From the University of Cincinnati film archives comes a 1964 film that provides as much insight into Cold War thinking about Latin America as it does its ostensible subject, the prolonged drought in the sertão -- the "Barren Lives" region of Brazil.
The sertão is also the region of forró music, The widely-known Asa Branca and the more modern (if obscure) Chover are among many forró songs specifically about drought. See my Musica: Brazil page for these examples.
The film is entitled Brazil the Troubled Land, and was produced by McGraw-Hill, apparently for classroom use. I will actually be using it in my own classes, both because of the lessons it intends to convey and because of the unintended lessons about U.S. attitudes toward Brazilian peasants in particular and economic disparity in Latin America in general.
The intended lessons are about the bleak landscape of the Brazilian Northeast and the difficulties of life in perpetual drought. Visually, the 25-minute piece made for U.S. classrooms strongly resembles the 100-minute epic by Nelson Pereira dos Santos, which I studied as a film adaptation of Vidas Sêcas and as an exemplar of Brazilian Cinema Novo (New Cinema). That film can be found on Amazon and on YouTube, and preceded the classroom piece by just one year. Both films show the Northeast as a place of hard work, dry lands, and bleak prospects for those who make their living most directly from the land.
Of course, the drought is both a physical and a social phenomenon. Everyone experriences the same climate, but not everyone experiences it the same way. The Troubled Land film hints at land tenure as the real problem in the sertao, but couches this mainly about the threat that creates for the United States. The minifundio/latifundio (small farm/big farm) problem is illustrated in rather grotesque fashion, as a peasant family explains that they need more land on which to work and a fazendero jokes about killing those who try to organize.
The narrator also explains that life expectancy for peasants is in the 30s, implying that it has to do with the climate itself, rather than social inequality. From the work of La Isla Foundation among sugarcane workers in Nicaragua and elsewhere, it is evident that long hours in the hot sun with minimal hydration may make sugar harvesting one of the most dangerous occupations in the world.
But all of this is couched in terms of the threat that peasant organization might pose for the United States. Both films emerged shortly after the Cuban Revolution, and in the United States the greatest concern was not for the livelihood of workers but for the possible "domino effect" of the revolution.
The film was produced in the same year as the coup that began two decades of military dictatorship in Brazil. This was a dictatorship that had the support of the United States government, as did many in Latin America and beyond.
BRAZIL THE TROUBLED LAND (1964) from HMH Archive on Vimeo.
Geography asks three questions:
Where is it? Why is it there? So what?
~~~
Geographers apply spatial understanding to the real world.
Monday, November 09, 2015
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Blog Ideas
coffee
(25)
GEOG381
(24)
GEOG388
(23)
GEOG470
(18)
climate change
(17)
GEOG130
(16)
geography
(16)
GEOG332
(13)
GEOG431
(12)
musica
(11)
GEOG 381
(9)
Mexico
(9)
Brazil
(8)
GEOG286
(8)
Texas
(8)
education
(8)
migration
(8)
GEOG298
(7)
borderlands
(7)
GEOG199
(6)
GEOG331
(6)
Massachusetts
(6)
US-Mexico
(6)
deBlij04
(6)
immigration
(6)
GEOG 286
(5)
GEOG 332
(5)
GEOG287
(5)
climate justice
(5)
cultural geography
(5)
fair trade
(5)
food
(5)
geographic education
(5)
nicaragua
(5)
water
(5)
Arizona
(4)
GEOG 130
(4)
GEOG 171
(4)
GEOG171
(4)
GEOG295
(4)
Safina
(4)
africa
(4)
deBlij05
(4)
music
(4)
politics
(4)
Bolivia
(3)
Boston
(3)
COVID-19
(3)
Detroit
(3)
Ethiopia
(3)
Managua
(3)
Obama
(3)
border
(3)
cartography
(3)
drought
(3)
land protection
(3)
libraries
(3)
pesticides
(3)
suburban sprawl
(3)
trade
(3)
unemployment
(3)
Alaska
(2)
Amazon
(2)
Bridgewater
(2)
Canada
(2)
Chiapas
(2)
China
(2)
Colonialism
(2)
EPA
(2)
EarthView
(2)
Economy
(2)
Environment
(2)
GEOG 199
(2)
GEOG 287
(2)
Google Maps
(2)
Government
(2)
Hawaii
(2)
India
(2)
Lexington
(2)
Maldives
(2)
Mozambique
(2)
NOLA
(2)
NPR
(2)
National Monuments
(2)
National Parks
(2)
New Orleans
(2)
Religion
(2)
Rio Grande
(2)
Taunton River Wild and Scenic
(2)
Tex-Mex
(2)
The View from Lazy Point
(2)
United States
(2)
Venezuela
(2)
anthropocene
(2)
cape verde
(2)
censorship
(2)
central america
(2)
chocolate
(2)
corn
(2)
deBlij07
(2)
deforestation
(2)
demographic transition
(2)
demography
(2)
education reform
(2)
employment
(2)
environmental geography
(2)
film
(2)
forest fire
(2)
global warming
(2)
islands
(2)
librarians
(2)
maps
(2)
organic
(2)
peak oil
(2)
refugees
(2)
sense of place
(2)
soccer
(2)
sustainability
(2)
television
(2)
water rights
(2)
whales
(2)
#bbc
(1)
#nicaragua
(1)
#sosnicaragua
(1)
#sosnicaragua #nicaragua
(1)
100 Years of Solitude
(1)
ACROSS Lexington
(1)
Accents
(1)
Adam at Home
(1)
Alice
(1)
Alt.Latina
(1)
American Hustle
(1)
April
(1)
Association of american Geographers
(1)
Audubon
(1)
Aunt Hatch's Lane
(1)
BSU
(1)
Baby Boomers
(1)
Banda Aceh
(1)
Bay Circuit Trial
(1)
Bechtel
(1)
Beleza Tropical
(1)
Belize
(1)
Beloit College
(1)
Ben Linder Cafe
(1)
Bet The Farm
(1)
Bhopal
(1)
Biafra
(1)
Bikeway
(1)
Bikini
(1)
Bill Gates
(1)
Bill Moyers
(1)
Boeing 777
(1)
Brazilian
(1)
Brazilianization
(1)
Bridge
(1)
British Columbia
(1)
Brockton
(1)
Bus Fare
(1)
Bush
(1)
Cabo Verde
(1)
California
(1)
Cambridge
(1)
Cape Cod Bay
(1)
Carl Stafina
(1)
Catholic
(1)
Ceuta
(1)
Chalice
(1)
Chipko
(1)
Citgo
(1)
Climate risks
(1)
Cochabamba
(1)
Colombia
(1)
Common Core
(1)
Commuter
(1)
Computers
(1)
Cuba
(1)
Cups and Summits
(1)
Dallas
(1)
David Byrne
(1)
Deans Beans
(1)
Delaware Valley
(1)
Dunkin Donuts
(1)
Earth Day
(1)
Earth View
(1)
Easton
(1)
El Salvador
(1)
Elizabeth Warren
(1)
Ellicott City
(1)
Emilia Laime
(1)
English-only
(1)
Environmental History
(1)
Euphrates
(1)
European Union
(1)
Evo Morales
(1)
FIFA
(1)
FYS
(1)
Fades Out
(1)
Farms
(1)
First-Year Seminar
(1)
Food Trade
(1)
Frederick Kaufman
(1)
French press
(1)
Fresh Pond Mall
(1)
GEOG 388
(1)
GEOG 431
(1)
GEOG 441
(1)
GEOG213
(1)
GEOG490
(1)
Gabriel García Márquez
(1)
Garden of Gethsemane
(1)
Gas wells
(1)
Gateway Cities
(1)
General Motors
(1)
Gini Coefficient
(1)
Girl in the Cafe
(1)
Google
(1)
Gordon Hempton
(1)
Gravina Island Bridge
(1)
Great Migration
(1)
Great Molasses Flood
(1)
Guy Lombardo
(1)
Haiti
(1)
Hawks
(1)
Heart
(1)
Higher Education
(1)
History
(1)
Holyhok Lewisville
(1)
Homogenous
(1)
Honors
(1)
How Food Stopped Being Food
(1)
Hugo Chavez
(1)
IMF
(1)
Iditarod
(1)
Imperial Valley
(1)
Income Inequality
(1)
Indonesia
(1)
Iraq
(1)
Irish
(1)
Japan
(1)
Junot Diaz
(1)
Kenya
(1)
Ketchikan
(1)
Key West
(1)
Kindergarden Students
(1)
King Corn
(1)
Kiribati
(1)
Latin America
(1)
Limbaugh
(1)
Literature
(1)
Living On Earth
(1)
Louisiana
(1)
Love Canal
(1)
Luddite
(1)
M*A*S*H
(1)
MCAS
(1)
MacArthur Genius
(1)
Maersk
(1)
Malawi
(1)
Malaysia
(1)
Malaysian Air Flight 370
(1)
Mali
(1)
Manu Chao
(1)
Map
(1)
Marblehead
(1)
Mary Robinson Foundation
(1)
Maryland
(1)
Massachusetts Bay Colony
(1)
Math
(1)
Maxguide
(1)
May
(1)
Maya
(1)
Mayan
(1)
Mayan Gold
(1)
Mbala
(1)
McDonald's
(1)
Melilla
(1)
Mexicans
(1)
Michael Pollan
(1)
Michelle Obama
(1)
Micronesia
(1)
Military
(1)
Military Dictatorship
(1)
Minuteman Trail
(1)
Mongolia
(1)
Monsanto
(1)
Montana
(1)
Morocco
(1)
Mount Auburn Cemetery
(1)
Muslim
(1)
NPS
(1)
Nantucket
(1)
National Education Regime
(1)
Native American
(1)
Native Americans
(1)
New Bedford
(1)
New Hampshire
(1)
New York City
(1)
New York Times
(1)
Nigeria
(1)
No Child Left Behind Act
(1)
Norquist
(1)
North Africa
(1)
Nuts
(1)
Oakland
(1)
Oaxaca
(1)
Occupeligo
(1)
Occypy
(1)
Oklahoma
(1)
Oklahoma City
(1)
Oppression
(1)
PARCC
(1)
Pakistan
(1)
Pascal's Wager
(1)
Peanut
(1)
Pearson Regime
(1)
Philadelphia
(1)
Philippines
(1)
Pink Unicorns
(1)
Poland
(1)
Portuguese
(1)
Protest
(1)
Public Education
(1)
Puebla
(1)
Puritans
(1)
Quest University
(1)
Rachel Carson
(1)
Reading
(1)
Republican
(1)
Retro Report
(1)
Robert Reich
(1)
Rock Legend
(1)
Ronald Reagan
(1)
Rondonia
(1)
Rosa Parks
(1)
SEXCoffee
(1)
Safety
(1)
Samoza
(1)
Sandino
(1)
Sara Vowell
(1)
Save the Children
(1)
Scotch
(1)
Scotland
(1)
Seinfeld
(1)
Senegal
(1)
Sergio Mendes
(1)
Severin
(1)
Sharrod
(1)
Silent Spring
(1)
Sinatra
(1)
Slope
(1)
Smokey the Bear
(1)
Somalia
(1)
Sombra
(1)
Sonora
(1)
Sonoran desert
(1)
Sonoran hot dog
(1)
South America
(1)
Spain
(1)
Stairway to Heaven
(1)
Storm
(1)
Suare Inch of Silence
(1)
Sumatra
(1)
Swamp
(1)
Tacloban
(1)
Tanzania
(1)
The Amazon
(1)
The Amazon Trail
(1)
Tigris
(1)
Tucson
(1)
Tufts
(1)
U.S Federal Reserve
(1)
U.S Government
(1)
U.S. economy
(1)
USDA
(1)
USLE Formula
(1)
Uganda
(1)
Unfamiliar Fishes
(1)
Union Carbide
(1)
Vacation
(1)
Vexillology
(1)
Vietnam
(1)
ViralNova
(1)
WNYC Data News
(1)
Wall Street
(1)
Walsenburg
(1)
Walt Disney
(1)
Walt and El Grupo
(1)
Ward's Berry Farm
(1)
West
(1)
Whaling
(1)
Wilson
(1)
Winter Storm Saturn
(1)
Wisconsin
(1)
World Bank
(1)
Xingu
(1)
YouTube
(1)
Zombies
(1)
agriculture
(1)
antitrust
(1)
aspen
(1)
austerity
(1)
aviation
(1)
banned books
(1)
bark beetle
(1)
bean
(1)
bicycle
(1)
bicycling
(1)
bike sharing
(1)
binary
(1)
biodiversity
(1)
bioneers
(1)
books
(1)
boston globe
(1)
cacao
(1)
cafe
(1)
campaign
(1)
campus
(1)
cantonville
(1)
capitals
(1)
carbon dioxide
(1)
carbon offsets
(1)
carioca
(1)
cash
(1)
cashews
(1)
census
(1)
chemex
(1)
chemistry
(1)
chronology
(1)
churrasco
(1)
civil rights
(1)
coffee grounds
(1)
coffee hell
(1)
coffee prices
(1)
coffee quality
(1)
college
(1)
compost
(1)
computerized test
(1)
congress
(1)
conservation commission
(1)
corporations
(1)
countries
(1)
cubicle
(1)
dams
(1)
deBlij06
(1)
deBlij08
(1)
death
(1)
deficit
(1)
development
(1)
dictatorship
(1)
distracted learning
(1)
distraction
(1)
drug war
(1)
dtm
(1)
earth
(1)
economic diversification
(1)
economic geography
(1)
election
(1)
embargo
(1)
energy
(1)
enhanced greenhouse effect
(1)
environmentalist
(1)
ethnomusicology
(1)
exremism
(1)
failed states
(1)
farming
(1)
financial crisis
(1)
football
(1)
forestry
(1)
forro
(1)
fracking
(1)
free market
(1)
free trade
(1)
fuel economy
(1)
garden
(1)
genocide
(1)
geography education
(1)
geography games
(1)
geography of chocolate
(1)
geography of food
(1)
geologic time
(1)
geotechnology
(1)
gerrymandering
(1)
global pizza
(1)
globe
(1)
goodall
(1)
green chemistry
(1)
ground water
(1)
guacamole
(1)
guatemala
(1)
high-frutcose
(1)
home values
(1)
hospitality
(1)
hourglass
(1)
housing
(1)
illegal aliens
(1)
income
(1)
indigenous
(1)
interfaith
(1)
journalism
(1)
kitchen garden
(1)
labor
(1)
landscape ecology
(1)
language
(1)
libertarianism
(1)
library
(1)
linguistics
(1)
little rock
(1)
llorona; musica
(1)
macc
(1)
maccweb
(1)
magic realism
(1)
maple syrup
(1)
mapping
(1)
masa no mas
(1)
massland
(1)
medical
(1)
mental maps
(1)
mi nina
(1)
microlots
(1)
microstates
(1)
mining
(1)
mltc
(1)
monopoly
(1)
municipal government
(1)
nautical
(1)
neoclassical economics
(1)
new england
(1)
newseum
(1)
newspapers
(1)
noise pollution
(1)
pandas
(1)
petroleum
(1)
piracy
(1)
pirates
(1)
poison ivy
(1)
police
(1)
political geography
(1)
pollution
(1)
provincial government
(1)
proxy variables
(1)
public diplomacy
(1)
quesadilla
(1)
rabbi
(1)
racism
(1)
real food cafe
(1)
regulations
(1)
remittances
(1)
resilience
(1)
resistance
(1)
respect
(1)
rigoberta menchu
(1)
rios montt
(1)
romance
(1)
roya
(1)
runways
(1)
russia
(1)
satellites
(1)
science
(1)
sea level
(1)
selva negra
(1)
sertao
(1)
sertão
(1)
sex
(1)
sex and coffee
(1)
simple
(1)
sin
(1)
smokey
(1)
solar
(1)
solar roasting
(1)
south africa
(1)
sovereignty
(1)
species loss
(1)
sporcle
(1)
sports
(1)
state government
(1)
taxes
(1)
tea party
(1)
teaching
(1)
textile
(1)
texting
(1)
tortilla
(1)
training
(1)
transect; Mercator
(1)
travel
(1)
triple-deckers
(1)
tsunami
(1)
urban geography
(1)
utopia
(1)
vermont
(1)
vice
(1)
video
(1)
wall
(1)
water resources
(1)
water vapor
(1)
whiskey
(1)
whisky
(1)
widget
(1)
wifi
(1)
wild fire
(1)
wildfire
(1)
wildlife corridor
(1)
wto
(1)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comment and your interest in my blog. I will approve your comment as soon as possible. I had to activate comment moderation because of commercial spam; I welcome debate of any ideas I present, but this will not be a platform for dubious commercial messages.