Graffiti, Ban or Boon? A Bakhtinian Appreciation of Selected Latrinalia from Bulawayo in Zimbabwe

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article explores the messages that are created and expressed in alternative and generally informal platforms in response to the cultural practice of tabooing certain themes and language usage in the presentation and sharing of feelings and ideas about such themes. Graffiti and the carnivalesque converge on the fact that their setup is informal in terms of language, themes and manipulated identity of participants. Their content is mainly on tabooed themes and the language that is used is not only crude but also generally “vulgar”, “dirty” or “offensive”. Graffiti has, therefore, been dismissed as mundane and serving the interests of people whose mental state is compromised. It is safe to argue that there are two schools of thought that view graffiti and the carnivalesque differently. These schools of thought can be separated into those in and with authority and those not in and without authority. Those in authority view graffiti and the carnivalesque as practices that go against official expectations and are therefore negative practices. Latrinalia from selected public toilets from the city of Bulawayo was photographed and subjected to Critical Discourse Analysis with attention being paid to carnivality, Bakhtinian dialogism and humour and its impact on the interaction process.