Document Type : Scientific-Research Article

Authors

• Ali Rabee\'i ¹
• Najibeh Mohebbi ²

¹ Associate Professor. Department of Management of Media and Communication, Payam Noor University

² M.A. Student of Social Sciences, Tehran University

Abstract

From the postcolonial viewpoint, the western picture of eastern knowledge is distorted, which in its turn can push the west to mistaken actions. Art is no exception when it comes to differentiating between oneself and \"the other\" as discussed in orientalism. \"The other\" is always neglected in artistic performances. In visual arts, for example, it is taken for granted that one's picture is the whole truth, hence not the subject of scrutiny and criticism.
In this research we have decoded the cartoons drawn by non-Muslims depicting Muslim woman, after translating the given pictures into statements which can be labeled as true or untrue. The most abstract and humorous type of visual art i.e cartoon is thus interpreted from the postcolonial perspective. The result is that these pictures depict an otherness which is passive, ignorant, backwarded, and a sexual object, which can horribly alienate Muslim woman, and by extension the totality of Muslims, from the international community.

Keywords

• postcolonial studies
• Semiotics
• cartoon
• time and place in semiotics
• Muslim woman
• Hijab