A Historical Brazilian Film: Inconfidencia Mineira (Other (Not Listed) Sample)

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Inconfidencia Mineira
Filmmaking in Brazil started in the early 20th century and it took a substantial amount of time and resources in terms of money and time before establishing itself as a legitimate form of entertainment for the local citizens. This industry has gone through upheavals as a depiction of the manner in which it relied heavily on state funding and other initiatives. This analysis sheds light on Minas Conspiracy, which is a historical Brazilian film. Carmen Santos directed this film alongside Roberto Lupo.
The Plot
This film is the Inconfidencia Mineira, which was an unsuccessful attempt of the Minas Gerais people to establish themselves as independent individuals from the Portuguese Colonization in terms of culture, ethnicity, tribes, and religious activities (Castro 14). Brasil Vita Films had the sole responsibility of producing the film during trying colonial times. The inspiration behind the film production was the American Revolutionary War whereby 13 British Colonies successfully fought for their independence in North America (Perrin 2).
Based on the film, the main issue that instigated the conspiracy was the dwindling gold reserves in colonial Brazil in that as the gold reserves reduced, the miners faced substantial difficulties while attempting to meet the tax obligations instigated by the British colonialists. In the film, should the captaincy fail to cater for the demand of gold, then it was punishable by adding taxes on produced called and this they called derrama.
The conspirators responsible for the uprising established that they were going to rise in rebellion during the imposition of this unorthodox tax law. However, the conspirators lacked leadership structures and resources that would successfully enable them to implement their pleas. The conspirators largely comprised of republicans and monarchists and in this regard, some of them revolted against slavery whereas others thought fighting it was an impossible task (Perrin 12). In that regard, they proposed various methods of solving the overall problem such as the production of cotton commercially, exploration and mining iron or copper, to incentivize women to bear more children and the formation of local militias that would enforce the community’s agenda. This movement received the attention of prominent personalities including military strategists, religious practitioners like priests and educationists (Perrin 16).
The Conspirators comprised largely of the upper class individuals from the mineral rich Minas Gerais owing to their levels of education attained from the great Europe and their large accumulation of debts from the colonial government at the time. The punitive restrictions implemented by the Portuguese government implied punitive measures for individuals to pay up their debts. They wanted to create a democratic system where they would easily run their affairs without interference from the colonial government and where they would gracefully choose their leadership democratically (Castro 4). Despite the radical changes proposed by the conspirators, some things would not change including the ownership of slaves, and the ownership of property. However, the story twists when three members of the conspirators’ movement gang up to blow whistles on plans proposed by the radical movement. The Portuguese Colonial government therefore gangs up to arrest these rebels and among them included lawyer Alvarenga Peixoto, poets like Tomas Antonio, and priest Silva de Olveira.


Source: A Inconfidencia Mineira: Narrativa Popular, 1896.
The judicial matters regarding the rebellion went on for from 1789 to 1792 and a majority of the people influencing the movement went to gallows, while others received perpetual banishment in Africa.
Impacts of the Film
The Minas Conspiracy film is one of the oldest films in the history of Brazil. This particular film created awareness among large portions of people against the social and economic hardships endured by Colonial Brazil. These sensitization efforts propelled the need for changes in colonial times by depicting injustices inflicted by colonial governments around the world. This film largely centered on themes like the depiction of women in the society as subjective and therefore obedient to man based on the proposal that they should raise more children to raise populations. The film also centered on slavery and ...