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

the approach to this character is dramatic. Although in some issues he makes jokes or
quips, his disability is always portrayed with sadness and as a conflict for his family.
But there was a strong convergence in the way films and comics addressed
through humour poverty, corruption, abuse of authority, dishonesty, authoritarianism,
and issues which were denied or hidden such as torture, state violence and forced
disappearance. To point to these topics was a signal that society noticed the misconduct
of the authorities, and to show their disagreement. It was ‘sugar-coated criticism’ – a
way to point to faults in a manner that is ‘easier to digest’. Films and comics indicated
the flaw, but humour helped to recognise its existence and condemn it. Even when the
reality was unbearable, humour helped us to deal with it – not by accepting it, but by
giving us the opportunity to take revenge. We watched the comic characters ridicule
those who were the butts of jokes, those ones who harmed or oppressed us. And we
took credit as though we were ridiculing them ourselves. But perhaps, through the
catharsis of laughter, we lost our anger and our sense that something needed to be done
about it.
We also were able to identify the ‘social antithesis’ because jokes were a way to
target those who oppress us. In an authoritarian regime it might seem obvious that the
government was a target. Thus, reality is like the carnival, in which there is an inversion
of roles. Authority figures, instead of caring for ordinary people, harm them, abuse their
authority, exploit them through bribes, and exert violence. It was also interesting that in
spite of social movements throughout the country, and the ambition for social change
promoted and fought for by young people, youth was also criticised. It was represented
as alien to the rest of society. The young were stereotyped as hippies, slaves to US
values, whose social movements were selfish and without social purpose. After
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