Summary Of The Spectacular Favela By Erika Robb Larkins

Erika Robb Larkins’ ethnography entitled The Spectacular Favela: Violence in Modern Brazil documents Larkins time spent doing fieldwork for her dissertation in Brazil’s largest favela Rocinha from 2008-2010. The book discusses themes of drug trafficker control within Rocinha and other favelas, the concept of spectacular violence, as well as the commodification of the trafficker image by Brazilian and foreign outsiders. Larkins dissects the role that violent spectacle plays in the everyday lives of favela residents and the ways that it is depicted in mediascapes and therefore commodified for profit. In this paper, I will briefly discuss the history of the violent favela and its relationship with changing states, the origins of favela tourism and the two different types of tourism that have grown in popularity. Additionally, this paper will discuss some of the critiques that Larkins has for favela tourism including the fact that it creates violence, who controls and benefits from it, the inequalities it creates, and the use of staged authenticity to appeal to tourists. This paper will conclude with an explanation …show more content…
One reason for this is the fact that favela tourism is controlled entirely by outside parties for the sole benefit of outside parties. If tours are run by outside Brazilians favela tourism cannot be ethical. These middle and upper-middle class Brazilians who run these tour guide services are stealing potential profits from favela residents which could help them to raise their status in the class system or if nothing else support their families. Favela residents should also have the right to tell their own story. As Larkins points out multiple times throughout the book, many of the residents of Rocinha work very hard and lead law abiding lives, they’re proud of their accomplishments. It is only fair that these people be represented in the favela story as