Dr. Fredricksmeyer

Watching Black Orpheus (BO)

A. Background (see imdb.com for at least some of the background info)

1. Name the director of BO.

2. Name the year BO was released, and some of the awards it won.

3. Name the city and country in which BO is set.

4. Name the language spoken in BO.

5. Name the celebration during which all the action of BO takes place, and the American celebration it parallels. Explain the etymology of both terms, and identify the Greek celebration from which they descend.

6. Briefly describe the Afro-Brazilian religion Macumba (seen in one of the BO’s final scenes), and its origins, and also identify other, similar Latin American religions.

B. Black Orpheus and its Relation to Classical MythThe following two quotes are representative of most film critics who see little relation between BO and the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. "There is no point in calling your characters Orpheus, Eurydice, and Hermes ... [without conveying] something of the implications." "This samba drama is supposed to be based on the classic legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. Some parallels may be detected, but to us this seems an innocent conceit, unless you want to claim all sad love stories come from the same original source," and so on. The following questions should help you decide whether you agree with such statements.

1. Identify parallels between the musicality of the mythic Orpheus and the filmic Orfeu. Consider the instrument they play, whom and what they can influence with their music, and their relation to the god of music, Apollo.

2. The story of Eurydice mostly follows a narrative pattern called SLR (Separation, Liminality, Reintegration). Consider in detail how Euridice in BO does or does not follow the same narrative pattern.

(1) Separation(a) A nubile maiden(b) Leaves her village.

(2) Liminality(a) She goes to a meadow, woods, beach, lake, or stream.*(b) Gathers flowers, and/or(c) Dances, often with other maidens or nymphs.(d) She is chased, abducted, raped, and/or killed by a sexual predator, sometimes despite the efforts of a non-sexual protector figure.

(3) ReintegrationSometimes she rejoins society as a mother and/or wife.

* Consider how a city such as Rio during the celebration of Carnival parallels this part, i.e. (2) (a), of the SLR narrative pattern.

3. The story of Orpheus mostly follows a narrative pattern called the Heroic Journey.

Consider in detail how Orfeu in BO does or does not follow the same narrative pattern. The hero:

(1) Loses someone or something.(2) Journeys in search of the person or thing lost.(3) Meets two helpers.

(a) The first of these is usually a young, female figure, and directs the hero to the second helper. (b) The second helper is usually an old, wise male figure who provides

information to facilitate the hero's journey. (4) Visits many places, sometimes including the Land of the Dead. In this phase of the

Heroic Journey, often signified by the term katabasis (descent), the hero: (a) Descends, (b) At night, (c) Through a cave, grotto, or other opening in the earth's surface, (d) Past physical tokens of demarcation, and/or(e) Across a boundary, (f) Into a dark and dank Underworld,(g) Where he encounters monsters such as Cerberus, and the King and

sometimes Queen of the Underworld.(5) Finds the object of his pursuit, or finds that it is unobtainable.(6) Returns home, but only at the cost of the death of a substitute or substitutes, who

are either the hero's companion(s) on the journey, or the object of his pursuit.

(7) Finds devastation at home caused by his absence.

4. The myth has the two patterns discussed above (SLR and the Heroic Journey) alternate and

correspond as follows. Consider whether the same is true of BO.

Narrative Pattern of SLR of Female Narrative Pattern of Heroic Journey of Male

1. Separation

2. Liminality/Death 1. Loss

2. Journey

3. Helpers

4. Katabasis

3. (Aborted) Reintegration 5-6. Finding the Object of the Journey, and realizing that it is

unobtainable. Returning home alone at the cost of death of a substitute.7. Devastation

5. Briefly describe the myth and film’s epilogues, by which I mean what happens after the heroes’ deaths. Despite their apparent differences suggest how these two epilogues convey similar messages about music and its relation to human mortality.

6. Identify parallels between the myth and BO in addition to those

discussed above.