Assess Irony Communication of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono through Political Cartoon

Abstract

Irony is a figure of speech that states the meaning as opposed to the true meaning, and presented a mismatch between the atmosphere and the underlying reality. Irony communication is often done by our politicians. It seems to reveal the communication activities related to politics by presenting actual and potential consequences that set humans under conditions of conflict. The actual consequences means that activities actually performed by political actors, political communication or activity that is clearly located within the realm of political communication, such as campaign, presidential speeches, political advertising, and so on. Irony communication is that not only the language of political compromise merely rhetoric but also paralinguistic signs such as gestures and political action. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) as a political figure who had occupied the position as the number one in Indonesia during the two periods of leadership in the reform era, has a communication style of irony that interesting to study. Using Discourse Analysis approach, this study examines this issue through political cartoons, meanwhile political cartoons as a form of visual communication and journalism then the message is in the cartoon can also be used to understand the texts produced in discourse.

Keywords: Irony Communication, Political Cartoon, Visual Discourse.