[csaa-forum] 'Memes & Political Satire in Mexico - The Many Internet Faces of Chapo Guzmán', USYD, Tues 20/10, 5.30pm

[Gerard Goggin]

SURCLA SEMINAR SERIES | MEMES AND POLITICAL SATIRE IN MEXICO: THE MANY INTERNET FACES OF CHAPO GUZMÁN

César Albarrán-Torres & Gerard Goggin

Tuesday 20 October, 2015
5.30 pm

Location: SLC Common Room 536, Level 5 Brennan MacCallum Building A18<http://sydney.edu.au/arts/about/maps.shtml?locationID=A18>

University of Sydney

http://sydney.edu.au/arts/spanish_latin_american/about/events/index.shtml?id=3899


Abstract

Satire is a longstanding form of political expression in Mexico. For  example, there is a strong tradition of political cartoonists, who have used humour to make poignant comments about political corruption and inequality in the country even at the height of the repressive PRI regime. In popular culture, anonymous folk songs and literary forms such as Calaveras  (epitaphs for the living written during the Day of the Dead) have long ridiculed the authorities and other public figures, while at the same time denouncing corruption and abuse. Humour seems to be a safe haven for both media practitioners and the public in a country that is infamous for the serious threats faced by journalists and activists.

In this paper we argue that political memes are a continuation of this tradition, while at the same time evidence of a new type of networked and sporadic political engagement. In recent years, as in other parts of the world, Internet memes have become a form of spontaneous and subversive political expression, and an important part of Mexican political culture. In parallel with instances of ephemeral “hashtag activism” (such as the short-lived activist group #yosoy132), memes have worked as a mainstream form of political expression during the administration of Enrique Peña Nieto, Mexico’s incumbent president. Memes have flooded social media sites like Facebook and Twitter,  and been reproduced in mainstream newspapers, websites and TV shows.

This paper analyses some of the memes generated after the narco Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán escaped from a Mexican prison, for the second time in his life, in July 2015. Dozens of memes ridiculed the authorities, denounced systemic corruption and questioned the official account of the drug dealer’s escape.

In our presentation, we discuss the way in which these memes are an example of contemporary remix cultures and tag on existing cultural affiliations by referencing Hollywood movies (The Shawshank, Redemption, Forrest Gump), TV shows (Orange is the New Black, Prison Break)  and even video games (Super Mario Bros). Intriguingly, they also allude to other popular memes (such as the #noerapenal meme derived from Mexico’s elimination from the 2014 World Cup) and recent political gaffes, such as Donald Trump’s ill-fated anti-immigration remarks or Peña Nieto’s lavish state visit to France.

In the concluding section of the paper, we consider the implications of the Guzmán escape memes for a broader understanding of Mexican politics, culture, and Internet. Do these light-hearted political expressions banalise debate or do they work as a risk-free outlet for public outrage? In context of a precarious public sphere, continuing media concentration with strong links to political authoritarianism, as well as the political violence meted out to social media and Internet activists, as well as journalists, is there a sense in which these forms of viral political satire play a heightened, and indeed, critical social function?



César Albarrán-Torres is Lecturer in Media, Communications and Digital Cultures in the Department of Media and Communications, University of Sydney. His research focuses on digital gambling, film and Mexican politics in online spaces.

Gerard Goggin is Professor of Media and Communications and ARC Future Fellow in the Department of Media and Communications, University of Sydney, and has published widely on social, cultural, and political aspects of Internet, mobile, social, and locative media, technologies, and cultures.

About SURCLA<http://sydney.edu.au/arts/spanish_latin_american/surcla/index.shtml>
SURCLA (Sydney University Research Community for Latin America) is an academic research network that was originally conceived by the Department of Spanish and Latin American Studies (School of Languages and Cultures), but which rapidly gained the support of members of different departments and schools across the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. SURCLA provides a dynamic forum for scholarly communication and interaction, a site of debate where members share their ideas, strategies and research experiences with the common goal of advancing knowledge of Latin America. Members of SURCLA come from the disciplines of history, sociology, anthropology, political sciences, gender, media, cultural and literary studies.

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Gerard Goggin
ARC Future Fellow
Professor of Media and Communications
Department of Media and Communications
University of Sydney

e: gerard.goggin at sydney.edu.au<applewebdata://58CAECF0-6F6E-47A3-9980-953EE0F9094E/gerard.goggin@sydney.edu.au>
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