inspection of the cartoons and due the frequency of its use, six frames were clearly evidenced. The first one concerns Freedom. This frame utilizes the symbol of the statue of liberty to express the limitation or modification in the border accessibility after