Cinema, video, and oppression: Eisenstein’s first book by Arlindo Machado amidst censorship in Brazil

Abstract

This paper addresses the censorship of films and cinematographic theories by the renowned Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein. During the period of 1964-1985, Brazil was under the government regime known as civil and military dictatorship , a phase marked by authoritarian governance. We investigated Eisenstein’s innovative ideas about editing, visual composition and cinematographic narrative, which were restricted in the Brazilian context due to censorship policies. Furthermore, we examined the crucial role played by Brazilian theorist Arlindo Machado, an authority on image, video and cinema studies in the country, in the clandestine dissemination of these theories. Arlindo not only defended Eisenstein’s ideas, but also developed in-depth analyses of technical images and the cinematographic process, many of which were based on the Russian filmmaker’s innovations. This essay explores a segment of the lives of these two influential theorists and their significant contribution to the dissemination of cinematic theories amidst government censorship. Furthermore, it highlights Arlindo Machado’s efforts in promoting an education focused on critical thinking and imagery related to video and cinema in Brazil despite the restrictions imposed by the government.

Keywords
Eisenstein; Arlindo Machado; censorship