Supernatural motherhood: Controlling images of black Brazilian women in the film “Good Manners”

imagens de controle de mulheres negras brasileiras no filme “AS BOAS MANEIRAS”.

Abstract

In this paper we analyze the Brazilian horror film with black people “Good Manners” based on film theory, social sciences and the contributions of black and intersectional feminists such as bell hooks and Carla Akotirene, with the aim of unraveling the construction of the image of Clara, a black and sapphic female character. From a bridge between communication studies and social theory, we analyzed the film in dialogue with the contributions of horror cinema and monstrosity studies and with studies of the history of representation of black women in the media in the USA and Brazil. We use the concept of “controlling images” by Patricia Hill Collins and the stereotypes of black Brazilian women highlighted by Lélia González as analytical tools to understand and interpret the relationships, representations and plot points constructed in the film, which we describe in detail. Thus, we conclude that, even if the narratives try to avoid racist representations of their characters, racism as a Brazilian cultural neurosis persists, materialized, in the analyzed film, in the images of “mãe preta”, “doméstica” and “mulata”. Furthermore, even in supernatural narratives without commitment to social verisimilitude, these controlling images persist, an insistence that we understand as a facet of racism and call “supernatural motherhood”.