Reflecting back on the semester, I have learned a lot about Brazil. Perhaps more influential than some of the major topics we covered in readings, were the small conversations we had about Brazilian culture, like what to wear at the beach, or not having a big service after someone passes away. For the sake of this post, however, I will list my three biggest takeaways from the semester.

1: One thing I really enjoyed learning about was the history of slavery in Brazil, and how it led to the country claiming it was a racial “democracy”

2: Reading Making Samba helped open my eyes to the history of Brazil’s Afrocentric roots, being able to learn about a large part of the diaspora through music was gratifying for me, especially under the context of my Jr. IS

3: Lastly, learning about class differences in Brazil was a big takeaway for me. Learning more about the favelas and the police brutality that goes on there as well as other problems were harrowing and interesting at the same time.

One question I have about the film Wasteland is about Vik. While I thought the project he pursued doing was admirable, there was something about him which rubbed me the wrong way, that I couldn’t really pin down while watching the film. I don’t know if it was his ego per say, but perhaps something along the lines. I guess the question I’m asking is if other people who watched the movie also picked up on the vibe I’m attempting to convey. Perhaps more specifically it seemed like he didn’t want to entertain or hear potential criticism about the project.

Another question I have about the film is the scope of the project. While we saw Vik help a handful of the workers at the landfill, there were multitudes of those who were not focused on. How do you think the people who were left out of the project help? and do you think that the lasting effects of the project for the few benefitted the whole?

Something I found very intriguing about The Hour of the Star was its style of narration. Perhaps its the part of me that loves poetry, but the style of the narration came across as prose. Very early on, the narrator poses very large questions about life, consciousness, and what it means to simply exist. Based on these early themes my question is: How do we make sense of Macabéa’s death at the end of the story? Does her death lead to an interesting commentary on the core meaning of life and existence in the world?

At the end of the book, our narrator comes to the realization that everyone dies, even him. Perhaps this scene was a bit jarring after Macabéa’s drawn-out death, which spanned multiple paragraphs. Particularly the narrator’s departure when he says “Don’t forget that for now, it’s strawberry season.” (77) However, I think the abruptness helps strengthen Lispector’s central message of the book. No matter what type of life you lead, whether it’s seemingly as miserable and mundane as Macabéas, or as lavish as your favorite celebrity, nobody truly lives their life as if they are mortal. That is to say, no one wakes up thinking that this is the day that they’ll hit by a car. It’s an impossible expectation for people to have. Yet, even though it might seem cliche, death’s like Macabéas happen all the time. Perhaps not in the same way, but they certainly happen.

A sad example of this was the passing of Clayton Geib during the Fall semester, whose cause of death still isn’t fully known. His death was particularly hard for one of my friends on the football team. In our conversations following Clayton’s death, my friend told me that it was hard for him to really accept Clayton was gone, and that he was soon trapped in a cycle of telling himself, “I just played with him (Clayton) yesterday” and other similar comments for almost weeks on end. I believe Lispector tried to get at this concept with having Macabéa die so suddenly at the end.  Not only is contemplating our own mortality something everyone struggles with, but it’s not something we like to do, as evidenced by the narrator saying, “don’t forget that for now, it’s strawberry season.”

Personally, I thought the last quote reflected a sentiment reflected in one of my favorite Kanye West lyrics: “If you admire somebody you should go on ‘head tell ’em,
people never get the flowers while they can still smell ’em “

For my research project, I will be examing colorism is Brazil. More specifically, how it manifests itself within the music industry. My interest in this project comes from my experiences as a young Black man, as well as some of the dialogues I’ve had in a few of my classes, such as the Intellectual History of Black America. Despite its diverse Afro population, colorism is known to be exceedingly present in Brazil. One could even make the argument that it is more prevalent in Brazil than America. While that could be a potential argument I make in my article, the overarching question I seek to answer is “why?” In order to get to the “why” my research will put Brazil’s racial past in context with America’s. By starting with the slave trade in both countries and taking into account the similarities and differences, I hope to find some answers to my question

In order to achieve fulfilling research on both the historical and contemporary narratives of Brazil and America, I will have to employ a diverse amount of resources, from historical documents to critical race theories about colorism, interviews, and music videos. Originally inspired by the Anitta video we saw in class, another interesting article came out recently, in which Beyonce’s father claimed that her, as well as many other black female artists, would not be as successful as they if they were darker skinned.

We have already touched upon racism and colorism in class, but I believe my research will be significant because it will show the arc of colorism has evolved over time in Brazil, and how it compares with colorism in the United States. By looking at colorism through the lens of the music industry, particularly Pop, I believe that it will not only give one a good perspective as to how far-reaching colorism affects those in Brazil but how integral a part it is in modern society.

My research project will be historically significant because it highlights how the slave trade has evolved over time in Brazil. By contextualizing the evolution of slavery and colorism in Brazil to the United States I believe it will help broaden one’s understanding as to multiple layers and depths of the negative effects the slave trade caused in a global context.

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