Researchers – Propaganda Spectacle

Daniel Mandur Thomaz

Project lead

Daniel Mandur Thomaz is a Senior Lecturer in Brazilian and Latin American Studies at King’s College London and a Fellow of King’s Brazil Institute.

His research interests span the history of transnational media, propaganda and its relationship with cultural practices.

He is a member of the editorial board of Brasiliana: Journal for Brazilian Studies and the PI of the project “The Spectacle of Propaganda: Alan Fisher’s Photography and US Information Service Operations in Brazil” (AHRC IAA).

His most recent book is Transatlantic Radio Dramas: Antônio Callado and the BBC Latin American Service during and after WW2 (Pittsburgh UP, 2023 – Honourable Mention, Best Book in Humanities 2024 – Antonio Candido Prize – Latin American Studies Association, LASA).

Martina Spohr

Co-Investigator

Martina Spohr is Associate Professor, Undergraduate Program Coordinator in Social Sciences, and coordinator of the Laboratory of Studies on State, Power, and Society (LAEPS) at the School of Social Sciences FGV CPDOC.

She is also Editor-in-Chief of the journal Estudos Históricos.

Martina is a historian whose research focuses on the relationships between entrepreneurs and political regimes, both in Brazil and abroad.

She was awarded the Young Female Scientist grant from the Rio de Janeiro Research Council (FAPERJ) for the project “Entrepreneurs and Dictatorship: ‘Private Entrepreneurial Diplomacy’ in Brazil-U.S. Foreign Relations (1974-1979)”.

Thais Blank

Co-Investigator

Thais Blank is Associate Professor and Assistant Dean at the School of Social Sciences at FGV CPDOC, where she contributes to the BA Program in History, Politics, and Cultural Heritage.

She researches visual culture, focusing on the preservation and circulation of archival images.

In 2022, she was awarded the Young Scientist of Our State grant from FAPERJ, and in 2023, she became a CNPq Productivity Fellow, coordinating the project “New Perspectives on the Archive: Visuality, Education, and Dissemination in the Women’s Archives of CPDOC”.

She is the Coordinator of the Visual Culture Studies Laboratory (LECV CPDOC) and co-founder of the Archive Image Researchers Network (REPIA).

Photographic Series

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].