Résumé :
This talk explores how humour produced in extremist and far-right online spaces functions as a relational practice that organises identity, alignment, and antagonism. Particularly, how memes calibrate proximity and distance between in-groups, out-groups, and undecided publics.
Drawing on work developed within the Horizon ARENAS project, a three-layer analytical framework for studying humour in extremist narrative ecologies is presented: (1) a narrative layer, which traces how in-group and out-group roles, problematisations and implied resolutions are compressed into recurring storylines; (2) an aesthetic/semiotic layer, which looks at meme grammar, archetypes, enregisterment and platform affordances; and (3) a humour layer, which adapts the General Theory of Verbal Humour (GTVH) to account for script oppositions, logical mechanisms and targets in multimodal formats.
A central focus is the “Virgin vs. Chad” template, used to show how symbolic binaries stabilise contrasts such as stoicism vs. emotionality or certainty vs. ambiguity. This format is related to broader historical symbolisms and narratives, such as temporal patterns of glorious past – decadent present – promised future and the recycling of national myths and civilisational imaginaries. Examples from Spanish-language meme ecologies illustrate how global archetypes (e.g. “Chad”) are locally re-semiotised through references to imperial, religious or national histories.