This book addresses a variety of regional humor traditions such as exploitation cinema, Brazilian chanchada, the Cantinflas heritage, the comedy of manners and light sexuality, iconic figures and characters, as well as a variety of humor registers evident in different Latin American films.

"Humor in Latin American Cinema is an outstanding collection of essay that unquestionably fills a research gap with respect to Latin American film! The essays are all well-researched, with significant topics, and involve insightful criticisms and good research conclusions." - David William Foster, Professor, University of Arizona, USA

"The best Latin American cinema learned long ago that life would be intolerable without a grain of humor and used that discovery to criticize society. Almost a dozen very serious scholars are gathered in Humor in Latin American Cinema, surprisingly one of the first of its kind in any language, to explore such an important film tradition. They help us understand why we enjoy and laugh at the genius of Sandrini, Marshall, Cantinflas, Olmedo, and many newer comedians who learned their own techniques from classic authors and a myriad of popular and anonymous sources." Jorge Ruffinelli, Professor, Stanford University, USA

"Ever since the early triumphs of Cándida, Cantinflas and Oscarito, comedies have counted among Latin American cinema's biggest and most memorable hits. This collection of smart and well-chosen essays fills a gaping hole in Latin American film studies, helping us to understand what makes Latin America laugh and how." Robert McKee Irwin, Chair, Graduate Group in Cultural Studies, University of California, Davis, USA

Autorentext
Juan Poblete is Professor of Latin/o American Literature and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, USA. He is the co-editor of Redrawing The Nation: National Identities in Latin/o American Comics (Palgrave, 2009) and Sports and Nationalism in Latin/o America (Palgrave, 2015).

Juana Suárez is Visiting Scholar at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, USA. She is the author of Critical Essays on Colombian Cinema: Cinembargo Colombia (Palgrave, 2012).

Klappentext

A cursory look at some of the Latin American movies with the highest attendance in the history of their respective national industries reveals that comedies have been extraordinarily successful. Surprisingly, the cultures of Latin America have produced little historiographical or critical material investigating their rich past and current production at the intersection of humor and cinema. This book addresses a variety of regional humor traditions such as exploitation cinema, Brazilian chanchada, the Cantinflas heritage, the comedy of manners and light sexuality, as well as a variety of humor registers evident in different Latin American films.

Inhalt

Cinema and Humor in Latin America: An Introduction; Juan Poblete

1. Luis Sandrini's Stutter, Early Argentine Film Comedy and the Representability of Time; Nilo Fernando Couret
2. 'Comrades, There Are Moments in Life That Are Truly Momentary': Cantinflas and the Administration of Public Matters; Gareth Williams
3. The Laugh of Niní Marshall. Comic Performance and Gender Performativity in Argentinean Classical Cinema; Paula Inés Laguarda
4. The Early comedies of Tomás Gutiérrez Alea; Dianne Marting
5. Backwardness and Modernity in the Rural Tradition of Mazzaropi Comedies; Maurício de Bragança
6. Enrique Cahen Salaberry and Hugo Sofovich: Contrasting Directors and Strategies of Humor in Films Featuring Alberto Olmedo and Jorge Porcel; Fernando Pagnoni
7. Colombian Popular Comedy for Dummies: The Nieto Roa and Dago García Producciones Formula; Juana Suárez
8. Invasion of the Nacos! Mocking Social Prejudice in Contemporary Mexican Cinema; Héctor Fernández L'Hoeste
9. Humorous Affects. Romantic Comedies in Contemporary Mexico; Ignacio M. Sánchez Prado
10. Who's laughing now? Indigenous Media and the Politics of Humor; Freya Schiwy
11. A Sense of Humor and Society in Three Chilean Comedies: Taxi para tres, Sexo con Amor, and Super, Todo Chile adentro; Juan Poblete