A significant aspect of Mexican intellectualism considers the tragic dimensions of national identity, particularly the configuration of indigenous people as long-suffering and masochistic. In his book Cage of Melancholy (1987), critic Roger Bartra dissects the discourse on Mexican-ness and suggests that the characterizations of Indians and the poor as stoic or indifferent to their own misfortunes may function to normalize and maintain class disparities. The films and videos in the second program infuse the traditional signs of Mexicanidad with ironic humor and excess.