Brazilian soap operas slowly cast black middle class

Scholarly perspectives on the mixed race experience.

In this work, the terms “colored” and “negro” have been used indiscriminately, but I have made the more extended use of the former, since the type of the pure negro is rarely met with. The race is so hopelessly mixed that it is difficult to arrive at a clear definition, and the term “colored” will probably serve as well as the awkward phrase, “persons of African descent.”

Of the original African type few traces remain, and the race is largely a cross between the African and the white male; for no considerable crossing of negroes with white females has ever taken place. The instances where white women have married colored men are very rare and the few cases that occur cannot possibly have affected the traits and tendencies of the race. On the other hand, the infusion of white blood, through white males, has been widespread, and the original type of the African has almost completely disappeared. A small settlement near Mobile, Ala., a few years ago was asserted to have preserved the purity of the race: but I am informed by Dr. D. T. Rogers, the health officer of Mobile, that this is no longer true. It is therefore a question of great importance to know what influence, favorable or otherwise, the infusion of white blood has had on the physical, moral and mental characteristics of the race. It is of further importance to ascertain, if possible, whether there is a decided tendency towards a mixture of the two races, and if so, whether this tendency is in the direction of lawful marriage or of concubinage and prostitution.

Frederick L. Hoffman, “The Race Traits and Tendencies of the American Negro,” Publications of the American Economic Association, Volume 11, Numbers 1/3 (Jan. – Mar. – May, 1896): 177-178. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2560438.

Brazilian soap operas slowly cast black middle class

Brazilian soap operas slowly cast black middle class

Al Jazeera America
2015-04-11

Matt Sandy

Morgann Jezequel

Actor Sílvio Guindane poses on the set of the telenovela Vitória at Record studios, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October, 2014. Rafael Fabres / Getty Images Assignment for Al Jazeera America

Black actors move beyond roles as maids, thieves and drug dealers, but insiders say more diverse film/TV writers needed

RIO DE JANEIRO – Dressed in a fitted white designer shirt, Sílvio Guindane stood beneath a chandelier on a grand wrought iron staircase and smiled confidently. Below, a set of ornate drinking glasses sat next to a collection of spirit bottles. Above, framed monochrome prints and color landscapes adorned the walls.

It is an archetypal image of upper middle class Brazil. And for good reason as this is the set of “Vitória,” one of the country’s ubiquitous novelas, the phenomenally popular soap operas that for more than 50 years have thrived on the country’s major television networks — often by portraying lavish lifestyles beyond the means of most viewers.

There is just one thing that is unusual: Guindane, 31, who plays a successful engineer, is black…

Read the entire article here.

Tags: Al Jazeera America, Matt Sandy, Morgann Jezequel, Sílvio Guindane, Vitória

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 12th, 2015 at 02:12Z and is filed under Articles, Arts, Brazil, Caribbean/Latin America, Communications/Media Studies, Social Science. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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Mixed Race Studies

Brazilian soap operas slowly cast black middle class

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