The African diaspora has a historical connection to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and has faced political and social discrimination throughout its existence. As a result, individuals within this...Show moreThe African diaspora has a historical connection to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and has faced political and social discrimination throughout its existence. As a result, individuals within this diaspora have developed a transnational Black consciousness, wherein they confront their identity while grappling with the pressure to conform to Eurocentric norms regardless of territory. This complexity is further heightened by the experience of hybridity, as diaspora members navigate the challenges of adapting to new environments while striving to maintain their ancestral roots. The trauma endured by the diaspora has served as a wellspring of inspiration for expressing their narratives through various cultural mediums, including theatre, music, literature, and visual arts. The objective of this research is to shed light on the deep importance of visual art as a medium through which the African diaspora can express their experiences, question dominant narratives, and assert their autonomy, both within their local contexts and on a global scale. By examining the artworks of Rosana Paulino from Brazil and Arnaldo Roche Rabell from Puerto Rico through the lenses of postcolonialism and semiology, we can delve into the intricate dynamics of power, identity, and resilience that arise from the creative expressions of the African diaspora.Show less
Street art and graffiti are global movements enjoying an increasingly amount of attention in public forums. The same can be said for Costa Rica, where the street art movement is currently thriving....Show moreStreet art and graffiti are global movements enjoying an increasingly amount of attention in public forums. The same can be said for Costa Rica, where the street art movement is currently thriving. Because street art is able to combine global and local experiences, it, therefore, makes every urban space unique. This thesis investigates how street art in the urban spaces of Costa Rica represents concerns of the public by analyzing murals in the cities of Jacó and San José. With the theory of activism and a close analysis of these murals, it is revealed that global themes are incorporated into the murals using local representations, furthermore, street art is a form of activism. Murals found in the tourist city of Jacó relies heavily on environmental themes, which mirror and romanticize the local nature, animals, and indigenous peoples. The street art in the capital city, San José, is, in contrast, less romanticized and more confrontational in its nature. In both cities the themes of the murals are closely related to local experiences and perceptions of issues and concerns. Ultimately, the street art in Jacó and San José actively address concerns in two different manners giving an indication of the diversity and versatility of representations in street art in Costa Rica.Show less
This mixed- method research analyses how media in the case study of the disappeared Amarildo de Souza is an indicator of the perceived police legitimacy in Brazil. The methodology utilised for...Show moreThis mixed- method research analyses how media in the case study of the disappeared Amarildo de Souza is an indicator of the perceived police legitimacy in Brazil. The methodology utilised for analyses was copied from the research of Sela-Shayovitz and provided the following four indicators for police legitimacy: trust in police, police performance, interpersonal treatment and procedural-justice process (2015). By categorizing quotes, sentences and comments within the positive or negative side of these indicators, the affect media has on framing police legitimacy could be established towards the three selected timeframes. The analysed secondary sources include academic articles, as well as online newspapers, documentaries, and social media pages relating to the campaign Where is Amarildo? and the favela Rocinha. The research displayed that the first hypothesis, which assumed that the disappearance of Amarildo displays a predominantly negative coverage and leads to diminished police legitimacy, is partly true. Subsequently, the second hypothesis was that the closure of the case in February 2016 could display a mainly positive indication of police legitimacy due to the established sense of justice. It can be concluded that this assumption is false in relation to the mainstream media and partly true in relation to the grass root voices. Furthermore, the research displayed that the hypotheses that the indicators interpersonal treatment and procedural-justice process are the main indicators of police legitimacy was false. It is strongly advised to conduct more research on these four indicators, or additional variables, in order to avoid future ‘Amarildo’s’.Show less
Brazil is a nation whose streets pulsate with energy and vivacity. However, the streets of contemporary Brazil continue to be plagued with injustice; racism, poverty, marginalisation of groups,...Show moreBrazil is a nation whose streets pulsate with energy and vivacity. However, the streets of contemporary Brazil continue to be plagued with injustice; racism, poverty, marginalisation of groups, rainforest depletion and wealth disparity play a significant role in the lives of many local inhabitants. Thus, Brazil’s streets have quickly served as a unique platform for socio-political communication, upon which commentaries and critique of political systems or wrongdoings can be expressed freely. As such, the practice of street art has become a highly popular phenomenon to emerge across the region, tackling a plethora of issues with a creative flair. Fabio de Oliveira Parnaiba, more commonly known as Cranio, is a Brazilian street artist whose goal is to highlight the socio-political injustices of his country through his graffiti. Utilising an indigenous character placed in numerous situations and contexts, Cranio invites the local as well as the international population to re-contemplate the societies in which they exist. This thesis explores Cranio’s use of context, location, style and technique, to understand how graffiti can be used as a socio-political communicative and critical tool. Including a personal interview with Cranio, it strives to display the power of the arts in achieving a heightened socio-political awareness.Show less
This Bachelor essay discusses the social-spatial segregation in contemporary Brazilian society as represented in the feature film Que horas ela volta? (2015) by the Brazilian director Anna Muylaart...Show moreThis Bachelor essay discusses the social-spatial segregation in contemporary Brazilian society as represented in the feature film Que horas ela volta? (2015) by the Brazilian director Anna Muylaart, award winner in the Sundance Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. It portrays the interaction of social classes within the private space. The cinematographic representation of the restructuring of power relations established in Brazilian society is examined through narrated places, along the line of place as a social constructed space, based on the theory by Henri Lefebvre, and woven together with intersubjective time-space-identity constructions based on the idea of bakhtin’s chronotope. Two spatial themes in the film, the area of the private pool and the connection of the private with the outside world, are analyzed as elements of representation of the restructuring of power relations. It will be argued that the film makes clear how colonial principles are internalized by all social classes and still structure social-spatial relations in contemporary Brazilian society, however obnubilated, while new generations contest and renew these persistent structures.Show less
This research will investigate the topic of Frida Kahlo and her artwork, because it will try to find out whether the Hollywood film Frida directed by Julie Taymor in 2002 is an accurate cinematic...Show moreThis research will investigate the topic of Frida Kahlo and her artwork, because it will try to find out whether the Hollywood film Frida directed by Julie Taymor in 2002 is an accurate cinematic rewriting of the ideals and issues presented in Frida Kahlo’s artwork from the early 20th century. This is done in order to let the reader of this thesis understand the problematic relationship between biographical Hollywood and real history. To be more specific, this thesis will answer the following question: How are Frida Kahlo’s ideals, as seen in her artwork, represented in the Hollywood film Frida and is this an accurate rewriting of Frida’s life? An answer to this research question will be formed by comparing paintings made by Frida Kahlo with scenes from the film about her life. By doing so, there will be a focus on two different themes: nationalism and the female body. Frida’s ideals with regard to these themes will be visible in the paintings, and are widely discussed by Hayden Herrera in her biography on Frida’s life. The film touches upon those themes as well. This is interesting for the purpose of this thesis, as it will try to find out whether this is done in an accurate way.Show less
