Queer Temporalities, Fluid Encounters: Feeling Utopia in Marcelo Caetano’s Body Electric

Daniel Kveller
Additional contact information
Daniel Kveller: Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul

Chapter Chapter 9 in Affect, Gender and Sexuality in Latin America, 2021, pp 179-196 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract In this chapter, I trace back the discussion about utopianism in queer studies to analyze Marcelo Caetano’s Body Electric, a film released in 2017, at the peak of conflicts that turned Brazilian politics upside down. At the time, the film received a mixed critical response. Some celebrated the exuberant depiction of communities marginalized in Brazilian society because of their identities (racial and/or sexual), which are now in an even more precarious situation due to the rise of a far-right government. Others criticized the film’s general mood, considered negligent for its naiveté and depoliticization of complex social issues. While these assessments drew attention to the film’s utopic portrayal of the working class, either approving or criticizing it, I suggest a third approach to the film based on a different understanding of utopia—proposed by queer theorist José Muñoz—and on its connections to sexuality and race. Addressing these themes is particularly relevant in the present moment, considering the ways in which the ideological rhetoric and political agenda of the current Brazilian presidential administration reinvigorate the racist and homophobic subtexts implicit in the country’s nationalistic imaginary.

Keywords: Utopianism; Brazilian politics; Racial identities; Queer sexuality; Marcelo caetano (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:gdechp:978-3-030-59369-8_9

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.palgrave.com/9783030593698

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-59369-8_9

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Gender, Development and Social Change from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().