1. Koluki

April 14th, 2008 at 10:12 pm

You’re absolutely right.
Unfortunately it’s not just ’sambification’, it’s the most distasteful ‘minstrelfication’!
Those “good old minstrels” which were banned on UK TV in the 70s for being “obscenamente racistas”…
If you are interested, at the end of this post in my blog I have a link to an interesting interview by Spike Lee about the ‘Minstrel Shows’ in the US:

http://koluki.blogspot.com/2007/02/view-show-create-your-own_12.html

2. Ana

April 14th, 2008 at 11:53 pm

Brazil has a long way to go in terms of achieving racial equality. First Brazilians have to stop fooling themselves that there is no racism in Brazil. It is one of the many biggest lies of their history.

Second,some Black Brazilians have to at least recognize and accept that they are black people. Over there they view colors as races, it is ridiculous and even retarded.

Despite that , Brazil is the most culturally African nation in the Western Hemisphere, followed maybe by Haiti, and then Cuba. We already know that Brazil is the second largest black population in the world, right behind Nigeria.
These numbers are too staggering to sweep under the rug.There is a strong black movement arrasando(sweeping) Brazil, similar to the American black movemment of the 1960’s.I consider Black and brown Brazilians to be the nicest and sweetest people the world over.

On my trip to Salvador, Bahia, I visited a candomble temple dedicated to Yoruba deities.At the entrance of the temple(Casa Branca), there is a huge wooden white boat facing Africa. According to the members of the temple and Baianos(people of Bahia), it is a symbol of returning to Africa.

You see whenever they have their ceremonies, they travel spiritually back home to the motherland.

Cordiales Saludos

3. Keguro

April 15th, 2008 at 6:43 am

Thanks for posting this!

I’ll have to see if I can get my hands on a copy of the cover (I don’t read Portugese, but I teach Fanon).

It’s disturbing, of course. Do you know if those Sambo images are from local sources or are they imported from the U.S.?

4. Sokari

April 15th, 2008 at 6:57 am

Keguro @ No I dont know where the images came from. The image was sent to me by a friend in Mozambique but I will try to find out and let you know.

5. Midnight

April 16th, 2008 at 8:12 pm

I believe most of the images on the cover are from commercial advertisements from the 20s to the present day. (for e.g. i can see at least three different Banania posters in that cover; Banania is a popular chocolate drink brand sold in france, it has used the smiling senegales man as its logo for ages; another poster looks familiar - the one with the plane - it was one used to promote tourism to french congo in the 30s).

I can see why the cover in itself would cause offence to some. And I suspect many of the people objecting would unfortunately judge the book by its cover

I also think the cover is not so inappropriate in the context of the actual subject matter of the book.

6. Ana

April 17th, 2008 at 1:23 am

I believe the fact that Brazilians (both black and white) may not have objected to the cover of the magazine is the real problem here.Whether outsiders see a problem with the cover , is very irrelevant.

7. Midnight

April 17th, 2008 at 8:35 am

Ana, yes, what you say is true.
What i was trying to say was the same thing, but in a more complicated way

though really, if no one in Brazil has any objection to it, i don’t see why anyone else should. its a bit like protesting about a cartoon in east timor, when the cartoon actually appeared in a danish language newspaper

8. Sokari

April 17th, 2008 at 10:24 am

Midnight @ The story about the book was sent to me by a Congolese friend who teaches at a university in Sao Paulo and from what he says there is a great deal of objection from AfroBrazilians over the book cover.

I don’t see the images as being valid on any level and certainly not appropriate for Black Skins White Masks which was published in 1952. There is no justification for publishing these images.

Possibly the one good thing to come out of this is that it has introduced a serious debate on race/racism in the country at least in academic circles.

Ana @It’s a book cover

9. Ana

April 17th, 2008 at 11:16 am

I made that statement because I am familiar with Afro Brazilians. They have a tendency to dismiss racism as classism.That most of the black and brown are poor,and no one has been able to give a valid explanation, is the most important question.
I know very well that there is a movement starting over there for equal rights for blacks. I believe they were starting to push a bill similar to affirmative action. But some whites and blacks were saying that it is racist. There is an entire history over there at dismissing racism. Brazilians are famous for saying “we are not racists”.Even foolish Ronaldo made a comment in a European newspaper that he is not black. Brazil is a very complicated society with black folks even dismissing their own race. The movement to end racism over there has to start from within first, and not from outside.
Change is on the way.I think there is a black tv station ; many black magazines with folks in the past who would have died before they claim blackness, and strong black activism across Brazil.

Sokari:I agree with you, those disgusting stereotypical pictures are unacceptable any where and we must fight to defend the dignity of black people.

Saludos.

10. Sokari

April 17th, 2008 at 12:40 pm

Ana @ Yes I hear all the time about Brazilians not wanting to deal with race and Black people from all over South and central America claiming they are not Black like Ronaldo has done - which in it’s self is proof of the very racism they are denying. As long as they continue to do so things will not change. The Ronaldo’s of this world could make a positive impact if they faced up to the reality - I mean does he really see any difference between himself and Thierry Henry (who has led the Kick Racism out of Football campaign in Europe in England and now Europe.)? He must be a complete fool if he does!

11. Midnight

April 17th, 2008 at 2:39 pm

Sokari :
Okay the context is much clearer now.

(Fanon to me speaks beyond 1952. When i read it in the 80s it was something i could relate to - note that i am white but from non-colonial national origins, and from very mixed parental roots - the loss of identity, and its misappropriation is something i can understand.

During Fanon’s time such imagery was a part of popular culture (and as we can see some of it has carried over to the modern day e.g. banania…), so he lived in the middle of such imagery, and clearly it played a part in the formation of his theses of societal indictment.

So I think its important to have such images available to better understand where he came from, since not everyone is clued up on history/background.
But putting them on the cover, i agree, is a bad idea)

12. Sokari

April 17th, 2008 at 3:07 pm

Midnight @ Sorry as usual did not explain myself - yes i meant the imagery on the book would have been displayed in the 1950s and yes he speaks way beyond this period -