This political cartoon is about the internet censorship of China. This cartoon is created by Svitalskybros and posted on the website of Svitalskybros on 29th October in 2011. Svitalskybros is a website which was founded by Thomas Loudon and Arend Jan van den Beld.
In 2002- 2013, there are quite a few websites and social network blocked by China on internet because of political factors and crises. This editorial cartoon aims to show sarcasm to the “Great Wall” of China.
In this picture, we could see that a man is locked by a handcuff which is held by a hand from the top when he tries to approach the computer in front of him. The computer shows a symbol “@”. It represents the World Wide Web which people always use to surf the net. But is it literally such a simple picture without any hidden meanings? Let me explain it in detail. This political cartoon actually shows sarcasm to the internet censorship policy of China. First, the arm from the top obviously stands for the Chinese government as it is in red clothes with five stars printed on is very similar to the design of the national flag of China. Second, the man who wants to use the computer is locked by the handcuff which is held by ‘China’s hand’. This shows that citizens in China are monitored and censored by the Chinese government when they surf the net. In other words, they lose their freedom to approach some of the websites and social network which are organized by Western countries, like America. In the past ten years, Chinese government has blocked numbers of websites and social network from foreign countries, such as Facebook and Google. This censorship could help Chinese government to prevent citizens from sparking off any strikes with the outside world and lodging complaints about China’s administration to the public.
This political cartoon is colourful instead of black and white. I think that the writer may want to tell people the meaning of the picture directly. Since the picture without any words to give explanation of the cartoon, it is more convenient and easier for readers to understand the hidden meaning of the cartoon with different colours. For example, the clothes is red in colour and with five yellow stars printed on it. If it is white and black, readers may not recognize that it is the national flag of China as quick as possible. Also, the background of the picture is grey; it seems to show the notorious side of China.
Source:
http://www.cartoonmovement.com/cartoon/1548