The Carnivalization of Politics

Examining cartoons published between 1960 and 1979, Morris shows how the artists dealt with particular aspects of Quebec's political experience. He looks at Berthio's drawings on Queen Elizabeth's visit and Dupras's on President de Gaulle's; Girerd's and Berthio's on Quebec-Ottawa relations; Girerd's on the referendum campaign; and Girerd's and Aislin's on the English minority in Quebec. He points out recurring tensions, oppositions, and associations and analyses them from a sociological perspective. One of Morris's major objectives is to better understand the framework through which ideas presented in cartoons are filtered to their audience, focusing on the metaphors that underlie the frame, message, content, and form of the cartoons. Morris argues that the carnivalization of political figures and events, whereby the social structure is mockingly inverted and society's values and taboos are exaggerated until they become ridiculous, is a central metaphor governing Quebec cartoons of this period. He also explores the metaphor of the family, with England and France as grandparents, Canada and Quebec as parents, and the official-language minorities as children.