The genre of live studio audience programmes in a political context: The Flavio Cavalcanti Show and the Brazilian military regime

Abstract

This essay aims to contribute to television genre theory by integrating a historical approach with the main concepts of field theory developed by Pierre Bourdieu. I analyzed live studio audience programs aired during the military regime in Brazil as a television genre that is deeply affected by three separate and often colliding forces: its own production rationale, the hierarchical relations between television genres and the political context, and the power relations in society. The present article focuses on Brazilian television host Flavio Calvacanti and his shows, broadcasted by the Tupi Network during the military regime period (1964–85). Despite their immense popularity, and although at least ostensibly they had no ideological pretences and Flavio Cavalcanti even openly endorsed the military regime, his live studio shows were resented by the military leadership and taken off the air for a number of years. Instead of the seemingly almost perfect harmony between the military regime and the entertainment genres, the present analysis focuses on the internal dynamics of live studio shows and the impact of the political context on their survival on the small screen.