Afro-Brazilians in FilmAlesia M. Williams

UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Public Relations Sequence

Research Question How are Afro-Brazilians represented in Brazilian cinema,

post slavery-present , and what trends exist within these representations? (Are these representations similar to the way African Americans were represented in American cinema?)

Research ProposalThe US and Brazil are both a part of the Black Diaspora. Interestingly, many false representations of African Americans were projected in US cinema. These images were often publicized to justify slavery, to dehumanize African Americans, and to promote racist theories such as Social Darwinism. African Americas were commonly depicted as coons, bucks, mulattos, pickaninnies, Uncle Toms, and Mammies in books, cartoons, plays, and films. Considering, the similarities between the marginalization of blacks in both the US and Brazil, I desire to research how Afro-Brazilians are represented in Brazilian cinema.

Evolution of Brazilian Cinema & Afro-Brazilian representation

Post Slavery-Pre 1960s “Afro- Brazilians did not feature prominently in the symbolically “white”

cinema of the first few decades of the century. The beginning of Brazilian cinema coincided with the height of European imperialism, and since the world cinema was dominated by the colonial powers, the tendency was to project a vision of Brazil as merely a tropical appendage of European

civilization in which non-Europeans had very little role” [Stam ,17].

Gilberto Freye’s theory of “racial democracy,” although now seen as an exemplum of the ideology of whitening, contributed to a progressive step in emphasizing the positive contribution of blacks to Brazil’s cultural mix. Thus, Black presence in films increased.[Stam, 18].

Example of Film: Tambem Somos Irmaos [We Too Are Brothers] (1949)– first Brazilian film to

confront the problem of contemporary racial discrimination. Featured the actor Grande Otelo. Although described a contrast to Hollywood’s depiction of the servant-master pattern, I believe he is similar to the US display of a coon.

Cinema Novo There was shift from issues of labor exploitation, social movements,

political history and allegories of national identity to representation of private life and family dramas [Xavier ,329]

Examples of Films

Bahia de Todos os Santos- depiction of racial and social oppression in Bahia. Features Tonio as the “tragic mulatto” – divided between black mother and white father, between condomble and nightclub, between traditional community and urban individualism. He was not a believer in racial democracy.

-“They say that everything is easy, that color doesn’t matter, but it’s just empty words.”

Ganga Zumba (1963)- memorializes the seventeenth-century fugitive slave republic called Palamares

Black Orpheus (1960)- adaptation of Italian story. Problematic display blacks as content with way live in favelas.

1970s Films of the 1970s are noted for the range of variety of black roles. It also marked

the emergence of the first social significant black directors. Described as a time where black characters were treated simply as ordinary people.

Examples of Films

“Compasso de Espera (1973)- exposes the myriad forms of racism, from gestures of condescension of acts of discrimination and even physical violence. Jorge de Oliveira, a black poet ,cites Millor Fernades’s ironic dictum that “there is no racism in Brazil because black people know their place.” Filmmaker mocks the compendium of racist clichés that the problem isn’t racial, but social. Jorge’s character is similar to Sidney Poitier. However ,film was criticized for focusing on a highly unrepresentative character- living in a luxurious apartment, constantly sipping whiskey at cocktail parties, he represented a minority of black Brazilians [Stam, 24].

Rainha Diaba(1975)- described as the film that most outrageously confounds all stereotypes. Ironically, the black character is a drag queen. “When some hoodlums revolt against his rule, it is because they refused to be bossed by a drag queen, not because he is black.” [Stam, 25].

Current Many current films, illuminate the interrelationship of poverty and crime in

rise to a growing army of dispossessed, among them many black and mixed-race citizens. A large amount of these films represent contemporary urban violence in favelas.

“Literature, cinema, and popular music, especially hip-hop, have been used as vehicles to reproduce Brazilian social realities and anxieties. The residents of poor communities, however, have been voicing an acute criticism of the new cinematic representations, which seek to promote social denunciation, but instead help to construct stereotyped perceptions of Afro-Brazilians” [Oliveira, 43].

Example of Film:

Cidade de Deus [City of God] (2002)- fifth biggest box-office hit ever in national cinema. The movie spawned debate in the Brazilian media about the representation of the favelas and their inhabitants.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L38kQSpvPg8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpVl4k-jia4&feature=fvst http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJdW1TevoyA

Argument Afro-Brazilian depiction in Brazilian films has evolved. Although there are

stark similarities between African American representation in US films, they represent the social problems that are prevalent there. They do not have a binary system as we do. Nevertheless, their representation is detrimental to the way they are treated. “Literature, cinema, and popular music has been used as vehicles to reproduce Brazilian social realities and anxieties.” The problem exist when these representations are not accurate. Thus, they can perpetuate further stereotypes which are images used to continue to marginalize Afro-Brazilians.

Sources

Challenges and future plans