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

Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ……………………………………………………………..... viii
Introduction …………………………………………………………………… 1
Chapter 1. Laughing when it hurts: A theory of humour for visual culture ... 11
Things that make us laugh… ………………………………………………… 13
Humour as a social construct ………………………………………………… 15
Recognising an act of humour. Incongruity theory ………………………….. 16
Too much is not enough. The mechanism of exaggeration ………………..... 19
Jokes as Pleasure. Relief theory ……………………………………………… 22
Faster, Higher, Stronger. Superiority theory ………………………………… 26
Rules were made to be broken. Society, social norm and the breaking of the
rule …………………………………………………………………………… 30
Power to the people. Political humour ………………………………………. 34
And … the punchline: Some final thoughts on humour ……………………... 40
Chapter 2. Once upon a time there was a country: Mexico 1968-1976 …….. 42
Gustavo Díaz Ordaz ………………………………………………………….. 42
Luis Echeverría Álvarez ……………………………………………………... 48
Violence ……………………………………………………………………… 58
Guerrilla and rebel groups …………………………………………………… 60
The counterattack …………………………………………………………….. 66
Countercultural movements ………………………………………………….. 69
Conclusion …………………………………………………………………… 73
Chapter 3. Laughter and reflection, both for the same price: analysis of
three comics …………………………………………………………………….. 75
La bruja de la Bondojito: Hermelinda Linda, a comic book just for adults …. 77
El Callejón del Cuajo número chorrocientos: La Familia Burrón and the
representation of Mexico City ………………………………………………. 82
Chayotitlán, el ombligo de México: Los Agachados, a comic book for
political awareness …………………………………………………………… 87
Comics and Mechanisms of Humour. Incongruity …………………………... 90
True humour: humour as social complaint …………………………………... 95