O mito do “homem novo” : a imagem de Samora Machel no CineJornal Kuxa Kanema (1978-1981)

Abstract

After ten years of war against the Portuguese colonial regime, on 25th June 1975 the decolonization of Mozambique took place, and the Liberation Front of Mozambique (FRELIMO) became the country's only party. Samora Machel, a charismatic man who led the movement at the time, became the first Mozambican president. The policies implemented were in line with a national construction project that sought to spread a "New Man" in the country, which, in contrast to ethnic diversity, get rid of all the traditional and colonial past in favor of moderns and socialists values. Among these policies was the creation of the National Film Institute, which nationalized the whole production, exhibition and distribution of films, so that the film industry came into existence according to the objectives outlined by the party. Among his productions was the newsreel Kuxa Kanema. Between 1978 and 1979, in its first phase, this newsreel constructed a narrative that linked the image of Samora Machel to the construction of socialism in the country and a great "internationalist" cooperation. Already in 1981, in the second phase, when Mozambique was in a big economic crisis, with a civil war of increasing proportions, and realized that the support of the socialist countries was insufficient to deal with the situation, the constructed narrative came to emphasize the nationalist values, the fight against the "undesirables" and the great leadership of Samora Machel.