Maria Papoila, An(other) Ideological Lesson from the Estado Novo

Cadavez, Cândida

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/6636

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Authors

Cadavez, Cândida

Abstract(s)

Portugal lived in a nationalist oriented regime called Estado Novo for almost fifty years, between 1926 and 1974. The official mechanisms of propaganda were vital tools to validate the new ideology and recreational activities, for example, were important tools used by the bureau of propaganda to brief the “Nation” on the new truths of Portugal. Therefore, the regime invested a lot in the production of the kind of apparently light comedies which are still familiar to most of us in the 21st century. 1937 Maria Papoila was produced by Leitão de Barros and praises the brave deeds of a young rural woman who moved to the big city to work. As expected, a conflict happens and it can only be solved thanks to the genuine feelings of that representative of the “Nation”. This article argues that Maria Papoila was used as an effective propagandistic strategy to teach another clear ideological lesson to the “Nation” of António de Oliveira Salazar.