Portrait of Marielle: Animation, Artivism and Intersectional Feminism
(DRAFT. Do not cite without permission of the authors)
Andrea Medrado, Universidade Federal Fluminense E-mail: [email protected] Isabella Rega, Bournemouth University E-mail: [email protected].
Gender and Communication Section (GEC) ExOrdo Submission ID Number: 2169
Portrait of Marielle: Animation, Artivism and Intersectional Feminism
Introduction This paper aims to demonstrate how the animation Portrait of Marielle acts as mediator in a journey between fear and hope, establishing connections between artivists (artists who are activists) in Brazil and Kenya. The study results from the activities of the eVoices Network, which investigates different uses of media technologies to combat marginalisation in both countries. We suggest that theoretical perspectives from intersectional feminism (Crenshaw, 1991) and, particularly, from the work of black Brazilian female authors (Ribeiro, 2017; Akotirene, 2019) provide a useful path for this journey. The paper is based on the experience of conducting the animation workshop “Portrait of Marielle”, produced with Kenyan art-ivists to pay homage to the Brazilian Human Rights activist and politician Marielle Franco. We have adopted an ethnographic approach, conducting participant observations during the workshop in Nairobi and the screening of the animation in Rio de Janeiro. Additionally, we have interviewed ten artivists in Nairobi and ten mediactivists in Rio. We wish to argue that artivism is essentially transformative. This is why animation, with its special ability to put images into motion, emerges as an excellent tool for such transformations.
Intersectional Feminism: binding realities. Intersectional feminism provides a useful conceptual umbrella to frame our discussion of how mediactivism, and particularly, art-ivism play an important role in allowing marginalised people to narrate their own realities in their own terms. It is related (but not restricted to) third- wave feminism when women of colour, LGBTQ+, disabled and working class women pointed out the urgent need for a more inclusive feminism. These women, such as bell hooks (2000) offered a critique on how the feminist movement had placed a much greater emphasis on the experiences of white and upper middle class women, becoming elitist in nature. Because of this, feminist activists recognised that the movement should urgently address the multiple layers of oppression that women face and that this should include class and race among many other aspects. It was precisely in this context that the intersectional feminism started to thrive. As Crenshaw (1991) puts it, the intersectionality perspective reveals the multiple facets and layers of oppression that different women in distinct contexts have to face on a daily basis.
In Brazil, Ribeiro (2017) has coined the expression “lugar de fala”, which has reached beyond academic circles, being adopted by activists, politicians, journalists, amongst many groups of people interested in the power relations and dynamics involved in discourse. “Lugar de fala” can be literally translated as “place of speech”. The expression refers to the enunciator’s identity in terms of race, gender, sexual orientation, and class – amongst many other elements – and how such identity elements inform and shape that person’s experiences and worldviews. Importantly, this has represented an attempt to make groups that have been historically privileged in society reflect upon their own privileges. The idea is to ensure that marginalised groups in society have a place to speak out about their own experiences of marginalization. The closest equivalent in English would be the expression “locus of enunciation”, widely adopted in post-colonial studies. It means to think from where you are located, not just in a physical, but also in a social and cultural sense. This implies in identifying and sharing personal experiences of oppression, which will then make it easier for people from different identity groups to empathise and, in some cases, recognise their own privileges. This could then result in more dialogue about inequality, sexism and prejudice in the workplace and to initiatives that could tackle these issues.
The concept of “locus of enunciation” has been interpreted in an overly literal manner, which limits its socially transformative potential. According to this interpretation, people would not allowed to speak about a particular issue unless they belong to that specific identity group (Haider, 2018; Risério, 2019). Drawing from the work of Brazilian black feminists such as Djamila Ribeiro (2017) and Carla Akotirene (2019), we wish to argue that this call for a sweeping solidarity can only work if accompanied by a deep feeling of empathy. In other words, feelings of solidarity, and the resulting mobilisation power that emerges from it, can only occur if people acquire a deeper understanding and, indeed, empathise with the different forms of oppression that other identity groups are subjected to. Based on these reflections, we wish to argue that intersectional feminism is not divisive; rather, it is about breaking away from an unequal society by developing new social projects and models (2017, p. 9).
Animation and Marielle Franco: shared and inclusive loci of enunciations The idea of employing animation in the eVoices project came when we had the second meeting of the network in May 2018 with activists, community leaders and favela residents in Brazil. This took place in the Maré Museum, the first museum in Brazil to be located inside the borders of a favela area. At that time, the Brazilian community was shaken by the recent murder of Rio de Janeiro City Councillor Marielle Franco in 14 March 2018. She was born in Complexo da Maré, the same place where the Maré Museum is located. She was the only black woman working as a city councillor in the city of Rio. (Silva, 2018). As of the time of writing, her brutal murder remains unsolved. Marielle’s life illustrates what it means to be marginalised in Brazilian society in many intersectional levels. For this reason, Paula Callus, a member of the eVoices network who works with animation, suggested that her story could establish a narrative thread to create an animated short piece, connecting the daily struggles of marginalised communities in Brazil and Kenya. She then invited Ng’endo Mukii, an award winning filmmaker from Nairobi, to conduct a four-day animation workshop with young artists. The workshop was held from 20 to 23 August 2018 at PAWA 254, an organisation that serves as a hub for art-ivists in Kenya.
The workshop format, chosen by Paula Callus and Ng’endo Mukii, favoured collaborative practices, this implied that the artists had to establish meaningful dialogues with each other, drawing parallels between their own life realities and the realities of marginalised communities in Brazil. Therefore, in what follows, we wish to demonstrate the ways in which the connective and transformative power of animation places this medium at the intersection of activism, politics, and emotions. In this context of fear, oppression, and exclusion of those who remain at the margins of society, art-ivism emerges as a powerful tool of communication and connection, offering counter perspectives to simplistic discourses.
Conducting the animation workshop: Portrait of Marielle. After Andrea Medrado introduced the Kenyan art-ivists to Marielle’s story, the group discussed the parallels between the two countries. The Kenyans raised similar issues on how urban youths were turned against each other and criminalised; despite the large differences in terms of policing and public safety policies in Brazil and Kenya, what matters here is that they have similar consequences on people’s daily lives. This initial moment of reflection on how different realities can resonate with each other’s was key to create investment and commitment in the endeavour of creating a tribute to Marielle.
The workshop involved a staged process, using video source material that served two ends – an educational purpose and an aesthetic purpose. The educational was to teach artists how to use their own practices to make animation. The aesthetic element explored a combination of video footage and other materials operated to locate the images within a documentary genre. What matters the most here is how these animations can carry themes of identity, social and political commentary.
The first stage of production included selecting various film and video footage of Marielle, news clips of protests and manifestations, and video footage of Maré (location). We captured and exported these clips as sequential frames. The initial selection was reduced to a few choice sequences, which were then printed out as a series of images on A4 paper, all together 900 frames. Artists were be expected intervene upon these images, using different materials in an iterative process. They were encouraged to consider how their own mark making on the original image can play or relate to them and to the message. The workshop conveners asked them to think of three questions when working on the images1:
Q1. How are you affecting the image? Q2. If you are erasing the image - what does the say about the ‘erasure’ of Marielle? Q3. What are the intrinsic connections between the materials and processes you are using, and the theme you are exploring in the images you make?
The next stage involved collecting and scanning over 900 images that had been created by the artists and transform them in an animated video.
1 Paula Callus, Production Notes, 16/10/2018
Screen captures – Animation Portrait of Marielle (1’57”) – YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPsqlwZ2_WY&t=7s
The artist A-Zee Coptel created the soundtrack based on a Brazilian song called “É D’Oxum”, by Gerômino. Close friends of Marielle said that she loved this song and there is a video of her dancing to it to celebrate her campaign victory in 2016. A-Zee adapted the song to a Kenyan beat and added lyrics in Sheng, the urban language that combines Kiswahili, English, and other native languages, such as Kikuyu and Luyha. The lyrics describe a process in which the Kenyan artists connect to the Brazilians’ grieving, but draw inspiration from Marielle’s legacy to find hope and carry on fighting for the rights of those who are oppressed and marginalised.
The animation workshop process allowed the Kenyan artists to establish a close dialogue with each other, which then provided opportunities for a deeper level of empathy with the Brazilian activists who were dealing with the loss of a friend and an advocate for their rights. They were able to establish empathy through an emotional journey that started with shared feelings of fear and despair, which were then transformed to hope. Such shared emotions have surfaced from Ng’endo Mukii’s own evaluation of the workshop process:
"It’s like a collective loss. In Nairobi, we are broken hearted for Marielle in Rio. This connection is very strong and it made the piece intimate. People can become aware that they are not alone because when you are fighting you always think that you are on your own. The issue is that they want to separate us, but we have very similar struggles”. (Ng’endo Mukii, discussing during the screening session of Portrait of Marielle, 23/08/2018)
The journey of the animation “Portrait of Marielle” completed its circle by returning to the place were Marielle was from, Favela da Maré. The animation was screened for activists and residents during the event “A Conversation with Ng’endo Mukii”, which was held on 08 December 2018. In addition to the screening, the staff at Museu da Maré organised an exhibition with the 900 frames with interventions of Kenyan artists on the A4 papers with images used to produce the animation. One of the participants and friends of Marielle summarises the power of art-ivism as a force for the transformation of demobilising feelings into counter subversive feelings of connection:
“There have been many films made about Marielle. I have to confess that this is the only one that does not make me feel uncomfortable. I was trying to think about why this is the case. The thing is many of these films that honour Marielle, they say things like: Marielle, present!, Marielle, alive! And of course I understand what Marielle represents now, how she has become larger than life. They mean to say that her struggle is alive. But the truth is, as her close friend, I know that she is no longer present, she is no longer alive. She is not here with us anymore and that really hurts. But this film is about connection. And if I can use one word to describe Marielle, that word is connection. She was really good at connecting people and connecting with people, and making things happens. I find it consoling that some young people across the planet, people who never met her, were able to connect to her story and to her struggle. They way that they were able to print their own realities in her images… the Kenyan language in the Brazilian song… This connection shows all over the film. (Ethnographic field notes, 08 December 2018).
Conclusions: The Transformative Power of Animation We would like to conclude this paper reflecting on the transformative quality of animation and of art-ivism as a practice. The transformative feature of animation goes beyond the technical aspects of the production of Portrait of Marielle. Firstly, as we can see in the images, the artists intervened upon the still images to transform them into something meaningful for their realities. Secondly, as we know, the magic of animation lies precisely on how the still image transforms into a moving image. Thirdly, the Kenyan artists, with no previous knowledge of animation, transformed into animation artists and art-ivists themselves. Yet, the fourth and most important aspect here is how the artists, who also had no previous knowledge of the Brazilian context and of Marielle’s story, used animation to reflect on their own identity and to form connections with activists on the other side of the globe.
This last point also emerges from an interview with Ng’endo Mukii. When asked if she considers herself an art-ivist, her first reaction is to say “no”. Then, she starts reflecting on the nature of her work until she finally admits to having an activist side, which shows more strongly in films like Portrait of Marielle. Interestingly, for her, activism needs to be active, and most importantly, it needs to be collective:
I don’t think so… I just get tired… I have other things I want to do. I want come home, and sit on my couch, and pat my cat’s head, and watch Netflix. I want to do simple things, you know… and I understand that activists also have lives outside of their activism, I don’t know… maybe I am a background activist… I haven’t… because I’m even thinking about my photography now and I’m seeing that it’s about human trafficking, human labour, the other series is about colonialism and imperial expansion… I did a series about petals, about flowers, that was nice. I just feel like activists need to be more active. Animation is so slow. It’s so processed. I feel that activism needs more speed so where I might agree with you is for the films like the Marielle film that we made and the Wangari Maathai film that I made in Brazil. So these two films I feel that they are more like activism than my other films. The other films are all dealing with societal questions and that kind of thing but then I feel that to be properly an activist you need to be responding and responding with speed and with a really specific intention. I think being alone animating by yourself feels less like activism whereas working in a group, informing people about certain topics, sharing a message with young people. I find that feels more active and more like activism somehow. (Interview with Ng’endo Mukii by Isabella Rega, 05/02/2019)
References
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Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of colour. Stanford Law Review, Stanford, vol. 43, 1241-1299.
Haider, Asad (2018). Mistaken Identity: Race and Class in the Age of Trump. London and New York City: Verso Books. hooks, bell (2000). Feminism is for everybody: Passionate politics. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.
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Risério, Antonio (2019). Sobre o Relativismo Pós-Moderno e a Fantasia Fascista da Esquerda Identitária. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Topbooks.
Silva, Paula (2018). Negras na Política: Por que Marielle era Única. Revista AzMina, 21 March 2018. Retrieved from: https://azmina.com.br/reportagens/os-negras-na-politica- entenda-porque-marielle-era-unica/