Sounds, Waves, and Movements: A Social History of Brazil through the Medium of Music
This is a project in progress for my DH Practicum class (Fall 2018).
Context
In 1968, when Caetano Veloso released Tropicália, this song embodied the cultural movement that personified an ideal of “Brazilianess”. The singer “organizes the movement and orients the carnival” by combining high and lowbrow elements that are merged to create a Brazilian expression that is unique because it embraces different extracts of a national identity that at times seems to be conflictive. Therefore, Brazil’s artistic legacy shows the national potential of finding itself through music, after all beats, rhythms, and melodies are more than vibrant sound waves; they are also an effective way to document history. So, considering the transformational and ideological power of music, my research focuses on looking how artistic expressions are used to promote social change while helping to shape a national identity that overcomes the fragmentations created by a history of social inequality, prejudice, corruption, and oppression.
The primary goal of this project is to understand the fundamental role of music, not only as an artistic expression, but even more importantly, as a sociopolitical manifesto in Brazil from the beginning of the 20th century till today. The purpose that lead me to pursue an academic career in the field of Literary, Cultural, and Linguistic Studies was my interest in examining how cultural works such as literature, music, and cinema are used in postcolonial settings to discuss matters of subalternity. I believe that in societies like the Brazilian one, these artistic expressions are used to overcome the fractures of a liminal identity that was inherited after centuries of subjugation. Bearing the postcolonial context in mind that connects Brazil and other former Portuguese colonies, such as Mozambique and Angola, my goal is to create an analytical project that examines the artistic patterns of “transgression” that have emerged from social movements in the Brazilian context.
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