Culture Wars in Brazil: The First Vargas Regime, 1930-1945. DARYLE WILLIAMS: Durham, NC : Duke University Press, 2001.

Abstract

Daryle Williams' Culture Wars in Brazil: The First Vargas Regime, 1930-1945 offers a clear picture of the conflict between culture and politics during the Vargas era. Williams begins by placing the term "culture wars" in a Brazilian context, noting that in comparison to the United States, Brazilian culture wars are held on a much smaller scale, mainly restricted to the cultural elite. Within the first few pages of the text, Williams qualifies his use of the term suggesting that, during the Vargas era, culture wars occur in Brazil when there is a dispute over who controls images of national identity. For Williams, the term culture wars embraces a myriad of genres including, but not limited to, fine art, museums, expositions, architecture, literature, radio and film. Under Vargas, these areas become pawns for political players who each want the right to define a modern Brazil. Williams' key argument is that state-sponsored culture took on a new and very complex meaning during the Vargas regime.