Preamble Narratives and Social Memory - Universidade do Minho

Cabecinhas, R. & Abadia, L. (eds.) (2013)Narratives and social memory: theoretical and methodological approachesBraga: University of MinhoISBN: 978-989-8600-04-2pp. 159 -174Audiovisual Post-colonial Narratives: Dealingwith the Past in Dundo, Colonial MemoryIsabel Macedo, Rosa Cabecinhas & Lilia Abadia1, 2, 3University of Minho, Portugalisabelmaced@gmail.comAbstractIn recent years there has been increased interest in the debate regarding colonisationand the enduring negative consequences of the colonial wars. The subject, taboo for threedecades, has now entered the Portuguese public sphere. Autobiographical documentariesthat focus on the recent events of the post-colonial period allow for the analysis of thenarratives of those who live and have lived “within and between cultures” - due to theprocesses of colonisation and enforced migration.This paper centres on the filmmaker, Diana Andringa and her efforts to come to terms withthe past. She directed the documentary Dundo, Colonial Memory (2009), in order to dealwith her memories and experiences of racism and segregation in Dundo (Angola) duringthe colonial period.This paper will analyse this documentary and an autobiographical interview with DianaAndringa. The outcomes of this research have led to three central themes: memories ofracial segregation in Dundo; migration processes; and, finally, feelings of guilt and shame,and the ambivalence in her identity narratives.KeywordsSocial representations; narratives; identity; memory.1. Introduction 1The theory of social representations (Moscovici, 1984) enables a deeper understandingof how the media and citizens construct current social and political issues. Social representationsare constructed through social interaction and communication and cannot bestudied without considering the historical, cultural and social contexts.Portugal faces the need to reflect on the colonial period and how it is interpreted, inorder to deal with the consequences of colonisation and colonial war that lasted thirteenyears (1961-1974) in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau. With the processes of (de)colonisation, many people were forced to move away from their places of residence andobliged to deal on a daily basis with the cultures of the countries in which they now live.1Paper developed under the research project “Identity Narratives and Social Memory: the (re)making of lusophony in interculturalcontexts”, funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (PTDC/CCI-COM/105100/2008) andsupported for the Isabel Macedo’s PhD Scholarship from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (SFRH/BD/75765/2011).