The first screening of films in Brazil took place on July 8, 1896. Journalists immediately praised the movies’ modernity and their progressive dimensions. Their commentaries support the commonly held premise that cinema was related to the onset of modernity. In Brazil, relationship had a very specific impetus. After the abolition of slavery in 1888, followed a year later by the ousting of the imperial monarchy, a new Republican regime (1889–1930) set out to redefine Brazil’s identity. Its peripheral status was to be a thing of the past, and incorporating European discourses of civilization and ... More

The first screening of films in Brazil took place on July 8, 1896. Journalists immediately praised the movies’ modernity and their progressive dimensions. Their commentaries support the commonly held premise that cinema was related to the onset of modernity. In Brazil, relationship had a very specific impetus. After the abolition of slavery in 1888, followed a year later by the ousting of the imperial monarchy, a new Republican regime (1889–1930) set out to redefine Brazil’s identity. Its peripheral status was to be a thing of the past, and incorporating European discourses of civilization and progress, the country was recast as a modern nation of order and progress. The cinema’s development was inextricably related to this modernizing project, with the medium helping to visualize Brazil’s civilized identity. Foundational Films explores the cinema’s particular invention of modernity in Brazil. Examining an array of early movies, including urban films, ethnographic documentaries, Hollywood-inspired movies, and avant-garde cinematic experimentations, and exploring their connections to other cultural forms, like maps, magazines, photography, science, and literature, the book looks at how cinema helped to project modern foundations for the Brazilian nation. The first sustained historical study of the cinema’s emergence in Brazil, Foundational Films is a fascinating account that illustrates the significance of the movies and their ability to project a national identity. It is an innovative and in-depth look at the cultural history of modernity in Brazil through the lens of a foundational moment in the country’s cinema.