Memories of militancy: reconstructions of women’s political resistance to the civil-military dictatorship in Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze how the memory of the civil-military dictatorship in Brazil, especially the female political resistance, is reconstructed in the film “How nice to see you alive”, directed by Lucia Murat and released in 1989. Our perspective is based on the intersection of memory studies with feminist thought, and we try to understand this film as a manifestation of memory. By doing so, it is possible to identify the paradoxes and tensions present in this movie and how they help build this narrative of survival after a traumatic period. The gender studies perspective is relevant to our observation of how the conventions of femininity are (re)built, and one is able to notice the emphasis on the subjective issues that were silenced in the years of militancy, present mainly in the debates on violence and sexuality – important topics to feminism.able to notice the emphasis on the subjective issues that were silenced in the years of militancy, present mainly in the debates on violence and sexuality – important topics to feminism.