Research Abstracts

As part of the effort to increase both the participation and the academic content of the Crossways blog, Roberta Gregoli suggested that we invite past and present members of the program to submit abstracts for the research that they are currently engaged in, be it for their Crossways Masters, or for further studies, or for conference or journal submission. Hopefully we can build up a data base of the research that has been performed and which is ongoing, enabling the demonstration of the academic quality of this program to potential employers, applicants and other stake holders.

Herewith the first abstract from Roberta Gregoli

TRANSNATIONAL RECEPTION OF CITY OF GOD AND ELITE SQUAD

GENDER, SPECTATORSHIP AND IDENTITY

Roberta Gregoli

Brazilian cinema has historically had a pivotal role in raising social issues. Recently, it has been the recipient of considerable attention worldwide, and a catalyst for the debate of urban problems such as social inequality, drug trafficking, and violence in the favelas (slums). Although the favela is not a new topos in Brazilian cinema, City of God (Cidade de Deus, 2002) and Elite Squad (Tropa de Elite, 2007) have been particularly successful in reviving its representation while problematising it in the public forum. Such vivid debate seems to reflect, and only be enabled by, spectators’ deep engagement with national film. Notwithstanding, despite the popularity of Brazilian cinema among the public, critics, and the media, the relationship between cinema and audience and its ability to reflect, as well as affect, social issues seem not to have been explored, there being a scarcity of research on film reception, particularly empirical, in Brazil. It is thus the aim of this study to investigate theories of reception and spectatorship through the analysis of audience reaction to City of God and Elite Squad. Due to current interest in transnational studies and the relevance of analysis involving empirical data, the two films are investigated through the examination of 238 responses collected from three groups: non-Brazilian, Brazilian middle class, and Brazilian favela inhabitants. The films will be examined through the weaving of empirical data and theories pertaining cinematic spectatorship, gender and the relationship between cinema and national identity. While analysis of the data has yielded thought-provoking insights on notions of masculinity and identity in the context of postmodern theorisation, the study advocates for further research in the field of cinematic spectatorship in Brazil.