Surrealism, Non-Normative Sexualities, and Racial Identities in Popular Culture: the Case of the Newspaper Comic Strip Krazy Kat

• Autores: Jesús Jiménez-Varea
• Localización: Comunicación: revista Internacional de Comunicación Audiovisual, Publicidad y Estudios Culturales, ISSN 1989-600X, Nº. 11, 2013, págs. 51-66
• Idioma: español
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen
  • español

    En Krazy Kat, George Herriman pintó con trazos humorísticos la infinidad de variaciones sobre una pantomima sexual que desafiaba las fronteras de género, raza e incluso especie, en un patrón recurrente de sadomasoquismo y sentimientos no correspondidos: Krazy, un gato de sexo indeterminado, está locamente enamorado del ratón Ignatz, cuyo mayor deleite en la vida resulta de lanzar ladrillos contra el felino personaje, unas agresiones que no logran sino aumentar la pasión de Krazy por el roedor; al mismo tiempo, Krazy tiene su propio admirador secreto en Offissa Pupp, que encarcela una y otra vez al escurridizo Ignatz. Esta tragicomedia minimalista se desarrolla sobre el fondo en continua transformación de un onírico desierto, lo que acentúa el surrealismo de la serie.

    Curiosamente, esta poco ortodoxa obra historietística apareció durante más de tres décadas en periódicos de la cadena de Hearst, contando con el apoyo personal de este magnate de la prensa. El texto siguiente traza las conexiones entre Krazy Kat y las sensibilidades surrealistas, y ofrece una interpretación de esta narrativa gráfica en términos de sexo, psicología y raza.

  • English

    In Krazy Kat, George Herriman painted with humorous strokes the endless variations of a sexual pantomime that challenged the boundaries of gender, race, and even species, in a recurrent pattern of sadomasochism and unrequited feelings: Krazy, a cat of indeterminate sex, is madly in love with the mouse Ignatz, whose greatest pleasure in life is throwing bricks at the feline character; such aggressions do nothing but increase Krazy�s passion for the rodent; at the same time, Krazy has a silent admirer of his/her own in Offfisa Pupp, who puts the elusive Ignatz in prison once and again. Such a minimalist tragicomedy develops against the ever-changing background of a dreamlike desert, which accentuates the surrealism of the strip. Strangely enough, this unorthodox piece of comic work appeared for over three decades in papers of the Hearst chain, with the personal support of this press tycoon. The following text traces connections between Krazy Kat and surrealistic sensibilities, and offers an interpretation of this graphic narrative in terms of sex, psychology and race.

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