YourDictionary definition on Grand Guignol - 21 September 2009 10:14 AM

any dramatic production designed to shock and horrify its audience with its gruesome or macabre content

Apparently, your sites definition mad me only go for the whole statement rather than the word “guignol”. Is there a definition behind the word “guignol” at all?

According to Wikipedia, Guignol is one of the main characters in a French puppet show created by Laurent Mourguet in Lyon at the beginning of the 19th century.

Apparently, Wikipedia says:

The use in French of “guignol” as an insult meaning “buffoon” is a curious malapropism, as Guignol is clever, courageous and generous; his inevitable victory is always the triumph of good over evil.

Then if you look at their term for “grand guignol”:

The name is often used as a general term for graphic, amoral horror entertainment.

Would you consider this a cultural contradiction?