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

population. They were made in different settings, one in the countryside, the other in the
city, but both offer us a wider image of how politics was perceived. Mecánica Nacional
and El Águila Descalza discuss politics, but the core of their stories appear apolitical,
such as camping in the countryside or a Mafia-controlled factory in need of rescue by a
‘superhero’. Thus, all four films shed a critical light on the contemporaneous concerns
of the population and their political mood at the time.
Their social and political critique was articulated through the language of
humour, even if not all comments or descriptions used humour. Such a strategy helped
viewers understand the seriousness, but serious issues were embedded in comedy. Once
we understand ourselves to be in the universe of humour, we relax. But this is not the
same as salvation: comfort and relaxation may only last as long as the joke, or the film,
and indeed, discovering the absurdity of our reality can be discomforting too, especially
if we are emotionally connected to these issues.
We see how important it is for these films to remind the spectators that they are
witnessing fiction, based on real situations, perhaps, but still a fiction. The filmmaker
uses tools such as exaggeration and incongruity to make the comedy clear. This is of
vital importance in order to relax the spectators and transform their stress and repression
into pleasure, despite the characters’ misfortunes. If the film is not understood as
comedy, then the viewer may feel that laughter is inappropriate. The sense of unease
and sadness would prevent them from enjoying the humorous portrayal of controversial
or painful topics.
The directors used different strategies to establish the satire. A common strategy
is to exaggerate defects. An example is Don Perpetuo from Calzonzin Inspector, a
grotesque representation of a political leader. Another strategy is to construct a
character that seduce the spectators because of their charisma, their actions, or the
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