Cinema’s Milieu: Negotiating the movies’ public and popular dimensions in early twentieth-century Brazil

Abstract

Drawing on extensive archival research, this paper examines the controversies over the place and the role of cinema in early twentieth-century Brazil. It situates these debates in the context of Brazil’s struggle to come to terms with the powerful forces of modernity, in particular with issues of race, immigration, class formation and conflict, and changing gender roles. Tracing the discourses of Brazil’s cultural elites and also the practical responses of film entrepreneurs and exhibitors, the paper discusses how these interactions overlapped with changes taking place in Brazil’s cinematic landscape and illustrates how they had profound effects on film content, its function, and exhibition practices.