Naturalização da poluição retratada por meio de charges: reflexões a partir do contexto brasileiro

Abstract

The present work addresses the social dilemma of the normalization of environmental degradation and proposes a reflection on the naturalization of pollution. This study proposes to use Brazilian cartoons as a critical tool to challenge this normalization. The text addresses the relationship between human existence, technologies, and the resulting environmental impact, highlighting the complexity of the interaction. Examining Brazilian environmental legislation and highlighting the crucial role of Environmental Education in schools, it addresses various forms of pollution, including air, water, and noise pollution, highlighting their direct connection with public health. Using qualitative exploratory methodology, with a semiotic orientation, twenty-two cartoons by cartoonist Arionauro da Silva Santos were analyzed. These cartoons portray different types of pollution (air, soil, water, sound, visual, and thermal) and criticize the normalization of pollution. Bardin's content analysis guided the pre-analysis, exploration of the material, and treatment of the results. We observed that most of the cartoons analyzed portray scenes related to the naturalization of pollution and that they all violate the environmental legislation in Brazil. Finally, we conclude that the analysis of cartoons about the naturalization of pollution in the Brazilian context reveals the interconnection between environmental, political, economic, and social issues. The application of semiotics, especially Peirce's triadic approach, highlights that cartoons not only represent but construct and contest pollution through symbolism and metaphors, highlighting cartoons as agents of cultural transformation, stimulating debates and critical actions in the face of the naturalization of pollution in the Brazilian context.