“Feeling ugly? Low self-esteem? Aah, come to Rondônia! a discursive analysis of humor on Rondônia and its inhabitants

Abstract

Supported by the discursive perspective of language at the interface with the studies proposed by Freud on the field of comicity, this article seeks to understand the imaginary representations built about Rondônia and its inhabitants in two comic texts: a) a presentation by Rafinha Bastos and b) a text entitled “Uncyclopedia”, a kind of encyclopedia inside out. The results of the analysis undertaken point to the fact that Rondônia is subjectified in a discursive place of what is considered historically “ugly” and “dirty”, which corroborates pejorative meanings for the state. In this case, the Freudian thesis is confirmed that the comic field also serves to produce hostile and aggressive feelings.