“The Secret Agent”: Kleber Mendonça Filho on Oscar-Nominated Drama Set During Brazil’s Dictatorship
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Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖Kleber Mendonça Filho's film 'The Secret Agent' connects Brazil's 1977 military dictatorship to the political atmosphere of the Bolsonaro presidency.
- ❖The film's narrative evolved as the director observed Bolsonaro's administration attempting to resurrect elements of the 60s and 70s military regime.
- ❖A unique form of journalistic resistance during the dictatorship involved creating the 'Hairy Leg' urban legend to report on state violence without direct censorship.
- ❖The director, a former journalist, highlights how media often presents imprecise or false information, not just under dictatorships but also due to economic or political pressures.
- ❖Filho views history as a cycle of repetitions, with violence, aggression, and land grabs recurring, often due to societal amnesia.
Insights
1Historical Parallels Between Dictatorship and Bolsonaro Era
Director Kleber Mendonça Filho realized during the writing of 'The Secret Agent' that the political climate under Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil mirrored the military dictatorship of the 1960s and 70s. Bolsonaro's inner circle appeared to be actively trying to bring back elements of that repressive period, strengthening the film's narrative logic.
Filho states, 'a lot of what was happening in Brazil during the Bosonado years was in fact creeping in and being part of the logic of what I was writing. Because what those people did, Bos Sonado and his inner circle, they it really felt like they were trying to bring back the good old days of the military regime.'
2The 'Hairy Leg' as a Censorship Bypass
During Brazil's military dictatorship, journalists like Haimundo Caheru invented the urban legend of the 'Hairy Leg'—a disembodied zombie leg attacking people—to report on police and military violence. This creative tactic allowed them to describe brutal incidents in newspapers without being censored, as they attributed the actions to a fictional entity rather than the state security forces.
Filho explains, 'He could not write about what actually happened involving the security forces... So instead of having his articles censored... he came up with a hairy leg and he began to print straight stories where the incidents would be described in a journalistic fashion. But instead of saying that the military forces did it, they he said that the hairy leg did it.'
3Media's Tendency Towards Imprecision and Lies
The film intentionally portrays newspapers as sources of imprecise, wrong, or fantastical information. This theme stems not only from the dictatorship's propaganda but also from Filho's personal experience as a journalist in the 1990s, where he witnessed editorial decisions influenced by financial interests or desires to soften harsh realities, rather than purely objective reporting.
Filho notes, 'Everything you see in the newspapers in this film is either imprecise, wrong or just fantasy or lies.' He adds, 'it also comes from my own experience working in a newsroom in the 90s... I saw many decisions going on in the newsroom which had to deal with someone's maybe losing money if something is going to come out or maybe we should not name that person.'
Key Concepts
History as a Cycle of Repetitions
The idea that historical events, particularly patterns of violence, aggression, and political repression, tend to repeat themselves over time, often because societies forget or fail to learn from past experiences. The director explicitly states, 'history is a cycle of repetitions' and 'the past repeating itself through amnesia.'
Creative Censorship Evasion
A strategy employed by journalists or artists in oppressive regimes to bypass strict censorship by using allegorical, fictional, or coded narratives to convey truths about state violence or political realities. The 'Hairy Leg' urban legend serves as a prime example, allowing journalists to report on police brutality under the guise of a supernatural attacker.
Lessons
- Actively question media narratives, recognizing that information can be imprecise or manipulated due to various pressures, not just in authoritarian regimes.
- Study historical periods of repression and censorship to identify patterns that may re-emerge in contemporary political contexts.
- Support artistic and journalistic endeavors that creatively challenge power structures and shed light on historical truths, especially when facing censorship or political pressure.
Notable Moments
The detailed explanation of the 'Hairy Leg' urban legend and its function as a journalistic tool against censorship during the Brazilian dictatorship.
This specific example vividly illustrates the ingenuity and risks taken by journalists to inform the public under extreme repression, offering a powerful lesson in media resilience and creative resistance.
Quotes
"What those people did, Bos Sonado and his inner circle, they it really felt like they were trying to bring back the good old days of the military regime in the 60s and 70s."
"The secret agent is very much about the past but it's very much about the past repeating itself through amnesia."
"He could not write about what actually happened involving the security forces... So instead of having his articles censored... he came up with a hairy leg and he began to print straight stories where the incidents would be described in a journalistic fashion. But instead of saying that the military forces did it, they he said that the hairy leg did it."
"Everything you see in the newspapers in this film is either imprecise, wrong or just fantasy or lies."
"I can't help thinking that history is a cycle of repetitions."
Q&A
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