“Baile da Gaiola: representation of Rio funk between 2018 and 2021 (2024)” by Maria Alice Arrais Pereira | Masters Thesis

Abstract: “This dissertation work has as its object the Baile da Gaiola, between the years 2018 and 2021, betwenn its peak and persecution by State forces and prohibition. Its creator, producer and DJ, Rennan da Penha, is listed as the main figure in the succession of events that transform this dance into a case study on the criminalization of Rio funk and structural racism. Within the History of the Present Time and the Social History of Culture, we seek to investigate and point out the paths that were possible for the expansion of Rio funk within the cultural industry and, even so, the cases of discrimination. To do this, we used journalistic articles in order to analyze the way the musical genre is treated. Mobilizing the concept of Life Stories, we intent to analyze the professional life of DJ Rennan da Penha and the State’s relations with funk, considering the application of the Pacifying Police Units, until the banning of Baile da Gaiola and Rennan’s arrest. Focusing on the narrative produced after these events, we analyzed the DVD Segue o Baile, made with Sony Music and DJ Rennan da Penha, being a major project shortly after the arrest. Finally, the main argument of this research is that, even today, Rio funk and the artists associated with it are subject of persecution by the State for being funk artists, black and living in the favela, even with recognition from the music industry, as was the case with DJ Rennan da Penha and Baile da Gaiola.”

 

This master’s thesis, written by Maria Alice Arrais Pereira and supervised by Prof. Dr. Joana D’arc do Valle Bahia, was defended in 2024 as part of the Master’s Degree in Social History at UERJ – State University of Rio de Janeiro. A copy of the dissertation is available, in Portuguese, in the UERJ Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.

 

Photo: Balazs Gardi (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

ANO

2024

AUTORES

Maria Alice Arrais Pereira

EDITORES

Prof. Dr. Joana D’arc do Valle Bahia