Leticia Neria PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText ...

True humour: humour as social complaint
We will follow the same analytical steps as in the previous chapter, which will help us
trace how the combination of incongruity and exaggeration are used to make a political
statement. Reviewing what we have already said, when the story is interrupted with
something unexpected which breaks the logic according to an established frame,
laughter emerges. 71 But if the unexpected action targets or refers to someone or
something, and criticises it, then we have true humour. 72
I will start by pointing out how incongruity and exaggeration interact to shed
light on the behaviour of the authorities. As we know, through humour we express
thoughts that we would like to articulate but do not because our ego represses us,
reminding us of our fears and taboos. With the use of humour, our critical thought is
suborned and confused. 73 When a situation ridicules those in power, then the intention is
not only to criticise but also to show the ridiculousness of their rules, the way they
behave, or their negligence towards those whom they govern.
First, we need to understand that the film Calzonzin Inspector is an allegory of
what happens in Mexico, that it is a version of situations and facts we are familiar
with. 74 When analysing the comic Los Agachados, we understood Chayotitlán as a
microcosm of Mexico. Likewise, there are sufficient signs in Calzonzin Inspector to
make us believe that San Garabato works as an allegory of the country as well. 75 An
early caption at the beginning of the film warns us: ‘Cualquier parecido de los
personajes de esta película con personas vivas o tontas instituciones, funcionarios, etc.,
71
Victor Raskin, Semantic Mechanisms of Humor (Dordrecht, Boston, Lancaster: D. Reidel Publishing
Company, 1984), pp.33, 38.
72
Simon Critchley, On Humour (London, New York: Routledge, 2002), p. 11.
73
Freud, El chiste y su relación… p.132.
74
Christie Davies, Jokes and their Relation to Society (Berlin, New York: Mouton de Gruyter, 1998), p. 1
75
For reasons of economy, we will not describe the referents that lead us to believe that the characters
belong to a certain social imaginary. However, the Mexican flag and the state party logo appear at
different moments in the film, making it easier to support this statement.
182