Good morning! We’re covering today Brazil’s controversial political documentary nominated to the Oscars. The country’s new base in Antarctica. And the possibility of the government raising minimum wages. (This newsletter is for premium subscribers only. Become one now!)
Brazil’s “documentary wars” reaches the Oscars
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has nominated Petra Costa’s film The Edge of Democracy for best documentary feature.
Why it matters. The Edge of Democracy is part of the “documentary wars,” being fought between highly politicized filmmakers trying to shape the “official” narrative about Brazil’s recent past. The Oscar nomination was celebrated by left-wing parties as validation of the impeachment having been a soft coup. Conservatives, predictably, bashed the nomination.
Review. The movie (available on Netflix) is an overtly partisan take of Dilma Rousseff’s 2016 impeachment which depicts, with almost no nuance, the Workers’ Party as victims of corrupt elites. A more balanced account would not have ignored the fact that the party ascended to power already with an extensive rap sheet of scandals, nor Ms. Rousseff’s disastrous economic policy that helped drive Brazil to its worst recession on record, or the fiscal crimes committed by her administration. The documentary also inexplicably left...