Amores Urbanos (2015) feels out of place among the rest of the movies selected for the Cine Las Americas Film Festival. Most of the films tell the stories of silenced or marginalized characters, people that at least in the US do not receive much screen time. Because of this, director…
All posts under Brazil
Messy Reflections after a trip to Brazil
Cine Las Américas Review: O Último Cine Drive-in
Brasilia’s utopian vision of a city not only includes the governmental buildings arranged in an orderly design, but also features (apparently, according to this film) a drive-in movie theater. The best parts of this feature-length drama are the establishing, long shots of this unique drive-in location. This one-of-a-kind drive-in matches…
Brazilian Filmmaker Gabriel Mascaro visits Austin
Celebrated Brazilian Filmmaker Gabriel Mascaro will be visiting Austin, Texas for three exciting events this week. On Monday at 7:30, the Austin Film Society will present a screening of Ventos de Agosto (2014), Mascaro’s first feature narrative film, followed by a Q&A with the director, mediated by UT professor Jason Borge. The…
Poverty Tourism and Gabo in Yoknapatawpha
Reporting from BRASA
As the grand conclusion to my incredibly privileged whirlwind summer of travel, observation, and adventure, I ended in London for the Brazilian Studies Association (BRASA) conference. Having planned with a group of fellow PhD students and professors in the Spanish and Portuguese department at UT since October, we presented a…
Now that the dust has settled: 7-1 and beyond
The «Chic» Favela
As I continued to ruminate on my experiences in the “The ‘Eco-Favela’” and watch the World Cup, I traveled from Brazil back to my hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan and then on to Europe, stopping to visit friends in Paris before I present at a conference in London.
Os Jedi or Os Jedis?: Translation, Authority, and S-Wars in a YouTube Comments Thread
The «Eco-favela»
Who needs the World Cup anyway?
As long as there’s that *tick tick* followed by that bump: Pancadões and Sound Politics on the streets of São Paulo
We interviewed Dr. Leonardo Cardoso to gain a unique perspective on the rise and fall of the «pancadão» phenomenon on the streets of São Paulo. Check out the link below to find out how pancadões, street parties, and sound politics interact in the Brazilian metropolis. For more on Sound Politics…
San Diego Comic-Con, The Comics Arts Conference and «Narrating a Brazilian Deathscape in Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá’s Graphic Novel ‘Daytripper'»
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend San Diego Comic-Con and participate in the Comics Arts Conference. This academic conference that focuses specifically on the medium of sequential art runs the entire length of the Con and is well attended. The Comics Arts Conference was founded by…
Sports and Politics on Display Again
#vemprarua: following the protest on vine
Watch Vines from the protesters in Brazil HERE. As I attempt to keep up on the news about the massive protests throughout Brazil it is important to keep up with both major news outlets and ground level individual reports. I have messaged a few of my friends/colleagues that are in Brazil studying…
Sem violência! Police Aggression in São Paulo
«Quem quiser aprender / É favor prestar atenção:» Brazilian Music in the Language Classroom
A ton of research suggests that music enriches the foreign language classroom. Check out the bibliography of the short article «Learning a second language through music.» In one popular activity, known as a «cloze exercise,» students fill in blanked-out words while listening to speech or song. I’m always looking (or…
6 Second Vine Review: «Una estética da fome» by Glauber Rocha
Connecting Texts: «Daytripper» and Literature Review
Daytripper (2011) is Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá’s Eisner Award winning comic series (now distributed as a single collection or graphic novel) that tells the life story of Brás de Oliva Domingos in contemporary Brazil. The comic’s subtle movements across Brazil (Río, São Paulo, Bahía and Acemira) create a national story…