Professor Henry Gates explores the South American country of Brazil in his second episode of Black in Latin America. More than 75 million people of African descent inhabit Brazil which makes it the second largest population of black people in the world. There are many aspects of African culture, traditions, and values very alive in Brazil. Brazil was the first country to claim it was free of racism, but the last country in the western hemisphere to abolish slavery. Gates visits different cities and speaks to different scholars in Brazil to better explore the nature of this contradiction. Brazilians have a very diverse ancestry. Brazil had the largest slave population with an import of 5 million slaves between the years of 1502 to 1867. The
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does a great job at showing how much of a contradiction Brazil really is when it comes to race relations. The film shows the viewer how the black Brazilian appreciates their African ancestry through continuing some cultural aspects such as capoeira and candomble. There is also a carnival celebration of African culture in Bahia, Brazil. In mass media, we do not see this appreciation of black heritage. Brazilians are usually white when seen on TV, a poster, or in a magazine. From the film, we learn that the Brazilian government did this on purpose when migrating Europeans to the country. Also, as spoke about by MV Bill, white and black Brazilians live completely two different lives due to socioeconomic status. Therefore, Brazil truly is not a racial paradise compared to the United States of …show more content…
was a great film, so there is little that I can say to actually improve it. There is one thing I think could have added a different dimension to the film which is getting more of a perspective from those who consider themselves as white Brazilians. I want to know if they are aware of the racist reality of Brazil or do they also believe in this idea of a “racial paradise”. Also, I would have like to know more about the difference in the lives of poor black Brazilians and rich black Brazilians. Would there barely be any difference due to the harsh racism in Brazil? Also, would there be any conflict between those two groups. Those are some questions I would have liked answered, but otherwise Professor Gates did a fantastic at job at incorporating different perspectives and new
does a great job at showing how much of a contradiction Brazil really is when it comes to race relations. The film shows the viewer how the black Brazilian appreciates their African ancestry through continuing some cultural aspects such as capoeira and candomble. There is also a carnival celebration of African culture in Bahia, Brazil. In mass media, we do not see this appreciation of black heritage. Brazilians are usually white when seen on TV, a poster, or in a magazine. From the film, we learn that the Brazilian government did this on purpose when migrating Europeans to the country. Also, as spoke about by MV Bill, white and black Brazilians live completely two different lives due to socioeconomic status. Therefore, Brazil truly is not a racial paradise compared to the United States of …show more content…
was a great film, so there is little that I can say to actually improve it. There is one thing I think could have added a different dimension to the film which is getting more of a perspective from those who consider themselves as white Brazilians. I want to know if they are aware of the racist reality of Brazil or do they also believe in this idea of a “racial paradise”. Also, I would have like to know more about the difference in the lives of poor black Brazilians and rich black Brazilians. Would there barely be any difference due to the harsh racism in Brazil? Also, would there be any conflict between those two groups. Those are some questions I would have liked answered, but otherwise Professor Gates did a fantastic at job at incorporating different perspectives and new