Translations and Interpretations of the Other: The Reception of Three Brazilian Films in the 1970s with German Migration Stories

Abstract

In Brazil during the second half of the 1970s, three films were released by different filmmakers in different styles, all representing stories of German migrants and their descendants: 'Aleluia, Gretchen!' (Sylvio Back, 1976), 'Os Mucker' (Jorge Bodanzky and Wolf Gauer, 1978), and 'As Filhas do Fogo' (Walter Hugo Khouri, 1978). Material that appeared in the press at the time and is now available on the Hemeroteca Digital Brasileira database shows a wide range of interpretations of these films. Moreover, the texts reveal different understandings and translations of “German” in Brazil while also providing a complex overview of the political atmosphere. This dissertation aims to study the reception of the aforementioned films based on what was said about them in the press. Such a study can reveal hypotheses about the causes of the films’ diverse and sometimes contradictory interpretations. The methodology is based on the historical materialist approach of Janet Staiger in 'Interpreting Films' (1992), which analyzes how historical contexts of production and exhibition of films influence their diverse interpretations. The source material goes beyond film reviews and includes film synopsis published alongside local movie theater showtimes, festival coverages, and interviews in order to assemble a broader scope of interpretations in an environment of spectatorship under censorship. Ultimately, the analysis reveals not only an alterity constructed around the German migrant, a disputed symbol of national and foreign representation, but also ideological disputes and the yearning for answers regarding unclarified topics of Brazilian history.