Resumen de Zombie language: The parody of newspaper columns in Quim Monzó's radio commentaries
In postmodernist fiction and new journalism, parody is used to combat the manipulation of classical literary and journalistic genres, based on objectivism as a commonplace, which usually impose an unequivocal vision of facts preventing any kind of dissidence. This shrewd control of language, revealed in clich use, also characterizes political discourse. Parody has been studied in Quim Monzó's fiction and non-fiction, but not in his radio and television shows. The aim of this article is to examine parody in the radio show Articles que no farem/Articles we won't write (2005-2006), where Monzó imitates the trite style of archetypal columnists issuing banal opinions on society, culture and politics. Rather than express original ideas, they merely strengthen mainstream ideas using commonplaces. Monzó's parody mainly operates through the manipulation of individuals and their column titles; he also uses humoristic devices such as paronomasia and comparison. As a complement to previous research into Monzó's journalism, it will help us understand his conception of columns and of the mainstream ideas he humorously censures, particularly political correctness.
