ABSTRACT

Zimbabwean state leaders have resorted to violent repression of mass protests to secure power. Mass protests, peaceful or not, have turned out to be too risky and impermissible despite the Zimbabwean constitution legalising peaceful protests. This article focuses on the Zimbabwean experience of violent repression and draws on the brutal experiences of protesters at the hands of the police on 16 August 2019. The principal focus of the article is on how ordinary Zimbabweans responded by creating and circulating satirical memes on social media, utilising humour to critique and ridicule police brutality. The analysis is informed by Scott’s concept of the weapons of the weak, the views of Barber on popular culture, by Fiske on popular pleasure and Mbembe on the commandement. I also draw from ideas on the concept of laughter and/or humour posited by Bakhtin, Singh and Taecharungroj and Nueangjamnong. I argue that laughter drawn from satirical memes offers comic relief to a people who have gone through violent repression. It is also a tool that empowers them to make meaning of police brutality, to expose the police’s vices and follies, and to condemn and show resentment towards state and police excesses.

摘要

津巴布韦国家领导人对大规模抗议活动采取暴力镇压以确保权力。尽管津巴布韦宪法将和平抗议合法化，但无论和平与否，大规模抗议都被证明风险太大且不被允许。本文重点介绍津巴布韦暴力镇压的经历，并借鉴 2019 年 8 月 16 日抗议者在警察手中的残酷经历。本文的主要重点是普通津巴布韦人如何通过在社交媒体上制作和传播讽刺模因来应对，用幽默来批评和嘲笑警察的暴行。斯科特关于弱者武器的概念、巴伯关于大众文化的观点、菲斯克关于大众享乐的观点以及姆本贝关于诫命的观点为分析提供了信息。我还借鉴了 Bakhtin、Singh 和 Taecharungroj 以及 Nueangjamnong 提出的关于笑声和/或幽默概念的想法。我认为，从讽刺模因中汲取的笑声为经历过暴力镇压的人们提供了喜剧般的解脱。它也是一种工具，使他们能够理解警察的暴行，揭露警察的恶习和愚蠢行为，并谴责和表达对国家和警察暴行的不满。