Photographic Series – Propaganda Spectacle

It is striking that in Allan Fisher’s photographs, both those deposited at CPDOC and in his personal archive, the characters portrayed are not identified.

Except for rare references to local or national authorities, the workers portrayed in these photos remain anonymous.

This anonymity, common in documentary records of the time, raises questions about the limits of representation and the power relations that configure the photographic act.

USIE Motion Pictures in Alvinopolis, Brazil

The visual report entitled “USIE Motion Pictures in Alvinopolis, Brazil” was submitted to the State Department on 15 August 1950. It was included in a memorandum by Alan Fisher with the subject: “My visit to Farmer’s Week in Alvinopolis, Minas Gerais, July 28-30, 1950”.

Rural Brazil sees USIS Films

The photos in this series were taken in the Municipality of São José do Vale do Rio Preto (SJVRP), in the State of Rio de Janeiro, and include images of rural workers in Córrego Sujo, a village 15 miles away from downtown SJVRP.

Brazilian Factory Workers See USIE Films

These images were taken between January and September 1950 in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo as samples of the film screenings organised by Brazil’s Industrial Social Service (SESI) using USIS films.

USIE Film Showings in Rio de Janeiro Public Schools

The report makes it clear that public schools in Rio de Janeiro were part of a well-organised programme of screenings of USIE films in overt collaboration with the Department of Public Education, which was like the cooperation with SESI, but targeting working class children.

Other Images

These images were taken by Alan Fisher in 1945 and are currently held at FGV CPDOC, Brazil (Gustavo Capanema collection). Fisher travelled to the Amazon to document the collaboration between the Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs and the Brazilian government in public health initiatives through the Serviço Especial de Saúde Pública (SESP) [Public Health Special Service].