The beginning of Black Orpheus caught my attention right off the bat. It shows what seems to be the beginning of Carnaval celebrations in Rio. The city is loud and full of energy and everyone seems to have the same vibrant mood. We see different parts of the city, the slums and neighbourhoods of lower economic status, to the more developed parts of the inner city. Regardless of the part of the city, though, we see everyone is singing and dancing and celebrating.

We meet the girl in the white dress, arriving on a boat to the docks in Rio. She mentions she’s not familiar with the city when she bumps into the blind man. She seems kind and innocent. Right as she gets off the boat, she encounters dozens of people (in what seems to be a market), everyone trying to sell her food, necklaces and trying to get her to dance. The men say how pretty the girl is and some even catcall her. It seems to me that everyone in that market knows she’s new to the city or sees her as a tourist (“fresh meat” so to speak?). I also think their motive for being so nice to her is to get her to buy stuff from them… As she approaches the tram, the guy conducting the tram (Orpheus) lifts her up and onto the packed tram. They go from the inner city to what seems to be the outskirts of the city, with dirt roads and children playing barefoot in the streets.

Based on the first 11 minutes of the movie, I think the girl in the white shirt will get into some trouble due to her innocence and being new to the city. Everyone seems to want something from her because she doesn’t know the city, whether it’s selling stuff to her or wanting her company because she’s pretty. I sense a darker theme where she might even get taken advantage of. I’ve seen this happen to many tourists while they’re on vacation: sellers raise their usual prices for foreign visitors or try to make money off them by offering bogus services. I’m sure this happens everywhere in the world and this movie seems to me won’t be an exception.

Question for the class: do you think it’s fair for sellers to increase their usual prices to foreigners? Or do you think it’s a good business opportunity for sellers as they get to make more money and therefore improve the economy of the country?

Hello everyone! My name is Claudia, I’m a third-year Psych student. I was born and raised in Peru and moved to Calgary, AB when I was 13. Since moving to Canada, I’ve met so many people from different countries in Latin America and I’m always in awe at how similar- yet different- our cultures are. I’ve met people from Mexico, Colombia, or Bolivia that- just like me- grew up watching El Chavo del Ocho, yet we all say the word ‘straw’ or ‘swimming pool’ in Spanish in different ways!  I’m taking LAST in order to learn more about different Latin American cultures apart from mine. I actually didn’t know Latin American studies was a thing at UBC until recently, so I’m super stoked to be able to take this class! Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!!