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BBC NEWS | Programmes | From Our Own Correspondent | No stereotypes please - we're Brazilian

Nostereotypespleasewe'reBrazilian
BySteveKingstone
BBCNews,Brazil
WhatcomestomindwhenIsayBrazil?Dazzlingfootballskills?Carnivalcelebrations?
Ormorenegativeimagesofurbanpovertyandgunviolence?Eitherway,Brazilians
caredeeplyaboutwhattherestofusthink.
IfyouvisitLatinAmerica'slargestnation,bewareofthefollowingfourwords:"Doyoulike
Brazil?"
You'llhearthemfromataxidriver,ahotelporter,ormaybeanimmigrationofficerbeforeyou
haveactuallysetfootinthecountry.
Iwouldsuggestthreepossibleanswers.
"Yes.""Definitelyyes."And:"Yes,BrazilisthegreatestcountryI'veeverseen."
Anyvariationontheabovewillbemetwithawoundedexpressionand,quitepossibly,acritical
riposteaboutyourowncountry.
Ifthatsoundsflippant,comehereandtryit.Thisisafascinating,beautifulcountry,whose
peopleareoptimisticandfulloflife.
BrandBrazil
Butbehindthecarefreeexteriorisanationdeeplyconcerned,perhapsevenparanoid,about
whatoutsidersthink.

AsfarasIwasconcerned,brandBrazilequalledlaidbackcool
andheretheywereworryingaboutwhattheBritish,theCanadians
ortheBelgiansmightthinkofthem

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BBC NEWS | Programmes | From Our Own Correspondent | No stereotypes please - we're Brazilian

Twonewfilmsgotmethinkingaboutthissensitiveissue.
ThefirstiscalledOlharEstrangeiro(ThroughtheEyesofaForeigner),aBraziliandocumentary
pokingfunatHollywoodstereotypesofthiscountry.
Init,wemeetthepineapplewearingCarmenMiranda,bikinicladbeautiesdefendingthe
Amazon,andastreamofmovievillainsheadingforRioHollywood'sdestinationofchoicefor
anyoneontherun.
Interestingly,thestereotypethatdrewgaspsofindignation,wasthesuggestionthatBrazilian
womenrunaroundtoplessonthebeach.Fortherecord,it'snottrue.
Publicimage
Inthedocumentary,starsincludingMichaelCaineandJohnVoightlaughalongwiththejoke,
cheerfullyadmittingtheinaccuraciesandidiociesoftheirownBrazilianmovies.
ButIcameawaywonderingwhythefilm'stalenteddirectorhadinvestedsomuchtimeinthe
project.Afterall,lotsofplacesarestereotypedbyHollywoodthinkofParis,forexample.Thisis
notacaseofBrazilbeingsingledout.
ButifOlharEstrangeirowastheappetiser,theredmeatoftheidentitydebatewasservedupby
anAmericanfilm,Turistas,whichwasreleasedintheUSinDecemberandhasjusthitcinemas
here.
Asthenamesuggests,itportraysagroupofyoungAmericantouristsenjoyingthedelightsofan
exoticdestination.Buttheyfallvictimtoagangofkidnapperslookingtoextractandsellhuman
organs.

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BBC NEWS | Programmes | From Our Own Correspondent | No stereotypes please - we're Brazilian

AmericanreviewsquicklydepictedTuristasasamindlessgorefest,barelyworththepriceof
entry.Thatmighthavebeentheendofthematter,exceptTuristasissetinBrazil.
CueoutragedpostingsonBrazilianwebsiteshoninginonthefactthatforeignersinthemovie
arehackedtodeathbysinisterjungledwellers.
"TheAmericansthinkwe'recannibals,"screamedoneoutragedblogger.Anothercomplainedthat
thefilmlikenedallBrazilianstonativeIndiansormonkeys.
"Whydon'ttheymakeafilmabouttheatrocitiesinIraq?"wasacommonresponse.Others
pointedtoviolenceintheUS,notablyhighschoolshootings.
Atanofficiallevel,youmighthaveexpectedtheBrazilianauthoritiestomaintainadignified
silence.Insteadthenationaltouristboardannouncedthatitwouldmonitortheimpactofthefilm
intheUnitedStates,guaranteeingitmorepublicity.
AllofwhichIfoundpuzzling.CouldthisreallybetheBrazilofpopularimagination?Wherelifeis
livedatfullvolume,wherethebeach,thefootballpitch,thestreetspulsatewithauniqueenergy.
AsfarasIwasconcerned,brandBrazilequalledlaidbackcool.Andheretheywereworrying
aboutwhattheBritish,theCanadians,theBelgiansmightthinkofthem.
IputthattosomeBrazilianfriends.SomereadilyadmittedwhatIhadcometosuspect:thatthe
bravadoandblustermaskwassomethingclosetoanationalinferioritycomplex.
Growingpains
ABraziliancolleaguesaidtheworld'sfifthlargestcountrywasdesperatetobetakenseriously,to
punchitsweightglobally.
Butdeepdown,shesaid,manyBrazilianswerestillinaweofnationsperceivedtobemore
developed.ShesaidpraisefromthosecountrieswasseenasanaffirmationofBrazil'sambitions,
whilecriticismwastakentoheart.
Sherecalledthatthegovernmenthererecentlylaunchedapublicitydrivetoboostthenation's
selfesteem.Thesloganis:"ThebestofBrazilistheBrazilianpeople."
AnotherBrazilianfrienddescribedthiscountryasahormonallychallengedadolescentinthe
globalfamilyofnationsbesetbygrowingpainsandpricklywhenofferedadvice.
HesaidTuristashadhitanervebecause,howevercrudely,ithighlightedgenuineproblemshere,
likerobbery,kidnapand,yes,organtrafficking.
Butitwaseasier,myfriendsaid,forBrazilianstoattackthetoneofatrashyAmericanBmovie,
thantofaceuptosuchproblemsthemselves.
Allveryrevealingselfanalysis,buttomethereisstillsomethingunfathomableaboutthe
combinationofattitudeandangst.
CoulditbethattheBrazilianshavethemostswaggeringinferioritycomplexintheworld?The
nexttimeI'masked"DoyoulikeBrazil?",Iwillreplyunequivocally:"Yes,it'sagreatcountry.
Butyoushouldn'tneedme,oranyotherforeigner,totellyouso."
FromOurOwnCorrespondentwasbroadcastonThursday,22February,2007at1100
GMTonBBCRadio4.PleasechecktheprogrammeschedulesforWorldService
transmissiontimes.

StoryfromBBCNEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr//2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6383919.stm
Published:2007/02/2213:56:49GMT
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