Ancillary 7

Thesis: Some would argue that the movie Rio would not be well received by Brazilians because of how it portrayed the favelas and poverty; however I would argue that the movie tackled core political issues such as the growing issues of street children raising awareness and criticizing the government to do better.

Many developing countries are often misjudged. Ever since moving away from my home country — Brazil — I have received very uneducated and interesting questions such as “did you live in the favelas” or “how would you go to school”, and I have close friends that have been asked if in Brazil there are cars. I believe that in many ways a lot of people in developed countries such as the United States and Europe in general, often look down at developing countries. I believe that both the media and our educational system are major contributors to this misconception. When people think about Brazil, most of them immediately relate it to the forest or football or the favelas, but in my opinion there is so much more to Brazil. So naturally, when the movie Rio was coming out I really wanted it to showcase all of the best parts of Brazil, and parts that the media don’t usually show. However, the movie did very much of the opposite. It really highlighted the poor side, the struggles faced by many Brazilians and the amazon forest. Personally, I think those are all really important and a true part of Brazil, but its not all that it has to offer. Disney being such a big international company, that is reaching a lot of young kids that don’t know much about Brazil, and now all of those kids that watched wonder if the whole of Brazil is really like that, with only favelas and forests. However, there is another side to the movie that is actually very impactful. They do expose the problem with violence, poverty, street children, hunting, deflorestation and the illegal trade of exotic animals. I believe that these are such important issues in Brazil that should be tackled and spoken about, and many Brazilians believe the same. Raising awareness to such issues has been really important and a wake up call for the government which many Brazilians enjoy. Lastly, I believe that the movie is a great way to introduce the not so pretty side of Brazil to younger kids, so they are aware of their country and can strive to do better.