Associated Readings
-
Kees Koonings, “Violence, Crime, and Insecurity since 2000: Local Dynamics and the Limitations of Federal Response,” pp. 150–75
- Erika Larkins, selections from The Spectacular Favela, pp. 109-137
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Dave Zirin, “Target-Favelas,” pp. 173-204
Associated Films
“City of God” (2002, 130 minutes; sources: STL, Netflix/DVD, Blockbuster, Amazon.com)
I. Outsider Fantasies of Rio de Janeiro
With the FIFA Soccer World Cup in Brazil in 2014 and the Summer Olympics coming in *one month* (!), the city of Rio de Janeiro is getting a lot of attention these days. Known as "the marvelous city" (a cidade maravilhosa), Rio has long functioned in the imagination of outsiders as a symbol for Brazil itself--or rather, for outsiders' fantasies of Brazil. On the one had, Rio evokes images of beautiful beaches populated by scant-clad women and men,
On the other hand, Rio increasingly triggers associations with urban violence, kidnapping, and flying bullets. You can see the full range of these associations and stereotypes in the following 10-minutes clip from The Simpsons --> http://youtu.be/os9BbZ_MGdwd. (Enjoy!)
Comedic value aside, this Simpsons episode serves as a reminder about something important: that stereotypes utterly pervade our understandings of Rio (and of Brazil more generally). The reading by Erika Larkins will take you deep into the favelas of Rio, giving powerful and troubling accounts of how ordinary favela residents position themselves in different ways in relation to the drug trade, to gangs, and to tourists. The amazing film, "City of God" (for this week's film forum) presents the violent, intersecting trajectories of a group of boys growing up in one of Rio's largest favelas.
PART 2. Conclusions
With the FIFA Soccer World Cup in Brazil in 2014 and the Summer Olympics coming in *one month* (!), the city of Rio de Janeiro is getting a lot of attention these days. Known as "the marvelous city" (a cidade maravilhosa), Rio has long functioned in the imagination of outsiders as a symbol for Brazil itself--or rather, for outsiders' fantasies of Brazil. On the one had, Rio evokes images of beautiful beaches populated by scant-clad women and men,
On the other hand, Rio increasingly triggers associations with urban violence, kidnapping, and flying bullets. You can see the full range of these associations and stereotypes in the following 10-minutes clip from The Simpsons --> http://youtu.be/os9BbZ_MGdwd. (Enjoy!)
Comedic value aside, this Simpsons episode serves as a reminder about something important: that stereotypes utterly pervade our understandings of Rio (and of Brazil more generally). The reading by Erika Larkins will take you deep into the favelas of Rio, giving powerful and troubling accounts of how ordinary favela residents position themselves in different ways in relation to the drug trade, to gangs, and to tourists. The amazing film, "City of God" (for this week's film forum) presents the violent, intersecting trajectories of a group of boys growing up in one of Rio's largest favelas.
PART 2. Conclusions
Readings
- Arias and Goldstein, concluding chapter by Arias: “Conclusion: Understanding Violent Pluralism.” In Violent Democracies in Latin America, pp. 242–64
- Robert Gwynne and Cristóbal Kay, "The alternatives to neoliberalism," pp. 254-267 (2004)
To pull together our major course themes -- culture, politics, neoliberalism, social movements, violence, among others -- I'd like to end with a 30-minute presentation on YouTube by Prof. Noam Chomsky of MIT on future prospects for Latin America as it moves into the second decade of the 21st century. I've chosen Chomsky for his critical stance on U.S. foreign policy in Latin America (and on neoliberalism generally) and because Prof. Chomsky spoke at SUNY-New Paltz a few years ago. I hope you enjoy the clip -- Please watch parts 1, 2, and 3.
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