The Brazilian Television Mini-Series: Representing the Culture, Values and Identity of a Nation Niall P. Brennan A thesis submitted to the Department of Media and Communications of the London School of Economics and Political Science for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, August 2012. Declaration I certify that the thesis presented by me for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree is solely my own work, other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others, and that the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it. I authorize that the thesis I present for examination for the MPhil/PhD Degree shall, if a degree is awarded, be deposited in the LSE library (and, if appropriate, the University of London library) and that, subject to the conditions set out below, it may be made available for public reference, inter-library loan and copying. I authorize the LSE or University authorities as appropriate to supply a copy of the abstract of my thesis for inclusion in any published list of theses offered for higher degrees in British universities or in any supplement to these lists, or for consultation in any central file of abstracts of such theses. I authorize the LSE and University of London libraries, or their designated agents, to make a microform or digital copy of my thesis for inter-library loan and the supply of copies. I understand that before my thesis is made available for public reference, inter-library loan and copying, the following statement will have been included at the beginning: The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the author’s prior written consent. I authorize LSE and/or the University of London to make a microform or digital copy of my thesis in due course as the archival copy for permanent retention as a substitute for the original copy. I warrant that this authorization does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I understand that if the examiners do not approve my thesis, this declaration will become void. 2 Abstract This thesis investigates the Brazilian television mini-series as a cultural form in the media landscape of Brazil, examining it as a reflection of the political, cultural and social history of Brazil. The research question asks in what ways does the Brazilian television mini- series represent continuity and change in Brazilian national culture, values and identity. In this thesis, I construct a theoretical framework based on two strands of the concept of hybridity: the sociocultural dimensions of hybridity in the postcolonial context, and the textual-generic implications of hybridity for popular texts, their producing institutions, and their readers and viewers. Methodologically, my sample consists of 41 mini-series from a twenty-five year production history. I also engage with press commentary on the mini-series and conduct interviews with mini-series creators. The analysis examines the discourses that these sources produce in tandem with tools from television studies. In this study, I find that Brazilian national culture is represented by geography and gender. Geography serves as a physical and symbolic mode of representation in the mini-series. We witness historical and contemporary negotiations of the temporal and spatial divides that separate the foreign from the Brazilian, and we often follow stories about ‘becoming Brazilian’. Gender appears through a practice-based discourse that informs the difference between the emotional and educational dimensions of the genre. Gender also appears in the mini-series narratives through the archetypes of sufferer and malandro, who in turn reflect the transgressions and the limits of gendered representations in Brazilian popular culture. In relation to national values, I find a continuous dialectical exchange between authority and resistance in the mini-series’ historical and contemporary representations of Brazil. Not only do authority and resistance transcend the value frameworks of class, family, morals and politics in the mini-series narratives, but they also inform the ways in which creators assert their position in the space of Brazilian television production. Critics express resistance to the narratives and the institutions producing the mini-series as well, which enables us to recognize a wariness of the historical tendency of Brazilian television to insert its values into the public sphere. Finally, I find that Brazilian national identity is represented by a mix of foreign and national traditions in the mini-series form, and by strategies that differ from conventional narrative modes. These qualities demonstrate the persistence of tensions between the foreign and the national and imitation and originality that have defined negotiations with modernity in Brazil, but they also show how these tensions have shifted inward to reflect Brazil’s changing awareness of its role on a global stage. In addition to the social, cultural, political and institutional dimensions of Brazilian experience that this study reveals through the mini-series, it adds to knowledge on the ways in which cultural forms enter and shape public discourse about nationhood. 3 Acknowledgements There are many people to thank along the path that ended with this work, and who span three continents. In Brazil, I would like the thank a few people at Globo, namely Viviane Tanner at Globo Universidade for generously donating many mini-series that helped form the sample of this study. I would also like to thank Laura Martins and team at Centro de Documentação da TV Globo for providing me with access to valuable archival information. I am grateful to the (then) Central Periferia production team at Central Globo de Produção in Jacarepaguá for inviting me into their professional worlds and for opening doors to other contacts. In Rio de Janeiro, I also thank emeritus Professor João Luís van Tilburg of the Pontificate Catholic University for guidance and access to years’ of press material. In São Paulo I am grateful to Professor Maria Immacolata Vassallo de Lopes of the University of São Paulo for advice and availing to me the resources of her research unit, now Centro de Estudos de Telenovela. Primarily, I am grateful to the creators who revealed their passion for and commitment to the Brazilian television mini-series. They remain anonymous, but their contributions to this work exceed their identities. But I could not have achieved this work without the help of Wanderley Freire Ramos Filho, who ‘pushed me from the nest’ in Rio de Janeiro, and inspired me to examine Brazil through Brazilian television. In the UK, I am grateful to my supervisor, Professor Sonia Livingstone, who unearthed her own background in popular television forms and their national significance to guide me to the cornerstones of this study. Sonia also helped me to reconnect the scattered pieces of this study and see me through fieldwork in Brazil from afar. I am also thankful to Professors Lilie Chouliaraki and Robin Mansell for useful readings and advice. Additionally, I could not have completed this work without the critical intervention of some dear friends: Ulla Rannikko, Julie Uldam, Maximillian Hänska-Ahy, Mehita Iqani, Maria Kyriakidou and Jess Baines. In Ireland, I relied on the emotional, intellectual and physical support of my family, particularly Sister Brid Brennan, Sister and Dr. Nano Brennan and Brendan and Rosaleen Brennan. Without them, I could not call Dublin and Galway home again. In the US is where my gratitude reaches deepest. My parents, Professors Carol Blair and Patrick Brennan, have shown by example that academic pursuits are human pursuits; that to try to understand the world is not a disciplinary, but a moral engagement. I am grateful for their love and support in ways I cannot begin to explain. Finally, without the arguments, insights, support and love of my best friend and partner, Helene Kim, this work would not have come to fruition. Thank you, Helene. 4 Dedication This work is dedicated to the memory of Professor Roger Silverstone, who impressed upon me the power of a nation’s stories. This work is also dedicated to the memory of my uncle, Professor Paul Brennan, who, like me, made the ‘foreign’ his home. Finally, I dedicate this thesis to the memory of Sister Katherine Burke, ‘fellow squatter’, educator and mostly, friend. I wish they could see the results of what they encouraged. 5 Table of Contents 1 Introduction ..................................................................................... 11 1.1 When in Brazil ........................................................................................................ 11 1.1.1 The Telenovela and the Mini-series .................................................................. 11 1.1.2 Brazilian Television: Negotiating Modernity ............................................... 13 1.1.3 Brazilian Television Today .............................................................................. 16 1.2 Locating Culture ..................................................................................................... 18 1.2.1 The Good, the Ugly and the Necessary: Elite, Mass and Popular Culture ............................................................................................................. 18 1.2.2 Recovering Popular Culture ............................................................................ 20 1.2.3 The Dialectics of