1. Chapter 1
1.1. Anthropology grad student
1.1.1. class relation and religious affiliation
1.1.2. relations between domestic workers and bosses
1.1.3. find out how working poor used humor as key element in living
1.1.3.1. "bad taste" to outsider
1.2. Favelas or "shantytowns"
1.2.1. Felicidade Eterna
1.2.1.1. 1991/ May 1995
1.2.1.2. Barreira or the "barrier"
1.2.1.2.1. economic stress
1.3. Zeca, Soneca, Gloria & family
1.3.1. since unable to revolt, they use humor to oppose race, class, gender ideology
1.3.1.1. "black humor" born from difficult circumstances of everyday life
1.3.2. Gloria = central character
1.4. Carnival celebration
1.4.1. Rio as a city of contrasts
1.4.1.1. poverty, inequality, racism, violence
1.4.1.2. romance and danger
1.4.2. cidade maravilhosa
1.4.3. Black humor as point of entry to get into carnival
2. Introduction
2.1. Ethnography of complexity behind hierarchies of race, class, gender, and sexuality in high poverty areas of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2.1.1. residents of impoverished communities are embedded in structure of power that is not predictable and that they cannot control
2.1.1.1. group of women with little access to public sphere
2.1.1.1.1. protagonists
2.1.1.1.2. lineage of domestic workers
2.1.1.1.3. laughing in spite of suffering
2.1.2. how power relation are experienced by the poor
2.2. Main theme: humor
2.2.1. running commentary about political and economicstuctures
2.2.2. direct weapon of rebellion
2.2.3. serves as as a vehicle to giving a voice to the women
2.2.4. way of expressing emotions that are difficult to communicate publicly
2.2.5. way to communicate discontent in social life
2.3. Black humor
2.3.1. humor is connected to class
2.3.2. discourse created by poor and used against the wealthier class
2.3.3. laughter containing absurdity over the world
2.3.3.1. "laughter out of place"