Humor and metadiscourse: definition of a styling reflective-parodic model in the Spanish cinema

Abstract

This article’s intention is to establish the genesis as well to enumerate some of the most representative features of the “parodic-reflexive stylization” film model, one of the four theoretical paradigms established by Professor José Luis Castro de Paz for Spanish filmmaking between 1939 and 1950. The movement known as “The Other 27 generation” (La Otra generación del 27), composed primarily of Edgar Neville, José López Rubio, Enrique Jardiel Poncela, Antonio de Lara “Tono” and Migel Mihura will play an essential role in the model’s development thanks to the growth of the “New humor”, starting from a reactualization process of elements from other artistic manifestations such as the sainete, the astracán, the comical zarzuela, the parodies, the native Madrid theatre per hour, the varieties magazine and, specially, the silly and cutting edge humor typical of the 20s.