Abstract
The paper analyzes the representation of police and juridical authorities in Goiás, Brazil during the first decades of the twentieth century through anecdotes presented in the Catholic newspaper Santuario da Trindade, which circulated from 1922 to 1931. Some theoretical notions offered by Mikhail Bakhtin, such as the ideas of “world carnivalization” and “grotesque realism”, are essential to ponder on the humor present in this newspaper, since those anecdotes mocked the police force's action, demonstrating what the author characterized as the irreverence of the popular culture in relation to serious institutions. In this sense, those jokes are discursive productions from the popular order of Goiás and they are susceptible to assorted interpretations. That is to say they can be understood not only as instruments of humor - a great way to ease up daily tensions - but also as exponents of a collective mentality, which reveals certain ways of thinking of the country culture regarding the juridical and police actions in Goiás.
Keywords:
Popular culture; Santuario da Trindade newspaper; Bakhtin; Police action; Anecdotes
Thumbnail
