Quando os cariocas paqueram: a comédia erótica no Rio de Janeiro dos anos 1970 e suas transgressões frente à ditadura militar

Abstract

This study investigates the trajectory of a cycle of film production in the city of Rio de Janeiro during the 70’s, the erotic comedy, which appealed to the general public by focusing on devices such as laughter and eroticism. Although these films were rather criticized for perpetuating social stigma and prejudices, they also transgressed political norms and confronted governmental censors from the military dictatorship in operation in Brazil, as well as the more conservative groups in the Brazilian society. It is hypothesized that the erotic comedy produced in Rio de Janeiro during the 70’s indicates the existence of a cycle of production with its own characteristics within the genre, which differentiate it from the ones produced in other cities from Brazil, especially São Paulo. Therefore, the primary objective of this study is to provide an overview of the production of erotic comedies in Rio de Janeiro in the 70’s, identifying the elements that characterize such works. In addition, it aims at disclosing the way these erotic comedies dialogue with social and political questions regarding the period they were produced by analyzing their transgressions to behavior standards and to the norms imposed by the government’s censorship department during the military dictatorship. This study is inspired by Michel Foucault’s Archeology of Knowledge, taking into account the discursive mechanisms that construct and qualify the erotic comedy. The methodology consists primarily of film analysis, whereas the corpus of research is constituted by films produced within the specified time period, made by producers located in the city of Rio de Janeiro. However, the analyses that comprehend the study entail other elements, such as documents from the government’s censorship department; interviews with professionals of the time and their relatives; as well as a series of studies about the theme produced by scholars throughout the years. The study is divided into six chapters, all of them named after the analyzed films, that construe perceptions about the cycle considering specific elements: 1. The characterization of erotic comedies since its origins and influences; 2. The articulation between sexuality, discourses of sexual freedom in the 60’s and 70’s and the role of women in the films of the cycle; 3. The representation of masculinity; 4. The representation of the city of Rio de Janeiro; 5. The analysis of documents from the government’s department of censorship; and 6. The transgressions identified in the analyzed films. The results of the research enabled a detailed comprehension about the cycle of production studied and how it dialogues with society, perpetuating certain behaviors and yet offering a range of alternatives and reflections through fissures in the enclosed discourse of censorship. The erotic comedy crowned the 70’s indicating new possibilities for the national cinema, and its influence both on cinematography and other arts and entertainment remains until the current date.