Reply to Cheri re: Thesis question
The reason for these misrepresentations is two fold. One Race, class and gender. While the country purports that it is one of the least racist countries, in fact racism is alive and well there however subtle. The other is, they don't know what to do with the poor. They've scooped them up to the hills for the most part snd forgot about them and only want to see them in town if they're working in service positions. The face to be shown to the world is the sterotypical one on the samba, canival, etc. Brazilian film of the 90's and 2000's is showing another side of the country. A realistic look at the condition in the city. Hopefully this will help bring the populus to reality and to realize that they have to start facing these problems instead of sweeping them under the carpet.
Comments
I find the topic very interesting and look forward to reading how you begin to focus on the issues of representation at the heart of your question. Who represents the interests of the people of the favelas in the evolving depiction of them and their circumstances? Representation is the construction of a "voice" and the power to craft a message. So, what message is being articulated in the movies of New Brazilian cinema and who controls access to the creation and distribution of these new images. Movies like "City of God" affect a mood of social realism, but what is realism and what reality is depicted? ..whose eye behind the camera, and why? Your proposal to focus the paper around a theme like women's lives, or families, sounds like a good idea to me.
What social realities are depicted and how might this differ from earlier (80’s) movies like Dona Flora and Her two Husbands, Bye-Bye Brazil or Pixote?
Can that be drawn into context with the recent spate of killings here on the North side, and how does the press represent that issue to the public?
Posted by: Anonymous | July 11, 2006 2:47 PM
Hi Loretta--
Actually that was my post and you might enjoy the following link as well (check out the "Rio" posts):
http://www.liberatormagazine.com/weblog/
Posted by: Karl | July 18, 2006 2:32 PM