What a better way to start an argument, than with the highest expression of intellectual dishonesty, calling the other side fascist? Yes, in varied degrees, all the works of filmmaker Jose Padilha, of which I had the displeasure of watching, do fit the label of the groups “ideological” basis. This honorable list includes, elite squad 1 and 2, and of course the first half of the mechanism (I stopped in the middle of the show, sorry, I am unforgivably lazy, and for the life of me could not asses the will to finish the dawn thing, despite wanting to write about it). At heart, this is an essay not of the pieces of fiction, but of the artist, José Padilha himself, and how the main ideals contained in his works, fit some very clear ideological boxes, and what this means.
(So many unforgettable insights, from my favorite artist ever)
To analyze individuals, through their works, in the pursuit of finding what the human, the artist actually thinks, is always a difficult feat, which a lot of people doubt the validity of. The creative process of a tv series, or movie depends on hundreds of people, all working and giving their own contribution to a finished product. The job of finding what ideas or elements come from each member of a staff, is a speculative work at best, so if you want to argue there is no way to be sure, what I am going to write about truly represents the man’s opinion, be my guest. Nevertheless, it is undeniable how being credited as both writer, producer and director on the elite squad films, and by being usually the biggest and most relevant name, in any production he takes part of, his voice is the most important and prevalent in the creative process of the works. Attempting an analysis such as these, although not allowing for conclusive evidence and derivations, is usually great in identifying patterns, repetitive elements and ideas on the works of due creators, which are usually enlightening in many ways. These are also based of the words of this great auteur himself, https://g1.globo.com/pop-arte/cinema/noticia/jose-padilha-diretor-de-o-mecanismo-e-tropa-de-elite-diz-que-a-ideologia-esta-ajudando-a-miseria-brasileira-video.ghtml, if anyone thinks I am being unfair on evaluating the guy through fiction. And boy, his attempts to deny any such ideas on his works, clarified a lot, and confirmed all the notions I formed about him.
Since words like fascism have long lost their meaning, a bit of an explanation of what import of the term, I will be using is necessary, to truly explain why any fiction fits the label. No, I am in no way shape or form trying to imply, that filmmaker, José Padilha, has pictures of Hitler or Mussolini hidden under his bed, or that he secretly plans or desires the genocide of millions of people (would not be surprised if it turns out to be the case though). Much less that his films and series are part of politically charged propagandistic plan, being executed by an obscure far right (Fuck you, if you think otherwise) movement, which wants to seize power.
The dimension given to the term will be that taken of the essay, Ur-fascism (please read this btw), written by Umberto Eco, where he makes an effort, in order to properly define what are the elements, that constitute an everlasting fascism. Which means, basically the movements most elementary and undercurrent aspects, that in thesis represent the basis found in regimes as the Nazi Germany, but also several other political groups and ideological currents, that are never explicitly groped with fascism elsewhere. It is pretty important to emphasize, how the concept of fascism in this (or ur-fascism, how it is called in the work, a nomenclature I will also be using), is completely abstracted and not necessary connected to any real world political groups, consisting of more generic, and ever inclusive ideals, than any of their factual ramifications in society. Also the ideas of the greatest statist of the Nazi regime, which created the political form of government, and judiciary system of Germany at the time, Carl Schmitt, was also taken into account in the making of this analyses.
So can I asses any aspects of Ur-fascism, being found throughout Padilha’s body of work? (the better question would be how not to see the resemblance). Sure arguing for any form of cult of tradition being present here would be a lie, there is no glorification of a wonderful past, but every other category of Ur-fascism is here.
How the works and characters are driven by irrationality is the most obvious one, the fuel for the events being presented always appears to be powerful discharges of emotion, most notably hatred. This comes in the shape of sentimentalism being viewed as positive while the intellectual circles, are loathed, rational analyses and assessments of situations, are denied any validity as instruments of change and action.
You need to look no further for something that perfectly showcases this, as the portrayal of university circles in elite squad 1. On the same way the Nazi regime preached the mistrust of such individuals and locations, those were viewed as centers of communist indoctrination, complete moral and cultural degeneracy; which are pretty close to the way these groups are shown in the movie. Students consist of a bunch of depraved, potters, and of course, hypocrites that pretend to try enact social assistance, but only act to worsen the delicate situation of Rio de Janeiro, by being a part and consumers of the underworld traffic. To go and to brutally spank, threat and coerce, these members of a privileged corrupt elite (this kind of happens a lot with other groups as well) is seen as something transcendental, cathartic, a heroic act regarding serving them justice.
Actions do mean a lot more than words and ideas in this scenario. The irrationalism I talked above also has an aspect of going towards a glorification of action, over discourse or reflection beforehand. Action becomes valuable by itself, enacting one, deciding quickly and executing deeds upon the world, under any moral justification does come first, and is preferable to stop, ponder and make a rational assessment in regards to a situation. That is why the intellectual’s circles with their need to rationalize, overthink any given circumstance, call for open debate and discourses of ideals, only lead to stagnation and paralysis, a complete impossibility of achieving anything, and must be suppressed.
The inherent value of action also comes with the silencing of any possible disagreement, since those get society nowhere. The divergences that must be silenced, can be seen pretty clearly, in the way the intellectual left wing politicians are portrayed in the second movie. The congressmen Fraga is the movie stand in for these, being a part of the Human rights movements. His questioning of Bope’s actions are portrayed as demagogy, an empty rhetoric, that is stopping the police to act, truly get things done and achieve what is necessary to assure the security of Rio’s population. So yeah, being concerned with the most basic rights of a population in a precarious state, is the movie synonymous with being part of emasculated left, that has completely abandoned any idea, surrounding how reality is actually like.
Behind these assertions, there is an ingrained disagreement with the assumptions of modern liberal systems themselves. In the topic of an action, being just as valid as their means (the means are the ends), or in the belief that any disagreement and conflict in society can be resolved through the process of rational discussions, to assure the best due decision making process.
Heroism is a key factor on the Ur fascism, most notably its normalization. In usual mythologies and cultures, the hero is said to be a stand out individual, very few can achieve. In fascist regime, heroism become the norm, everyone can become one, become a member of a life of heroism, as long as they follow a specific group. And this is exactly what the Bope represents, an organization where everyone is heroic, their members are basically super beings, with the paragon of moral and ethical values, the most well trained and prepared individuals, containing a physical capacity, mental strength and obstinacy, no one can match. While also being the only ones, which can stand to the complete corruption, and degradation of society.
There is also an element of worshiping death in this representation of heroics. Dying becomes something not to be avoided, or faced with dignity, but the reward itself of pursuing a moral life. There is a glorification of the act, people die triumphantly for the greater good, in what consists of almost a culmination in their life’s worth. On their rush for death, and desire for conflict, the Ur fascist hero is prone to lead other people to their demises, as evidenced by the absurd number of people the Bope kills, in their incursions.
( Great example of subtlety)
Since playing with death is usually a dangerous game, these aspects also manifest in sexual manners. In the form of a generalized machismo of the hero, the phallic symbols and ideals of masculinity are emphasized, while the women are viewed with mistrust, and almost disgust, only serving as objects of desire. Looking at the two predominant sexual relations in Elite Squad 1, gives a good picture of such. Just look at how Matias and Capitão Nascimento try to show predominance, a general power over their love interests on every occasion, and the mistrust and negative light, under which the characters are portrayed. Those are no coincidences, but a part of a larger worldview which the movies share (the treatment Capitão Nascimento gives to his wife, is the part of a somewhat critical view of this general ideology, and I will get into that in more detail later).
In order to truly get to the essence of an Ur-fascist hero, which I argue pretty much every protagonist in his works consist of, we need to take a deeper look into how each lived their lives. Capitão Nascimento (the second least favorite captain, I can think of at the top of my head) is at first characterized and motivated by his will to leave Bope, exit the life of conflict and carnage, he takes for the organization. Under the cause of those damaging his mental sanity, and threatening his personal relations. However when he sees the perfect chance to leave, finally discovering a good successor, avenging his former prodigy, Capitão Nascimento denies the chance. He comes back, the idea of life for such a man, is not that conflict is done to accomplish a future peace, with an end goal or purpose in mind. Instead, life is an eternal struggle; the never-ending fight for predominance is the end, and purpose of it. There is nothing beyond that, a total war where even annihilating the enemy is not enough, because the target is always just an excuse for the act that gives life a purpose.
On this point I will have to talk about narrative. No, not the garbage one, from Tv shows like the mechanism, but the obsession these works have, with crafting these lofty plots, surrounding a certain given enemy, that wants to destroy the nation, its citizens, threaten their safety and lives. Yes, these imaginary creations of great enemies to be destroyed is also one of the more typical elements of Ur-fascism (as you could probably imagine), and nothing portrays this better than the mechanism. That is a story consisting of characters’ obsessions and journeys, to deconstruct and completely destroy the omnipotent, and generalized machine of corruption, which is killing Brazil. A nonpartisan movement with no ideology, that can be found in the government, to the high ranking politicians, the judiciary the press, the congress , yes everywhere, even besides the person writing this own text.
(Like these respectable and honorably portrayed misters)
Just look at how what gives the character’s identity, and morally justifies any act they may undertake, is not the adherence to any law or institution (for our protagonist played by Selton Mello, following such only consists of liability and an unnecessary constraint), but in how they oppose the mechanism, fight against the perverse organization. The Ur-fascism propaganda and worldview, try to create this exact same narrative, of villainizing the other side, showcasing an us versus them absolute in the world. Where the enemy is at the same times too strong and too weak, and must be terminated at costs. Regardless of any law of system of control, which may exist in society.
(This guy's maniac reaction to everything is just so adorable)
How are the antagonists constructed and showcased tells a lot. Both the series and the elite squad movies, have a weirdly dualistic representation of antagonists. They are at the same time all powerful, omnipotent and influential impossible to be defeated, they have the congress, the political power, the press, the supreme court, all the highest political powers in the country, on their side. But at same they are reachable, can be caught arrested and humiliated. The corrupt politicians that are arrested are fragile, weak individuals that break easily when pressured, and end up humiliated and demoralized. Their whole system of corruption is terrified of the string of investigations and arrests our characters are starting in Curitiba. An enemy at the same time too strong to be left alone, but also weak, pathetic that could be annihilated, is exactly how the Nazi party created a threat in the Jews, and other minority figures, during their government.
Do I need to keep piling these up? The rhetoric being the exact same, is the result you will get out of this analysis. On ur-fascism an interesting aspect, is in the way the movement always try to appeal and portray the fears and horrors of a large group or category in society, usually the middle classes. Elite squad does indulge pretty head on, in the fear those classes have of those below them, making a Rio de Janeiro of social anarchy, generalized violence, and public insecurity, of which the poor communities in the city are guilty of. While offering some completely unorthodox, or dare I say populists solutions to those issues.
Elite Squad 2 and the mechanism also have the ideal of indulging the middle class, but pick a different target, those above them. The corrupt political class, that are showcased are the real culprits to blame for, in regards the calamitous situation the country is undergoing. While even instances of criticism to the groups these works are trying to appeal towards, can be found (really, what the fuck is not portrayed with hatred or in a kind of negative light here?) those are very minor, when compared to how much of these pander to their own very interests and ideologies.
The portrayal of political structures is the uniformed aspect, of any given Padilha’s work. The institutions are always ruled by the ideals of general corruption and moral degeneration, that plague its members. The politicians are a nefarious class that is completely uncompromised, and detached from any interest from the people, always looking for ways to protect their own corporate profits, and to ensure their survival. The criticism fascism has of the model of modern democratic systems, and their ideal of representation of the people, is very much alive in these works. The population stops being seen on a more concrete point of view, their will being possible to be manifested and seen through votes, and allowing for elected representatives, to enact said will. In contrast in Ur-fascism form the people is portrayed as an amorphous mass. A group whose true will and interests cannot be discerned by manifestation in elections, since the classes are not ready to understand and get to the heart of what are their real benefits and problems. Instead those have to be interpreted by a leader (be it a specific group or individual), someone that truly gets the issues of society and how those must be solved. Calling for a bizarre form of direct government with the masses, not mediated by institutions or political systems, eliminating the middle man of the elected representatives of modern democracy. That in an almost paradoxical manner, because usually it extinguishes most if not all political rights of the population.
For examples of this happening on these works, look no further than the federal police, or some parts of the judiciary in the mechanism. Their rhetoric of a government that no longer contains the will of the people is a classical display of such. Instead they are the ones acting, truly interpreting and discerning justice, all for the greater good, and profit of the population. Regardless of the proper means, and balances the political structure Brazil is based upon.
To properly contextualize what I have been developing, an important distinction has to be made. The differences between simply showcasing an idea, and actually defending said ideology is huge in media, but not very clear in the minds of many. Like when an artist chooses to include a Nazi in his works, this hardly ever consists of them trying to make an argument for regime of Nazi Germany (most of the times it is the exact opposite). So It would be in fact be very possible, José Padilha is including such themes in his works very deliberately, in order to satirize or criticize Ur fascism in a conceptual level. So an important question to be answered is in what light is The mechanism and The elite squad movies, portraying said concepts, and with what purpose.
Though in my case, I find it hard to argue those ideals are not being reaffirmed constantly throughout his filmography. The brutality of what the Bope represents in the reality and structure of the society of Rio, is treated like a smaller evil. Sure there is a little bit of a sense they are monstrous organizations enacting indiscriminate killings, but look what they are up against. See how every other group is heavily criticized and offer no solution for society, the human rights groups are lost in demagogy, and can do nothing to help society. The college students are degenerate intellectuals, that benefit from ruthless drug lords. Poor communities are filled with crime and dangerous groups bringing anarchy to society. Most of the police and the political class, consists of corrupts only looking for personal gain. The middle class is filled with hypocrites that do nothing, even when faced with the issues of society.
On the other side on this pool of misery and moral degradation we have the Bope. They emphasized ideals of strength, honesty, physical and mental strength to achieve what has to be done. They are men of action, not worried with empty speeches, like preachy populist journalists, but are instead on the streets saving lives every day. There is a justification to any action they may commit, because at heart they only have to go to such extremes, because the Bope is protecting the people of Rio, from ever more ruthless enemies. Behind it all, on the rage filled view of the modern society those movies are trying to present, they shine as the brightest members, and more positive group displayed. You could say this is just an after effect of the general vilanization of every other segment in society, or any counter thesis to their moral values, but I digress.
Their machismo is the only aspect that is present, heavily criticized and presented without bullshit justifications. Both members of Bope we primarily follow, treat the women in their life like garbage, trying to assert predominance, enacting verbal violence and usually showing a typical misogynistic view on them. As a result, these relations end up destroyed, the hatred and destructive tendencies that fuel their lives, only serving to alienate those closest to them. As an institution though, any such criticism are mostly absent, to not see the Bope or the federal policy as the good guys in these narratives, or that the values they represented are being criticized, is a view I barely find any evidence in the texts themselves. However who knows, maybe I just did not get the many layers of dramatic irony, which are being masterfully implemented here.
On the matter of the more relevant disagreements I have with how his works are viewed, a certain interpretation of Elite Squad 2 always bothered me. The change in attitude and character arc of Capitão Nascimento, and what they mean in the context of the franchise, is the contentious point. Many people think him recognizing the error of his ways, after the death of Matias and trying to act differently does represent a criticism of the entire function of Bope in society, and him going to a CPI and being judged by his crimes does consist of him accepting the merits of political institutions. However, I cannot see even a trace of such in the actions he takes. Capitão Nascimento recognizes he could not achieve results of peach on the city of Rio, no matter how many drug lords he killed or expelled of slums, because of an even more dangerous system of militias taking their place. How does that means killing those dangerous nefarious individuals, while respecting no rights or laws in the process, is wrong now? The answer is in fact very different, the problem lies with the existence of institutions, needless hindrances stopping him from treating the same way, other people that deserve it. The movie is not telling the Bope is suddenly wrong in the manner they treated criminality, but instead that their ways should be extended and generalized to achieve class and groups protected by privileges.
The name of the film is very explicit about what it is about. There is a new target and placeholder to their righteous anger, but the rhetoric remains, only the enemy changes. Now beyond drug lords, we have politicians and the militia in sight. The new thesis bout what the Bope should be doing, is not going to a CPI or legal judgement, but instead treating the corrupt politicians in the same ruthless manners as dealers, something Capitão Nascimento does in an act of cathartic violence that is supposed to elevate the audience. Doing these in parts of society is not the problem, but in effect the solution to the issues of Brazil, and should be expanded.
Trying the democratic route is ostracized way, that achieves no results. Attempting such just gets the character demoralized, people invent lies, ruin his life, while the political class in general, just make deals and escape with no punishment. The institutions are present, as scapegoats to assure impunity, centers of a group of corrupted individuals looking for their own interests, and perpetuate these destructive systems. The ominous shots at the end of the movie, regarding Brasilia, as this citadel of power and corruption, the center of the new enemy makes the point abundantly clear. Taking action in such terms can leave to no results, and is doomed for failure as it did (making the mechanism what I believe to be an answer and spiritual successor to the Elite Squad movies). If elite squad was attempting to address the problematic morality of the first movie, then it fails for containing barely any criticism to it. However, if the idea was to take the franchise to new direction and ideas, then I fail to see in what ways it innovates in terms of theming and concepts, besides the new circumstances being presented.
( The absolute reality, regarding Brazilian politics)
On this section, I will leave fiction for a moment and dissect a few of the creator’s statements for a moment. On interviews Padilha (beyond always emphasizing how not fascist at all he is) has already said he believes the true issue of Brazil is not ideological. Meaning it cannot be solved or understood with a left – right dialect, but instead appears with the complete corruption of the politicians. This attempt to take the political debate away from its most famous sides and divisions, is interesting not only for being present in his body of work, where both sides are equally corrupt. But is also weirdly similar to a narrative found in the Nazi party, where they tried to presented themselves as a third way, outside of these normal society dichotomy, resulting in them being more connected to the true interests of the people. Perhaps what makes fascism more iconic, and a better example to any such entities is how ideologically hollow the whole group actually is. The way fascism appear in Italia was in an ever changing populist rhetoric, where the time and circumstances gave a lot of what were the party official ideas. Mussolini its head, is well known for defending atheism is his early political years but as he grew to power he became the protector of the catholic church in Italia. So yeah, power was not exerted in terms of ideals, in a left – right axis (that is so many people take issue when applying such to the regimes, and for good reasons, since in many positions they are anachronistic and contradictory to the classifications) but instead with a populist speech to please the crowds and assure power, at any given moment. Not really that different from the opinion of a certain director, who was trying to really prove how his worldviews holds absolutely no resemblance with a certain movement at the interview.
With this analyses I hope (more like dream) to have demonstrated the absurd resemblance between the researched objects, and the Ur- fascism as defined by Umberto Eco. Besides the fact everyone can and probably most people do, in fact disagree that the characteristic I defined above as the basis of fascism, my argument relies more on the fact that if you buy the premises and definitions I am using, than the conclusion being reached is evident. The importance of defining why the hell does it matter; what sort of worldview does this works of fiction contain is something I have intendedly left for last.
For one it showed how most people were not ready to properly identify the elements of fascism in fiction, most of the audience did not register those, and this was not the way they were generally perceived. And even the people who did, could not put a coherent argument why that was the case (I have looked for a good analysis on this topic in a lot of places). So there is a general lack of comprehension regarding the subject. Another thing, is the fact, we have one of the more famous and well received Brazilian artists, widely regarded both in the country and internationally, but whose works reflect and showcased some very specific tendencies and feelings. Nevertheless, there is something in his works that appears to resonate and move a lot of people, since Elite Squad is even in the top 3 highest grossing Brazilian movies ever, showing they are integral pieces, in order to understand the cultural zeitgeist of Brazil. As for my closing statements, I would like to leave this with an open reflection (since trying to answer this would be way beyond my intellectual reach). What do Elite Squad 1,2 and the mechanism tell about our culture, what sort of Brazil and conclusions about society, can we draw and see from those?
( I have no doubt, about who will win the upcoming election)
