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Domingo,
15/5/2005
Notícias do Brasil
+ de 2100 Acessos
A few weeks ago, one of our guest writers penned a fun story about what foreigners would think of the United States if they only based their opinions on TV shows and movies. The misconceptions - if everything on screen was taken as truth - would spiral out of control.
It got me thinking, though, what would I make of Brazil if I only went off of what I read in American newspapers the past week? I might think that Brazil is:
Very liberated - Even in conservative towns, politicians see fit to celebrate sexuality. According to a story published over the wire, May 9 was declared Orgasm Day by the mayor of Espertantina in an effort to improve relationships between married couples. The town of 38,000 in northeastern Brazil marked the day with panel discussions by Brazilian sexologists and a presentation of "The Vagina Monologues." There's no telling how else citizens celebrated. But it would seem rude not to observe the holiday sort of like cutting down a tree on Arbor Day, or forgetting on Memorial Day.
And further displaying Brazil's forward thinking was a column that labeled Brazil as crucial to the reformation of the Catholic Church, if you're to believe what's written in the New York Times. Latin America, Nicholas Kristof writes, is the "great remaining heartland of Roman Catholicism." Central to that movement are Brazilian Catholics, many of whom disagree with the Vatican's rigid stance on sexual issues, including birth control, homosexuality, marriage of priests and the role of women in the church. If Pope Benedict XVI doesn't listen to the people (Brazilians) soon, there could be trouble ahead for the Catholic Church.
Politically strong - At a summit held in Brazil's capital, Brasilia, South American and Arab leaders made international news this past week by adopting a declaration condemning Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory. The draft declaration demanded that Israel disband settlements and retreat to its 1967 borders before the Mideast war. Leaders also found common ground in criticizing U.S. economic sanctions against Syria and asserting the right of people "to resist foreign occupation in accordance with the principles of international legality..."
Brazil also asserted itself against neighboring rival Argentina, and vice versa, as tensions continue to rise between the South American heavyweights over who should lead the continent. The bottom line, at least in the article, is that no matter how bad it gets between the two nations, they will have to work together to take on an even bigger rival, the United States.
Artistic - This story basically says that American cinema is mired in a wasteland of crappy remakes. If you want to find inventive movies nowadays, you have to go abroad to places like Iran, Kurdistan, China and Brazil.
A fantastic tourist destination - Brazil must be a nice place to visit. Why else would Michael Jackson buy one-way tickets to Brazil for the family of a kid who alleges the singer molested him? Yes, even Brazil could not escape mention in the wackiest trial this century.
During the trial, a travel agent testified that the tickets were requested by a Jackson aide, ostensibly to whisk the family away from the media after a British documentary raised questions about Jackson's relationship with the boy. Of course, the defense pointed out that the travel agent may not be clean in all of this. She is under investigation by the FBI and agreed to testify only after the prosecution granted her immunity.
So whether it's TV, the movies, or even newspapers, we can't always base our opinions just on what we see in the media. But there's no mistaking that when a mayor declares May 9 Orgasm Day, that's a fact.
Gavin Tachibana, antes da separação de Ronaldinho e Cicarelli, a única notícia brasileira dos últimos dias.
Postado por Andréa Trompczynski
Em
15/5/2005 às 20h54
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