Brazilian National Cinema

<p>Brazilian cinema is one of the most influential national cinemas in Latin America and this wide-ranging study traces the evolution of Brazilian film from the silent era to the present day including detailed studies of more recent international box-office hits such as <em>Central Station</em> (1998) and <em>City of God </em>(2002).</p><p><em>Brazilian National Cinema</em> gives due importance to traditionally overlooked aspects of Brazilian cinema such as popular genres ranging from musical comedies (the <em>chanchada</em>) to soft-core porn films (the <em>pornochanchada</em>) and horror films and also provides a fresh approach to the internationally acclaimed avant-garde <em>Cinema Novo</em> of the 1960s. </p><p>Lisa Shaw and Stephanie Dennison apply recent theories on stardom particularly relating to issues of ethnicity race and gender to both well-known Brazilian performers such as Carmen Miranda and Sonia Braga and lesser known domestic icons such as the Afro-Brazilian comic actor Grande Otelo (Big Othello) and the uberblonde children’s TV and film star and media mogul Xuxa. </p><p>This timely addition to the <em>National Cinemas</em> series provides a comprehensive overview of the relationship between Brazilian cinema and issues of national and cultural identity.</p>