A virtude dos sacrifícios versus a ciência das transações: Tenório Cavalcanti e o campo político do Rio de Janeiro

Este trabalho tem como objetivo interpretar o fenômeno político expressado por Tenório Cavalcanti - político popular que atuou fundamentalmente em áreas periféricas e pobres da cidade e do estado do Rio de Janeiro entre as décadas de 1930 e 1960. Pretendo mostrar a narrativa, os símbolos e os códigos culturais que construíram a sua imagem pública e como a sua atuação marcou a dinâmica e a estruturação do campo político do Rio de Janeiro. A pesquisa baseia-se, fundamentalmente, no jornal Luta Democrática, entre os anos de 1954 e 1964, e nos seus discursos pronunciados na Câmara dos Deputados, entre 1951 e 1964. A partir da análise das fontes procuro mostrar de que maneira os elementos que constituem o fenômeno servem como ferramenta analítica para compreender melhor a construção de identidades sociais, os mecanismos de representação política, a forma como foram percebidos os processos de inclusão e exclusão social, assim como os conflitos sociais daquele período.

Crônica política sobre um documento contra a ditabranda

This short article, a political chronicle, examines the meanings and political and ideological effects of a Internet petition that was created in February of 2009. Repúdio e Solidariedade (Repudiation and Solidarity) questioned the use of the term ditabranda [a conjunction of two terms, ditadura and branda - or soft dictatorship] disseminated by the São Paulo news daily Folha de S. Paulo to refer to the Brazilian military dictatorship, and manifested solidarity with two University of São Paulo (USP) professors and intellectuals known for their action in defense of human rights in Brazil. Obtaining over eight thousand signatures in a period of less than six weeks, the petition may be considered (as the extensive comments which it includes testify to) a relevant document in the struggle for the right to truth and justice regarding what really happened during the period of the Brazilian military regime (1964-1985). Perhaps its most relevant symbolic role is that of staking claims within an ideological struggle over the memory of 1964. In the center of these claims sits a banner with the old motto No pasarán. In other words, democratic and progressive sectors of Brazilian society that supported Repúdio e Solidariedade made it clear that they were not going to quietly accept falsified views of history that are an insult to the memory of those who struggled, were tortured and died in the struggle to redemocratize the country.

Entre el testimonio y la autobiografía, Cartucho y la construcción de una memoria poética/política

Cartucho. Relatos de la lucha en el norte de México de Nellie Campobello es un libro excepcional que debido a su posicionamiento político y a la originalidad de su propuesta estética ha sido ignorado y despreciado, siempre a la sombra de los textos canónicos de la literatura de la revolución mexicana. Leemos el texto de Campobello bajo las claves del testimonio y de la autobiografía. Su construcción de una mirada infantil para contar desde una perspectiva villista los enfrentamientos en el norte revolucionario implica un rechazo del registro realista así como la indagación de una reescritura poética-política que recrea una memoria radical, a-moral y provocativa de los hechos de la revolución.

El aniversario de la II República en Triunfo

Durante la dictadura de Franco, el régimen implementó una política de olvido que se ocupó de borrar del espacio público las conmemoraciones republicanas, asimismo impuso el 1 de abril y el 18 de julio como aniversarios que lo legitimaban. Sin embargo, el recuerdo de los aniversarios republicanos permaneció latente como memoria subterránea en gran parte de la sociedad. Frente a la política de olvido ejercida por el régimen, Triunfo intentó transformar el 14 de abril en un lugar de memoria conmemorándolo en sus páginas.

El aniversario de la II República en Triunfo

Durante la dictadura de Franco, el régimen implementó una política de olvido que se ocupó de borrar del espacio público las conmemoraciones republicanas, asimismo impuso el 1 de abril y el 18 de julio como aniversarios que lo legitimaban. Sin embargo, el recuerdo de los aniversarios republicanos permaneció latente como memoria subterránea en gran parte de la sociedad. Frente a la política de olvido ejercida por el régimen, Triunfo intentó transformar el 14 de abril en un lugar de memoria conmemorándolo en sus páginas.

El aniversario de la II República en Triunfo

Durante la dictadura de Franco, el régimen implementó una política de olvido que se ocupó de borrar del espacio público las conmemoraciones republicanas, asimismo impuso el 1 de abril y el 18 de julio como aniversarios que lo legitimaban. Sin embargo, el recuerdo de los aniversarios republicanos permaneció latente como memoria subterránea en gran parte de la sociedad. Frente a la política de olvido ejercida por el régimen, Triunfo intentó transformar el 14 de abril en un lugar de memoria conmemorándolo en sus páginas.

Making sense of the ‘difficult’ past:transmission of political heritage and memory-work among young people across Europe

This article considers young people’s socialization into mnemonic communities in 14 European countries. It argues that such socialization is an intersubjective and selective process that, to a great degree, depends on the particular social environment that conditions the discourses on pasts available to young people. Drawing on memory studies, it recognizes memory as a valid alternative to the institutionalized past (history) but envisages the two as inextricably connected. Given this, it identifies several strategies adopted by young people in order to socialize understandings of the past. While these strategies vary, some reveal receptivity to populist and far right ideologies. Our study demonstrates how internalization of political heritage via mnemonic socialization within families is conditioned by both the national political agenda and socio-economic situation experienced across Europe.

Documentary as history, memory, dream and film

A century ago, as the Western world embarked on a period of traumatic change, the visual realism of photography and documentary film brought print and radio news to life. The vision that these new mediums threw into stark relief was one of intense social and political upheaval: the birth of modernity fired and tempered in the crucible of the Great War. As millions died in this fiery chamber and the influenza pandemic that followed, lines of empires staggered to their fall, and new geo-political boundaries were scored in the raw, red flesh of Europe. The decade of 1910 to 1919 also heralded a prolific period of artistic experimentation. It marked the beginning of the social and artistic age of modernity and, with it, the nascent beginnings of a new art form: film. We still live in the shadow of this violent, traumatic and fertile age; haunted by the ghosts of Flanders and Gallipoli and its ripples of innovation and creativity. Something happened here, but to understand how and why is not easy; for the documentary images we carry with us in our collective cultural memory have become what Baudrillard refers to as simulacra. Detached from their referents, they have become referents themselves, to underscore other, grand narratives in television and Hollywood films. The personal histories of the individuals they represent so graphically–and their hope, love and loss–are folded into a national story that serves, like war memorials and national holidays, to buttress social myths and values. And, as filmic images cross-pollinate, with each iteration offering a new catharsis, events that must have been terrifying or wondrous are abstracted. In this paper we first discuss this transformation through reference to theories of documentary and memory–this will form a conceptual framework for a subsequent discussion of the short film Anmer. Produced by the first author in 2010, Anmer is a visual essay on documentary, simulacra and the symbolic narratives of history. Its form, structure and aesthetic speak of the confluence of documentary, history, memory and dream. Located in the first decade of the twentieth century, its non-linear narratives of personal tragedy and poetic dreamscapes are an evocative reminder of the distance between intimate experience, grand narratives, and the mythologies of popular films. This transformation of documentary sources not only played out in the processes of the film’s production, but also came to form its theme.

BIFF to BAPFF: considering 'festival memory' in the face of innovation and change

As an art form, film has arguably always functioned as a stronghold for memory. Memories unfold in the stories told on screen, and remain preserved in the experiences of the audience viewing the film, at a particular time and place. The environment of a film festival further alters the viewing experience and its relationship to memory. The Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) was founded in 1992. After considerable disruption due to economic and socio-political changes, it took place for the last time in 2013. The change in BIFF’s leadership and programming agenda significantly impacted the festival’s image and its position on the wider festival circuit. Through an examination of cinema and memory) it will be argued that film festivals operate as (temporary) sites of memory, through the programming and screening of films, engagement with local audiences, and promotion of film culture. This specific and unique ‘festival memory’ inextricably links to the audience and the venue, and is curated by the festival programmers and staff, who carry a wealth of knowledge (not necessarily recorded), of past festivals, successes, and failures. The people involved, the festival staff and audience, act as caretakers of this ‘festival memory.’ This essay will therefore examine how the BIFF and its home, the Regent Theatre, have functioned as crucial ‘sites of memory’ for film and film culture in Brisbane, Australia.

Farewelling the regent: Considering 'festival memory' in the face of innovation and change

The rapid expansion of the international film festival circuit has included the loss of smaller, but well established festivals, often due to the perceived need for constant innovation and change. The Brisbane International Film Festival was founded in 1992. After considerable disruption to the festival’s leadership, programme and location due to economic and socio-political changes, it was held for the last time in 2013. Nafus and Anderson cite the term ‘lieux de memoire’, meaning ‘sites of memory’, as a place of “remembrance that exist(s) in a social world that constantly seeks to get ahead of itself, to “innovate” (Nafus and Anderson in Cefkin 2009, 141). The concept of ‘festival memory’ has not yet been explored in any depth, but such significant shifts in festivals such as BIFF are arguably sites where festival histories and identities, and film knowledge itself, can be irretrievably lost.

Common past, divided memories: historical memory of the Polish minority members in Lithuania

The Master’s thesis examines historical memory of the Polish minority members in Lithuania with regard to how their interpretation of the common Polish-Lithuanian history reiterates or differs from the official Polish and Lithuanian narratives conveyed by the school textbooks. History teaching in high schools carries a crucial state-supported role of “identity building policies” – it maintains a national narrative of memory, which might be exclusive to minorities and their peculiar understanding of history. Lithuanians Poles, in this regard, represent a national minority, which is exposed to two conflicting national narratives of the common past – Polish and Lithuanian. As members of the Polish nation, their understanding of the common Polish-Lithuanian history is conditioned by the Polish historical narrative, acquired as part of the collective memory of the family and/or different minority organizations. On the other hand, they encounter Lithuanian historical narrative of the Polish-Lithuanian past throughout the secondary school history education, where the curriculum, even if taught in Polish, largely represents the Lithuanian point of view. The concept of collective memory is utilized to refer to collective representations of national memory (i.e. publicly articulated narratives and images of collective past in history textbooks) as well as to socially framed individual memories (i.e. historical memory of minority members, where individual remembering is framed by the social context of their identity). The thesis compares the official national historical narratives in Lithuania and Poland, as conveyed by the Polish and Lithuanian history textbooks. The consequent analysis of qualitative interviews with the Polish minority members in Lithuania offers insights into historical memory of Lithuanian Poles and its relation to the official Polish and Lithuanian national narratives of the common past. Qualitative content analysis is applied in both parts of the analysis. The narratives which emerge from the interview data could be broadly grouped into two segments. First, a more pronounced view on the past combines the following elements: i) emphasis on the value of multicultural and diverse past of Lithuania, ii) contestation of “Lithuanocentricity” of the Lithuanian narrative and iii) rejection of the term “occupation”, based on the cultural presuppositions – the dominant position of Polish culture and language in the Vilnius region, symbolic belonging and “Lithuanianness” of the local Poles. While the opposition to the term of “occupation” is in accord with the official Polish narrative conveyed by the textbooks, the former two elements do not neatly adhere to either Polish or Lithuanian textbook narratives. They should rather be considered as an expression of claims for inclusion of plural pasts into Lithuanian collective memory and hence as claims for symbolic enfranchisement into the Lithuanian “imagined community”. The second strand of views, on the other hand, does not exclude assertions about the historically dominant position of Polish culture in Lithuania, but at the same time places more emphasis on the political and historical continuity of the Lithuanian state and highlights a long-standing symbolic connectedness of Vilnius and Lithuania, thus, striking a middle way between the Polish and Lithuanian interpretations of the past.