Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2007 Peforming Louisiana: the history of Cajun dialect humor and its impact on the Cajun cultural identity Debrah Royer Richardson Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Theatre and Performance Studies Commons Recommended Citation Richardson, Debrah Royer, "Peforming Louisiana: the history of Cajun dialect humor and its impact on the Cajun cultural identity" (2007). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 2300. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2300 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. PERFORMING LOUISIANA: THE HISTORY OF CAJUN DIALECT HUMOR AND ITS IMPACT ON THE CAJUN CULTURAL IDENTITY A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Theatre by Debrah Royer Richardson B.A., Louisiana Tech University, 1974 M.A., Louisiana Tech University, 1993 August 2007 © COPYRIGHT 2007 Debrah Royer Richardson All rights reserved ii For my husband and cheerleader, Bill, who supported me with his love and strength. For my children, Rob, Megan, and Joshua, and their spouses, Amanda, Michael, and Lauren, whose pride and belief in me kept me going. For my beloved grandsons, Cole and Caden, so that they will know their history and find joy and pride in their heritage. For all the people who told me, even at my advanced age, to “go for it,” especially the Deans at McNeese State University and Louisiana Tech University, who also told me “ABD’s are a dime a dozen,” and “the best dissertation is the one that’s done.” For Dr. Marvin Douglass and his lovely wife, Karen, the first people to really believe that I could and should do this. Finally, for my Tante Deuce, who started me on this journey long ago with her stories about my family and my birthright. I wish she were here to see how she influenced me to want to know more about the Cajuns. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The journey to completion of the dissertation is a difficult and sometimes lonely one. Were it not for people who willingly gave of their time, talent and knowledge, I don’t know if I could have accomplished this. I must first acknowledge the time and patience that Dr. Les Wade has dedicated to this project. As an older student, I may not have always been as quick to understand what was necessary, but Les did not give up on me as he patiently guided me through some difficult times. Dr. Carolyn Ware made herself available to help me understand the study of folklore and the challenges faced by folklorists in these changing times. Dr. Femi Euba, Dr. Gerilyn Tandberg, and Dr. Michael Tick were always available to offer leadership and a kindly ear. There were so many people within the Cajun community who stepped up to answer my questions and concerns and to share with me their vast knowledge and experiences. Dave Petitjean and Kent Gonsoulin were so gracious and helpful to me as I navigated the ins and outs of Cajun humor. I must especially mention Shane Bernard, as well as Ryan Brasseaux, Carl Brasseaux, and Barry Jean Ancelet in the areas of Cajun history. I am certain that I could not have completed this work without the love and support of the friends who challenged me, cared for me, and stood in the gap for me: Elizabeth Cawns, Peggy Pack, Charlie Lowe, Carolyn Spears, Joe Aguillard, and Henry Robertson. I thank my Christian friends everywhere who prayed for me. I thank my children, their spouses, my sisters and my mother for their understanding when I had to turn off the phone to get some work done but, most of all, I thank my husband who loved me and believed in me enough to stay in Texas on the weekends until I was done. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication……………………………………………………………………………….. iii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………….iv Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………...vi Chapter One/Introduction—The Clash of Culture(s): The Problem with Cajun Dialect Humor………………….………………………………………………………………….1 Chapter Two—Preserving a Cultural Identity: Gatekeepers, Fence-Jumpers, and the Folk……………………………………………………………………………………....23 Chapter Three—Creating a Cultural Identity: From Legacy to Myth to Stereotype………………………………………………………………………………..48 Chapter Four—Performing the Cultural Identity: The History of Cajun Dialect Humor…………………………………………………………………………………....88 Chapter Five—Preserving the Culture: Reclamation and Power………………………123 Chapter Six—Performing Louisiana: The “Appropriateness” of Cajun Dialect Humor……………………………………………………………………………….….163 Chapter Seven/Conclusion—Representing a Culture: The Future of Cajun Dialect Humor……………………………………………………………………………….….203 Works Consulted……………………………………………………………………….210 Vita……………………………………………………………………………………..223 v ABSTRACT Cajuns, the descendants of the Acadian diaspora begun in 1755, chose to live a largely isolated existence in Louisiana until elements in the nineteenth century began concerted efforts to assimilate the Cajuns. By the beginnings of the twentieth century, the dual challenges of enforced schooling and the prohibition of spoken French affected the Cajun sense of pride. Around the same time, outsiders (satirists from Louisiana who were not of Cajun descent) used the Cajun dialect, in publications and on the radio, to humorously skewer Louisiana politics. Over the last century, Cajun dialect humor has evolved along specific lines that have closely followed the evolution of the Cajun cultural identity. Cajun dialect humor was associated with outsiders and would remain that way until the 1960’s. The process of reclamation has been a long and arduous journey, one that has prompted internal struggles leading to negotiations within the community over competing identity narratives. Even though Cajun humorists have supplanted the original satirists in performing the ethnic humor, these negotiations have often placed the practitioners of the dialect humor in the position of beggars at the gate, apologizing for stepping outside the boundaries set by self-appointed gatekeepers, and forcing them to amend their performances to fit certain acceptable guidelines. The inside/outside duality of Cajun dialect humor led to a showdown within the community, allowing gatekeepers to set parameters on what style of humor would be tolerated and which would not. The dialect humor was divided into the “old,” unacceptable style and the “new,” established style. In this work, I am arguing for a return of the “old” style of humor by demonstrating its place in Cajun history. By vi restoring the “old” with the “new” style of humor, I believe this will strengthen the overall comic product and ensure the future of Cajun dialect humor. vii CHAPTER ONE/INTRODUCTION—THE CLASH OF CULTURE(S): THE PROBLEM WITH CAJUN DIALECT HUMOR Usually the Boudreaux character in Cajun stories is supposed to be stereotypical of the funny side of the Cajun culture. (L. Boudreaux 22) Boudreaux was sitting in the City Bar in Maurice, La. one Saturday night, and had several beers under his belt. After a while, he looked at the guy sitting next to him, and asked him, "Hey, you wanna hear a good Aggie joke, you?” The big guy replied, "Let me tell you something. I'm an oilfield roughneck, I weigh 270 pounds, and I don't like Cajuns. My buddy here is a pro football player, weighs 300 pounds, and he doesn't like Cajuns either. His friend on his other side, is a professional wrestler, weighs 320 pounds, always has a chip on his shoulder, and he likes Cajuns even less than we do, and we are all Aggies. Do you really want to tell us an Aggie joke?" Boudreaux, all 150 pounds of Cajun attitude, told him, "Well, I guess not. After all I don’t want to have to explain it three times!"1 In March 1988, the first International Cajun Joke Telling Contest was held in Opelousas, Louisiana. The organizers, the Opelousas Tourism and Activities Committee, did not inform the audience of just how momentous an occasion this was going to be. The audience, unknowingly, had been invited to witness a proverbial signing of a Declaration of War. Taking a stance in what had been an ongoing battle within the culture, the organizers formally declared that “certain kinds of Cajun humor were not considered funny, not considered amusing or acceptable to decent people, and would not be tolerated at this function.” If those first contestants wanted to win, they had to use 1 Smiley Anders Column, The Advocate [Baton Rouge, LA] January 27, 1998 1 humor that was clean, in good taste, and typifying the Cajuns as “happy, open, goodhearted” people (Angers Truth 82-83). That night marked, in a clear and definite fashion, the division between the “old” brand of Cajun dialect humor and the “new” brand of Cajun dialect humor. Since the “old” had actually existed alongside the “new” for quite a while, the declaration that night was more “an idiom of sibling competition rather than of inheritance” (Anderson 187). No one doubted that, even without invoking their names, the “Opelousas Proclamation”2 was specifically targeting outsider Justin Wilson, the leading proponent of the “old” brand of humor, and insider Bud Fletcher, whose humor might be considered more for mature audiences and sometimes in questionable taste. Wilson had long been the subject of much heated debate and a few measures of disgust3 within the Cajun community. It was felt by many that he had taken the “old” style of humor over the top. His Cajun characters “depended mostly upon an exaggerated Cajun accent, a silly-looking costume or a punchline that belittled the Cajun people” (Angers Truth 83).