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

her body, she has a large round red nose, long feet and big hands, and legs which are as
thin as her arms. Both are a disaster. And both are laughable.
Bergson pays special attention to the body in relation to the comical, but he dismisses
the excess in the actions. On the other hand, Freud and Alenka Zupancic see action as
relevant. Freud suggests that we consider some movements and actions funny when
they go beyond what we would consider to be normal. We also laugh at the exaggerated
movements of comic characters because they use more energy than necessary to achieve
their aims. ‘Reímos, pues, de un gasto desproporcionado’. 35 The famous Mexican
comedian Tin Tan is a good example - his performances usually included excessive
movements in his face (like blinking too much, or making his lips protrude) and over-
exerting himself while performing simple tasks. According to Zupancic, excesses are
part of what constructs the funny character; their movements determine that comic
characters are ‘not only human’, but humans who are different from ‘normal’ people. If
comedy was simply a reminder that we are just humans, there would be no comedy.
Thus, what comedy points out is that we are not superheroes or tragic heroes, but
humans, and as humans, we have faults. ‘The flaws, extravagances, excesses, and so-
called human weaknesses of comics are precisely what account for their not being “only
35 Freud, El chiste y su relación… p. 191.
Image unavailable
due to copyright
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Image 1.1. ‘Regino and Borola Burrón’. Gabriel
Vargas, La Familia Burrón (n.d.) (in colour)
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