Abstract
In the 1950s and early 1960s, the Portuguese empire (mainly Macao, but also
Mozambique) became a recurrent setting for the TV fiction of the United States of
America, particularly through tales of adventure and espionage. This chapter examines the ways in which those programmes, shaped by plot formulas and Cold War politics, presented the colonial situation and, crucially, how they envisioned the US role – first as Portugal’s partner and later as its competitor. The chapter concludes that, although the images of Portuguese colonialism in television drama became gradually disenchanted, thrillers disregarded the liberation struggle taking place in Africa and continuously presented the Estado Novo as a close ally of the United States.
Mozambique) became a recurrent setting for the TV fiction of the United States of
America, particularly through tales of adventure and espionage. This chapter examines the ways in which those programmes, shaped by plot formulas and Cold War politics, presented the colonial situation and, crucially, how they envisioned the US role – first as Portugal’s partner and later as its competitor. The chapter concludes that, although the images of Portuguese colonialism in television drama became gradually disenchanted, thrillers disregarded the liberation struggle taking place in Africa and continuously presented the Estado Novo as a close ally of the United States.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Title of host publication | (Re)imagining African Independence |
Subtitle of host publication | Film, Visual Arts and the Fall of the Portuguese Empire |
Editors | Maria do Carmo Piçarra, Teresa Castro |
Publisher | Peter Lang |
Pages | 131-149 |
Number of pages | 19 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781787076389 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781787073180 |
Publication status | Published - 27 Jul 2017 |
Publication series
Name | Reconfiguring Identities in the Portuguese-Speaking World |
---|