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The Funny Side of Globalization: Humour and Humanity in Zapatista Framing

2007; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 52; Issue: S15 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1017/s0020859007003100

1469-512X

Thomas Olesen,

Populism, Right-Wing Movements

This article argues that the literature on social movements and globalization has not paid sufficient attention to the way in which political actors who act globally try to overcome the social, cultural, and political distances that separate them. It introduces the concept of global framing to give focus to the discursive processes central to such “distance bridging”. In particular, it emphasizes how symbols and emotions are crucial in the framing of distance. Empirically, it discusses how the considerable global resonance created by the Zapatistas in Mexico is facilitated by a framing strategy, carried out mainly by the movement's spokesman, Subcomandante Marcos, in which humour, imperfection, and symbols play a decisive role.