Tag Archives: Sean T. Mitchell

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Anthropoliteia in 2015

Comical Repast (Banquet of the Starved) James Ensor (Belgian, Ostend 1860–1949 Ostend) Date: ca. 1917–18 Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 45 1/2 x 57 1/4 in. (115.6 x 145.4 cm) Classification: Paintings Credit Line: Bequest of Miss Adelaide Milton de Groot (1876–1967), 1967 Accession Number: 67.187.68

Comical Repast (Banquet of the Starved) James Ensor ca. 1917–18

 

As we welcome a new year and get ready for the new semester, we at Anthropoliteia would just like to take a moment to reflect on the many exciting changes that occurred here over the course of 2014.  We redesigned the site with a snazzy new look.  We welcomed several new section editors as well as guest editors and contributors.  We launched new features (Book Reviews, DragNet, In the Journals, Interrogations, Practicum and Tip of the Cap), several on-going forums (What’s Going on in Ukraine?, Security in Brazil:World Cup 2014 and Beyond, and #Ferguson & Elsewhere), organized several panels and events at #AAA2014, and even created a new format for Dispatches and Dossiers “From the Field”.

Once we catch our breath, we hope to continue the fun in 2015.  Until then, here’s a look back at our most popular posts of 2014:

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Commentary & Forums, Security in Brazil: World Cup 2014 and Beyond

The Politics of Violence and Brazil’s World Cup

The editors of Anthropoliteia welcome Sean T. Mitchell with the latest entry in our forum Security in Brazil: World Cup 2014 and Beyond.

A June 19, 2014 São Paulo protest called by the Movimento Passe Livre (Free Fare Movement) to protest transport fares and conditions, but mischaracterized internationally as an “Antigovernment” and “World Cup” protest. The banner in front reads, “There will be no fare.” Photo. Oliver Kornblihtt/ Midia NINJA

A June 19, 2014 São Paulo protest called by the Movimento Passe Livre (Free Fare Movement) to protest transport fares and conditions was mischaracterized internationally as an “Antigovernment” and “World Cup” protest. The banner in front reads, “There will be no fare.” Photo: Oliver Kornblihtt/ Midia NINJA

 

On Failure, Violence, and the World Cup

Not unlike the 2010 hoopla anticipating that year’s South Africa World Cup, the breathless expectation of failure and security breakdown that characterized much international coverage of the lead up to Brazil’s 2014 World Cup, now, midway through the month-long event, seems to have been ill–founded.

When reporting wasn’t merely what Meg Stalcup characterized on this forum as fluff—which much of it was—pre World Cup coverage in the global north press was overheated and macabre.  Why?

The last year has seen the emergence of large scale Brazilian protest movements of clear importance, and the World Cup has been a target of their criticism.  But the macabre emphasis on violence and failure has obscured much more than it has illuminated about these movements, and about the real violence and social conflicts in contemporary Brazil.

To understand why so much coverage has taken this lurid form, it helps to look at historical representations of peace and violence in Brazil, as well as contemporary politics in Brazil and abroad.

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