Before you read the “spoiler” bullet points below take a careful look at the text. Imagine it is a text you are using for your DP Language A Language and Literature assessments: the individual oral, the HL essay, or Paper 1 and analyze it accordingly. (This text would not be appropriate for Paper 2).
Some elements of the text to consider:
- The signature, newspaper, and date of publication on the top left of the cartoon
- the comedic / disparaging depiction of the North Korean leader
- How the infantile rendering of Kim Jong Un is linked to his temperament and his style of leadership
- The label on the diapers
- The tattoo of his father, Kim Jong Il, a reference to the leadership succession from father to son
- The diaper pins in the shape of an atom which alludes to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program
- The black shading in the background, perhaps an oblique reference to the brutality of the regime
- The toy missile – a reference to North Korea’s missile development program