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

or with that what which is prohibited’. 118 Once the audience recognises that the sketch is
criticising real authorities, then the enjoyment will be greater since an act of daring and
rebellion are presented in a safe or inconsequential manner. 119
Social corruption in relation with Superiority
Humour points to faults we would like to change but cannot. It ‘changes the situation in
which we find ourselves, or lights up the everyday by providing an “oblique
phenomenology of ordinary life” ’ 120 helping us to deal with issues which cause
displeasure. Mexican bureaucracy is a recurrent topic not only in comics, as we saw in
the previous chapter, but also in films. From high ranking civil servants to those less
powerful, but who nonetheless wield the little power they do have unfairly, there are
numerous characters that are described, and criticised, through humour.
For example, in the film Tívoli the authorities in charge of public works use their
positions to make money illegally. The engineer Reginaldo works for a private company
in charge of public works in Mexico City. He leads an eviction on land that was
occupied by poor people, but his interest and motive is not because they live there
illegally but because he wants to build something which will be profitable and will give
him, and the authorities, a good return. While presenting the project to a group of
journalists, Reginaldo explains that two buildings will be erected in the area and a
journalist asks: ‘¿Aquí van a colocar a la gente desplazada ahora?’ and Reginaldo
replies: ‘Bueno, no precisamente a los mismos que usted ve’. 121 Clearly the
development is not intended to benefit those most in need. In fact, Reginaldo shows his
disdain for poor people when he explains that he will be in charge of the extension of
118 Davies, Jokes and their Relation… p. 176.
119 Mary Rothbart quoted by Raskin, Semantic Mechanisms… p 40.
120 Critchley, On Humour, p. 20.
121 Isaac, Tívoli, 1974.
201