Leticia Neria PhD thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText ...

Nicanor was a victim of police brutality. In contrast with the cases from La Familia
Burrón, in which the police openly speak about their behaviour, the policeman says that
the woman is spreading lies. However, when he explains that Nicanor is in the hospital
because he slipped on a banana peel, we infer that he is lying because of the foolishness
of his alibi. It brings humour not only for being directly related with a common image–
slipping on a banana peel – but also for the ridiculous and unsuitable comment. All
these cases are evidence that the characters already know about police brutality. In this
case the discomfort of readers in talking about torture is again alleviated by the use of
not only exaggeration but also incongruity. In other words, even though some of the
torture methods described were used by police at the time, others are exaggerated and
illogical, such as hanging someone from the tongue or giving them an electric shock of
a million volts. As McGhee points out, once we have perceived this incongruity, we
recognise that we are witnessing an act of humour. This helps us discuss the topic and
live with it, since ‘a person must be in a better position to cope with conflict after humor
than before it’. 205
The Breaking of the rule
Such an unfavourable portrayal of the police, targeting them as a constant butt of jokes,
gives us the impression that people were afraid of them and had no sympathy for them.
This confirms the previous idea of the police as the antithesis of the citizens. In Los
Agachados there is a comment from Trastupijes which supports this idea, when
Trastupijes is asking Bedoyo to arrest El Mesías without using violence, and adds:
205 McGhee, Humor. Its Origins… p. 21.
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