"IT'S NOT A CRISIS, I JUST DON'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE". Humor and protest in the 15M movement

This article explores the relationship between humor and protest through a study of the strategic use of humor in the Spanish indignados movement. By focusing on four forms of communication (placards, performances, internal documents and Internet communications) in Madrid in 2011, the article assesses the subversive potential of humor in the communication of demands, the internal organization of the movement, the recruitment of potential activists and the construction of a collective identity. At the theoretical level, the article draws attention to the benefits that arise from combining an expressive focus in the analysis of humor with another which sees this as an instrumental action of those involved. Results show that the Spanish indignados were to a large degree aware of a number of benefits associated with the use of humor that went beyond having fun and, therefore, organized several activities in order to obtain these benefits.