Good Cop, Dadaist Cop
NOW INVENT AN IMPOSSIBLE-TO-TRANSLATE LANGUAGE AND USE IT TO TELL US WHERE THE MONEY IS.
NOW INVENT AN IMPOSSIBLE-TO-TRANSLATE LANGUAGE AND USE IT TO TELL US WHERE THE MONEY IS.
This comic is a play on the well known Good Cop/Bad Cop (where one interrogator is nice and friendly and the other is mean and intimidating) police interrogation strategy and the artistic movement Dadaism.
Dadaism is an artistic movement which by its definition is irrational. The movement embraces the free flow of unreasoned thought and prizes nonsense and rejection of established norms. As such, the entire concept of "Good Cop, Dadaist Cop" could be considered a dadaist concept in itself.
"Good Cop/Bad Cop" is a psychological tactic that may be employed during joint questioning or interrogation. The interrogators isolate the suspect, then one of the interrogators (the "bad cop") acts aggressively and threatens the suspect and the other (the "good cop") acts friendly and helpful in comparison, offering the suspect reassurance and protection from the bad cop if they co-operate. If successful, it deceives the suspect into believing they must choose to trust one of the interrogators and the suspect chooses to co-operate with the good cop, or merely complies out of fear of the bad cop.
The comic starts with the "Good Cop", the male police officer, and the "Dadaist Cop", Ponytail, working out their plan to interrogate the suspect, Hairy. After the Good Cop makes a few statements, intended to build trust with Hairy, and leaves to get coffee, Ponytail enters the interrogation and starts asking Hairy absurd questions. Hairy quickly becomes agitated, and questions what is wrong with Ponytail. Ponytail responds "What's wrong with ART?", which could suggest she believes the interrogation is artwork and should not be questioned. On the other hand, actual responses would break the Dadaism pattern.
Good Cop/Bad Cop hinges on the suspect's fear and distrust of the intentions of the bad cop; thankfully for the police, Ponytail's "Dadaist Cop" seems to be a successful Bad Cop too, judging by the suspect's fear of her irrational, unpredictable, and potential crazy behavior (not to mention loud and aggressive mannerisms).
The title text builds on the joke as by asking a suspect to give the whereabouts of the money in a dadaist manner, which would be completely useless in finding it. Such a statement could be used as a confession though.
Irrationality
- "See this? It's Mark Zuckerberg's mortgage. So why is it written in Church Latin?"
- Mark Zuckerberg (the co-founder of Facebook) was renting in 2011 and therefore did not have a mortgage.
- Even if Mark Zuckerberg had bought a property, it is unlikely (given his financial status) that he would have to take out a mortgage.
- Modern mortgages are typically written in the local vernacular; it would be very strange for one to be written in a dead language like Church Latin.
- "WHY ARE MY BONES SO SMALL?" "What's wrong with ART?"
- These are non sequiturs and therefore have no place in an investigation.
- "NOW INVENT AN IMPOSSIBLE-TO-TRANSLATE LANGUAGE AND USE IT TO TELL US WHERE THE MONEY IS." (title text)
- The location of the money cannot be conveyed to Ponytail if the information were expressed in a newly invented language that cannot be translated, and therefore would be useless to an investigation.