Abstract:
This article reconstructs the genesis of two of the most expressive themes in the history of Brazilian documentary films from Paulo Emilio’s manuscripts for the course The films in the city” (1966): “the Ritual of Power, self-praise of the elites, and the Splendid Cradle, ufanism related to natural greatness. By comparing the manuscripts with the references and the work of the film historian, I intend to demonstrate how the social and cultural expressiveness of these cinematographic themes is interpreted in the light of sacred and profane cultural manifestations in 19th-century Brazil. The monarchical and ecclesiastical power rituals, processions, and the boastful cult of natural greatness raised by the historian in travel literature and in memorialistic and historical narratives to delimit the spectacular character in the genesis of the Ritual of Power and the Splendid Cradle. In general terms, bringing the course manuscripts closer to the text The Social expression of documentary films in brazilian cinema (1974), I maintain in this article that Paulo Emilio interprets the history of documentary films in the long duration of Brazil's social and cultural history and recognizes the circularity and persistence of these themes as constitutive elements of the physiognomy of the Brazilian public.
Keywords:
Paulo Emílio; Ritual of Power; Splendid Cradle; documentary films history