Laughter out of Place

1. Seemingly less sympathy for deceased

1.1. one less person could mean more room in an already overcrowded household

2. Humor as and umbrella to addressing race, class, gender, and sexuality

2.1. Humor used by poor against wealthy

2.2. Hierarchies within society

2.3. Friendship seems to bridge the gap

3. Rio de Janeiro - Region of Focus

3.1. Poverty Stricken

3.2. Pervasive corruption

3.3. Everyone under economic stress in Felicidade Eterna

4. Poor living conditions

4.1. Ineffective police

4.2. Poor medical attention

4.3. Family members jailed

5. Dark humor to deal with normally "dark" aspects of life

5.1. Woman missing a leg has nickname referring to soup made with a cows foot.

5.2. Laughter at Beth's letter from her daughter

5.3. aggressive jokes seemingly harmless

6. Coupling of Laughing and Forgetting

6.1. Laughter has a sad undertone

7. Women in Felicidade

7.1. Might make an average of 5$ per day for long, busy days of work

7.2. Difficult to acquire raise - but benefits from employs may be option

7.3. Gloria and Donna Beth form a beneficial relationship between worker and employer that allows some relief for Gloria.

7.4. Foresight to predict days that would harm income and prepare accordingly

7.5. Social mobility through marriage

8. Partnerships

8.1. Good relations between employer and employee that can result in benefits.

8.2. Middle and upper class individuals are often very fond of the domestic workers they hire

9. Large gap between lowest-paid sectors and formal sector

9.1. Not enough growth in formal sector

9.2. Minimum wage is not living wage, but a subsistence wage. Not enough to truly get by on

9.3. Lower class experiences feeling of inferiority

9.4. Concept of the "Low Other"

10. Clear distinction between classes

10.1. Lowest paid middle class makes twice that of a lower class individual

10.2. Having a domestic worker = sign of middle class status. Is expected.

10.3. Lowest class considered to be "serving" class

11. Domestic Workers

11.1. talk "differently"

12. Skin Color

12.1. For some, an indicator of class.

12.2. racism not legally sanctioned, but present in every day life

12.3. Black individuals assumed to be poor

12.4. "Whitening"