Papers - Conference 2009 - Institute of Latin American Studies

aised in the previous decade with propaganda of dictatorial basis during 70‟s MilagreEconomico (Economic Miracle) 7 .After several years, and many unsuccessful attempts, the price rises finally got under controlwith 1994‟s Plano Real (Real Plan) that set down the inflation rates to less than 10% in its earlyyears 8 . Therefore, with a valuable currency, more Brazilians were able to travel abroad and tobuy imported products. Such enthusiasm, coincidently, arrived at the country together with a newworld wide medium, the internet, and – not so coincidently – with the cable televisionpopularization (that started in Brazil broadcasting exclusively foreign channels). Therefore, onewould say that the 90‟s were the time in which the Globalization Social Club – the associationthat is made between elite and Western European-North American culture in Brazilians‟ minds –got more evident for those who were in lower echelons of society, that were somewhat not awareof such correlation, by the gradual endeavour of different middle-class stratums to the world ofthe wealth.3. BRAZILIAN MEDIA PRODUCTION AND ITS CONSUPTIONWhile many western countries have much of their TV and Radio broadcasters‟ schedules basedon North-American productions, Brazilian networks lay upon local productions because theyunderstand that Latin American “audiences prioritize local content over foreign ones (…) Theideas (of such productions) can be global, but they work better when having a local protagonist”(Guglielmo, 2004: 208).Therefore Latin American TV networks invest on local productions such comedy, talk andreality shows that have their shape and/or story line somewhat based on foreign productions inorder to have higher audience rates. Through Rede Globo de Televisao 9 regular schedule, forexample, Brazilians can watch rather local versions of Late Show With David Letterman –Programa do Jô (Jô's Programme), a late-night talk show, hosted by the comedian and book7 The "economic miracle" is the name given to a period of an alleged exceptional economic growth occurred duringthe military dictatorship (between 1969 and 1973). This period brought up Brazilian pride through Statepropaganda (which made use of the Brazilian victory in 1970’s Football World Cup in Mexico as well as the fastBrazilian economic development at the time).8 During 1994-2000 period the inflation average was 8.6% a year in Brazil. In 2008 was 5.9%.9 Rede Globo de Televisao, or simply Globo, is the largest TV Network in Brazil, the fourth largest in the world, andhas an average daily audience of 120 million people (Globo Network Institutional.http://redeglobo.globo.com/TVG/0,,9648,00.html. Accessed on May 3 rd , 2009).9