The dictatorships that haunt us: the audiovisual as a technology of memory

Abstract

This text proposes a reflection on the power of audiovisual narratives - cinematographic and television - as technologies that act in the configuration of memories about the last dictatorial regimes that devastated Argentina (1976-1983) and Brazil (1964-1985). To do this, we review the relationship between memory and history and consider the role of fictional and documentary audiovisual productions in this equation, paying attention to the importance of policies to promote the sector. In this review, we recall some notorious cinematographic productions from both countries that address and show the horrors perpetrated by dictatorial regimes. Next, we propose a brief analysis of how the theme of dictatorship finds its way onto television, taking as an example the Argentine series História de um clã (2015) and the Brazilian superseries Os dias eram assim (2017). We conclude by discussing the importance of audiovisual productions that unveil and maintain memories of dictatorships, especially in the growing contemporary context of historical revisionism promoted by the extreme right in Argentina and Brazil.