Politics, Memory, and Working-Class Life in the Commercial Biopic Lula, Son of Brazil

Abstract

This article addresses the relationship between a biopic movie and History. In particular, it explores two key scenarios in the movie: 1) the depiction of the intersection of the adolescent Lula with strikes in the early 1960s, which is tied up with his union activist brother, a Communist; and 2) a distorted rendering of Lula's mentor Paulo Vidal, the union's president from 1969-1975, who appears as a cynical sell out. Widening our evidentiary base beyond the film, the interpretative sections that follow explore how these depictions reinforce mistaken visions of Brazilian labor history.