'Medusa', a scream against Bolsonaro

Fundamentalist churches are big supporters of right-wing politics in Brazil. They promote an ideology of moral and physical purity which is deeply racist and sexist, by providing a sense of community. And in a fragmented society they know how to market their 'product' to all sorts of groups.

The fundamentalist message works by offering a sense of community, but its techniques are manipulative, channelling political support, and encouraging members to distrust 'worldly people', even within their own families. Brazilian churches are arriving in Africa too, along with fundamentalist Islam, as The Prisma has reported.

Anita da Silveira's film Medusa mixes genres between comic, horror, fantasy, and features female protagonists. But for her: "the real horror in Medusa was the most realistic part, the things that the church minister says". These statements are relatively benign compared to a report of an evangelical pastor who was arrested for homophobic and racist intolerance. The image of the ideal woman propagated by these churches seems to be influenced by a US model. The 1990s Baywatch beach show ran for 13 seasons in Brazil, more than in the US, and featured an archetypal blonde lifeguard with large breasts.

Only 8% of the population in Brazil live near a cinema, but they are planning as much public screening as possible in schools and universities.

I spoke to the director for ThePrisma, after seeing her film at the IndieLisboa film festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize for TV Cine. It also won three awards at the Rio festival.

The interview with links and photos can be accessed on The Prisma Multicultural Newspaper site, here: https://theprisma.co.uk/2022/05/16/medusa-a-scream-against-bolsonaro/