Week 9: Captain Pantoja and the Special Service: Mario Vargas Llosa’s Comic Anarchy

For this week's reading I read Captain Pantoja and the Special Service: Mario Vargas Llosa’s Comic Anarchy. Despite its name, I can't say that I found the reading particularly funny. I was pleased to see that Jon discussed the somewhat strange and messed up nature of Vargas Llosa's world. Knowing that this book was intended to be a comedy made it slightly confusing for me to read, as I did not find the actual content to be comedic. Given that sex was a major theme throughout the novel I often wondered whether this was for comedic reasons or rather as a way of taking something out of the context it normally is in for a greater effect. I found it strange that  the main problem these characters were faced with was that these soldiers needed women to be systematically provided for them, in order to satisfy them, which is certainly problematic and demeaning. I think the language that Llosa uses in the novel is also interesting. Calling the prostitutes “specialists” and the “special services” I think was meant to be another comedic element in the novel. However, I found the project pretty disturbing in the first place, and having it ultimately end with there not being enough “specialists'' to complete the horny needs of the army men, was also distasteful. Amongst all of the sexism I did find some moments in the novel where these women were given some respect or character development when their families and personal lives were considered, and towards the end of the novel Vargas Llosa’s provides some insight on the problematic nature of this army. 

I think my discomfort with the objectification of women kept me from finding humor from the soldiers' characters and narrative, however I did find some of Pochita’s moments to be comedic. Her letters and quick remarks provided a much needed female voice amongst all the gross men. Jon mentioned in his lecture that Llosa does not follow the typical model of humor that we are used to in many other novels, instead this novel “makes fun of its seriousness through seriousness”. I found this idea particularly interesting as the novel deals with such serious and important topics in our society today such as sexual assualt and rape, and yet the novel is still widely recognized by as a great comedy of its time. Although, reflecting on it now, this book is not far off from some of the modern media we consume. Dark humor tends to make an appearance in television and comedy shows, and in some ways I could see how Captain Pantoja and the Special Service plays with humor in this way. I wonder if these comedic or humorous elements in the novel are truly intended to take away from these serious topics, or if they are supposed to make readers think deeper about what they are laughing about and potentially see the issues in front of their eyes? What do you guys think?