Brazilian soap operas slowly cast black middle classPosted in Articles, Arts, Brazil, Caribbean/Latin America, Communications/Media Studies, Social Science on 2015-04-12 02:12Z by Steven |
Brazilian soap operas slowly cast black middle class
Al Jazeera America
2015-04-11
 Actor Sílvio Guindane poses on the set of the telenovela Vitória at Record studios, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October, 2014. Rafael Fabres / Getty Images Assignment for Al Jazeera America |
Black actors move beyond roles as maids, thieves and drug dealers, but insiders say more diverse film/TV writers needed
RIO DE JANEIRO – Dressed in a fitted white designer shirt, Sílvio Guindane stood beneath a chandelier on a grand wrought iron staircase and smiled confidently. Below, a set of ornate drinking glasses sat next to a collection of spirit bottles. Above, framed monochrome prints and color landscapes adorned the walls.
It is an archetypal image of upper middle class Brazil. And for good reason as this is the set of “Vitória,” one of the country’s ubiquitous novelas, the phenomenally popular soap operas that for more than 50 years have thrived on the country’s major television networks — often by portraying lavish lifestyles beyond the means of most viewers.
There is just one thing that is unusual: Guindane, 31, who plays a successful engineer, is black…
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