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

we may feel consolation in Critchley’s view that humour can be a tool used against the
management 195 to undermine it. In every joke there is hope for the future. 196
Speaking the unspeakable. Torture and abuse inserted in an act of humour
In the previous chapter we saw how comic books addressed difficult, and banned, topics
such as the use of torture and forced disappearance. We reviewed how through
mechanisms of humour, graphic artists were able to denounce abuses that the authorities
refused even to admit, much less condemn or explain. Although the films reviewed for
this chapter do not discuss torture, there are references to abductions ordered by the
authorities.
Obviously, abduction is a violation of human rights, and to find a means to
discuss it is important, not simply for the immediate targets but for the population more
widely. It keeps the topic on the social agenda and keeps alive the possibility of a
resolution. An example appears in Tívoli. A group of men in suits arrive at the theatre
and announce to the manager that they have an official order to detain the actors.
Quijano tries to bribe them but they refuse the offer, and put the comedians in the car.
On the road, Tiliches realises that they are not going in the direction of the police
station, which makes all the actors nervous. One of the actresses asks if they are going
to be killed, but gets no response from the agents. Another actor comments: ‘Así
agarraron a mi primo Gilgardo. Na’más no lo volvimos a ver’. 197 They are taken to a
luxurious mansion where the President, who is addressed in the film as ‘El Hombre’, is
giving a party. The artists are treated very politely, but that does not alter the fact that
they were brought there against their will. They are forced to present one of their
sketches in front of El Hombre and his guests. After their performance, they are invited
195 Critchley, On Humour, p. 11-18.
196 Davies, Jokes and their Relation… p. 99.
197 Arau, Tivoli, 1974.
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