Film, popular music and television : intertextuality in Brazilian cinema

The thesis examines the effects of the cross-fertilisation between cinematic, musical and televisual texts on depictions of two emblematic Brazilian social spaces - the favela (shantytown) and the sertdo (arid backlands) - in recently released independent and mainstream domestic productions. I argue that through processes of intertextuality recent Brazilian films have gradually transformed the, favela into a widely exposed, lucrative but also productively challenging spectacle. Similarly, the iconicity of the sertdo has been resignified allowing a new understanding of the region to emerge. My analysis of recent films set in either the favela or the sertdo also proposes that different elements, such as traditional and modern, local and non-local cultural forms, are not simply blended into a single hybrid filmic text. As these elements coexist and traverse the cinematic landscape in the contemporary moment, I insist on the fact that the idea of national culture, in Brazil as well as elsewhere, must be considered in relation to ever-changing contexts rather than in relation to prescriptive ideologies. Although film, popular music and television have in one way or another historically interacted, this aspect within the Brazilian cultural context has not been as yet systematically studied. My research thus contributes to reassessing Brazilian cinema history by exploring key examples of the aesthetic, institutional and cultural interaction between popular media in the country. The reassessment allows me to challenge established distinctions between art and popular cinema, to propose more productive ways of understanding how different media can support their mutual development, and to highlight the implications of intertextuality for new expressions of brasilidade (Brazilianness). The discussion is based on an intertextual analysis of four recent domestic films: Cidade de Deus (City of God, 2002), Lisbela e o prisioneiro (Lisbela and the Prisoner, 2003), O invasor (The Trespasser, 2001) and Baile perfumado (Perfumed Ball, 1997). I examine elements of the mise-en-scene (mainly set design and performance), editing and soundtrack to identify cross-media references, analysing them in relation to the wider cultural context in which the films have been produced and consumed.