Publication details
Múltiplas realidades da Amazonia Brasileira
| Title in English | Multiple realities of the Brazilian Amazon |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2021 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | From the books A Invençao da Amazônia (1994), by the Brazilian researcher Neide Gondim, and Mad Maria, a novel by Márcio Souza (1980), we seek to expose the complexity of the construction of the Amazonian reality in the field of literature. Gondim shows the formation of the Amazonian imaginary from the point of view of European travelers, pointing out the contrast with the way the natives lived. The record of foreign authors oscillates between fantasies, utopias and prejudices and between serious scientific research in the fields of ethnology and natural sciences, influencing works on the region with a focus on the exotic. This view of the Amazon, prevailing in the international context until today, diverges deeply from the identity created by local authors, especially from the thirties of the twentieth century, focused on social, economic and political problems. An example will be the novel Mad Maria, a critique of the exploitation of the region and human work, the decimation of indigenous peoples, the corruption and cynicism of entrepreneurs and politicians who accompanied the construction of the Madeira-Mamoré railroad (1907-1912). |