1. Chapter 1
1.1. Carnaval the core of brasilidade
1.1.1. there would be no need for carnaval in the first place if there were not monstrous things that needed to be banished and forgotten" Scheper-Hughes
1.1.2. for the poor
1.1.2.1. for the it is a time of remembering, an ambivalent and ambiguous event.
1.1.3. for the wealthy
1.1.3.1. inversions that take place are temporary and ultimately only occur with the permission of the elite.
1.2. ethnography
1.2.1. giving a voice to others may fatally be a result of arrogance and conceit driven purpose to do so.
1.2.2. there is a difference between examining how lives are lived within structures versus addressing the abstract structures themselves.
1.2.3. two fallacies common to world systems literature
1.2.3.1. posting solely external forms of domination mechanically condion the interal or national sociopolitical situation
1.3. Brazil
1.3.1. became the largest slave economy in the world
1.3.1.1. over 3 centuries, more than 3.5 million Africans were imported.
1.3.2. the world's leading sugar exporter by the 1800's.
1.3.3. the last colony to abolish slavery, in 1888. The following year, Dom Pedro II was dethroned by the army and the Brazilian Republic was established.
1.3.4. Develops communism in 1930's
1.3.5. From then on Brazilian politics were dominated by military, dictators. Regime of General Costa e Silva increases political repression, including torture and murder of political opponents.
1.3.6. during 1970's with the help of the U.S. Brazil experiences absolute income improvement thanks to a diversification in agro-industry. However, the distribution for the economically active population had grown more unequal
1.3.7. Ultimately, Buarque says, the nation needs to "reinvent itself in order to surpass its unique history of inequality and injustice"
2. Introduction
2.1. laughter
2.1.1. analyzed
2.1.1.1. "behind subtle humor lies essential aggressiveness" -20th century
2.1.1.2. "reveals ambiguity,, contradiction, paradox and inconsistency while encouraging multiple interpretations"- Michael Mulkay
2.1.1.3. "as a weapon of the weak, hidden transcripts of resistance."-James Scott
2.1.1.4. jokes are a powerful window to the trials and tribulations of the psyche as dreams- Sigmund Freud
2.1.2. class structure
2.1.2.1. poor
2.1.2.1.1. not necessarily rebellious, but may be a form of expressing silenced and ignored inequities.
2.1.2.1.2. discourse created to be used against the wealthier classes
2.1.2.1.3. may be grotesque using the body such as belching, farting and picking nose, as comedy.
2.1.2.2. wealthy
2.1.2.2.1. as a theater of majesty, wealth and domination.
2.1.2.2.2. similar in the way that there is also a misery in the midst, with different roots and suffering.
2.1.2.2.3. perplexed by the laughter of domestic workers that laugh til crying over the same soap opera that causes a chuckle in such employer
2.1.3. meaning of laughter
2.1.3.1. elusive
2.1.3.2. fugitive
2.1.3.3. vehicle of expression
2.1.3.4. insubordination
2.1.3.5. cracked system and masked power