Chronically Sociological: Sérgio Luiz Bianchi Cinematography

This abstract proposes a sociological study of contemporary Brazilian cinema, especially the cinematography of director Sérgio Luiz Bianchi (1945). His main cinematographic productions are Omnibus (1972), A Segunda Besta (1977), Maldita Coincidência (1979), the documentary Mato Eles? (1982), Divina Previdência (1983), Romance (1987), A Causa Secreta (1994), Cronicamente Inviável [Chronically Unfeasible] (2000), Quanto vale ou é por quilo? (2006), Os Inquilinos [The Tenants] (2009) and Jogo das Decapitações (2013).

The Sociology of Cinema intents to locate in specifics works in cinema to understanding the social constructions by the analysis of documentaries or fictional films. In the present abstract, the sociological method chosen to interpret film productions is based on the reading of the images, examining cuts and planes of sequences (Jullier; Marie, 2012). However, in Pierre Sorlin's (1982) thought this kind of examination could assist in the sociological study of cinema, considering that the cinematographic productions apprehend specific social phenomena, from certain values. In this way, the films may be understood as narrative constructions that are based on the social imaginary and the speeches of the agents in the society. Furthermore, the film presents an end result of the creation process that reconstructs reality. Otherwise, the author observes that the work is a retranslation of a set of dominant ideas at a period time.

The research aims to study the complete Sérgio Bianchi´s filmography, discussing with the social theories, special features of his ideology noted in the movies, such as economic crisis, poverty, exploitation, social classes, etc. These subjects are interpreted by the filmmaker in his movies. Thereby, there would be the possibility of thinking national quests from his interpretations on the social reality.