1. Afro-Brazilians in Film
Alesia M. Williams
UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Public Relations Sequence

2. 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?)

3. Research Proposal
The 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.

4. Evolution of Brazilian Cinema &
Afro-Brazilian representation

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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].

8. 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.

9.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L38kQSpvPg8&feature=rel
ated
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpVl4k-jia4&feature=fvst
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJdW1TevoyA

10. 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.

11. Sources

12. Challenges and future plans