| This dissertation examines humorous works produced by Chicano artists, performers, and writers from roughly 1987 to 2007. By focusing on the post-Chicano Movement period, this study seeks to understand the relationship between ongoing Chicano activist politics and an increasingly fragmented sense of Chicano identity. The figure of the pocho, or Anglicized Mexican, emerges as an important comic trope as Chicano artists attempt to reconcile complex inter-cultural influences while retaining a sense of Chicano identity. Chicano humor expresses a "pocho aesthetic" that is rebellious and playful, yet frequently reveals anxieties over citizenship and representation in American culture. Moreover, while much of contemporary Chicano humor reiterates the conflict model of Chicano vs. Anglo, post-Movimiento Chicano humor often relies on in-group criticism.;This study surveys a wide range of materials, including the stand-up comedy of Carlos Mencia, George Lopez, Paul Rodriguez, and Marilyn Martinez; the film A Day Without a Mexican; the plays of Monica Palacios, Latins Anonymous and Culture Clash; and the writings of Michele Serros and Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez. Despite the diversity of approaches to Chicano humor, there are important recurring themes. Contemporary Chicano humorists frequently address immigration and its relationship to American nationalism; the under- and misrepresentation of Chicanos in U.S. media; and the traditional cultural markers of Chicano authenticity. For Chicanas, cultural authenticity frequently means compulsory heterosexuality and a highly sexualized, feminine persona. Through self-reflexive humor, Chicanos and Chicanas are encouraged to reevaluate rigid identity categories and oppressive ideologies, such as homophobia and patriarchy.;Unlike joking practices among intimates, the humor analyzed in this study is meant for broad public audiences, many of whom are not Chicano or Latino. While most of the works surveyed are English-dominant, translation remains an important consideration for many Chicano humorists. As cultural mediators, Chicano humorists simultaneously explain and conceal, expressing their frustration with the ongoing perceptions of Chicanos as "foreign" and "other." With a rapidly growing U.S. Latino population, Chicano humorists exploit fears of the "browning" of America for laughs while pointing to the ways in which, despite an increase in the number of Latinos, political participation and power remain out of reach for many Latinos.;Chicano humor, like Chicano identity, increasingly resists containment and categorization. While humor is frequently assumed to be inherently libratory and transgressive, this study illustrates ways in which humor often results in the production of oppositional binaries and the articulation of new social norms. Contemporary Chicano humor, in all its complexity, provides an important means of assessing the highly dialogized nature of contemporary Chicano discourse. |
