Pan-Americanism and Cinema during Good Neighbor Policy in Brasil (1933-1945)

the ambassadors Disney, Orson Welles e Carmen Miranda

Abstract

The article seeks to relate some US-funded films during its Good Neighbor Policy (1933-1945) through the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs (OCIAA) with the concept of Pan-Americanism. The hypothesis listed by the research is that the use of cinema as an instrument of soft power of the Good Neighbor Policy, in touting Pan-Americanism, the American Way of Life, and by seeking to contain the Nazi-fascist ideological influence in Latin America, helped to building a positive identity in U.S.-Brazil relations. The research uses as methodological procedures the consultation of primary and secondary sources. Thus, the article is based on renowned authors and on documentary research carried out in important centers and libraries in Brazil and in the USA. The text has, on account of the research, transcripts of interviews and speeches - few published by the academy - of personalities of that time, providing a unique correlation with the bibliographic production on the theme and an original argument. The conclusion reached by the article is that cinema was an essential soft power tool of the USA in Latin America and contributed to changing the view of Latin Americans about Americans