O teatro como forma de comunicação de resistência: a questão agrária

Abstract

The media is considered an instrument for the dissemination of information, but it can also act as a message filter and diffuser of ideals for the ruling classes. According to the writings of Marx and Engels, the conceptions of the ruling class are reproduced to the dominated classes as sole ways of thought. Per the communication theories developed by Adorno, Horkheimer and Chomsky, the criticism the media suffers is due to the partiality with which it presents issues. One of the subjects affected by this posture is the agrarian question. Brazil is no longer a rural economy. It has recently entered a phase of industrialization and urbanization, but the economic powers in its countryside remain centralized, with a structure similar to that of the hereditary captaincy. This situation generally receives no space in the media, and when it does, it is presented in a tendentious manner that contributes to a cycle of social, economical and environmental problems. With this paper, we propose the use of an alternative means of communication to try to fill the gaps left by the media on the topic as well as to try and instigate social engagement: the theater, through the development of plays to be presented at municipal schools, with a target audience of pre-teens. The model followed is the one developed by Brazilian playwright Augusto Boal, “Oppressed Theatre”, chosen due to the importance it gives to actor-audience interaction.