By Paulo Mileno
Photos: YouTube Screenshot\Paulo Mileno
“Check out the real situation (…) Where did it all begin? When will it end?”
Real Situation, Bob Marley
Legend: “The Game That Changed The History” is top one on Globoplay
Many factors contributed to creating “The Game That Changed History,” turning it into a masterpiece with the mission of transforming Brazilian streaming. This series is a success with both the public and critics.
Legend: Score 10 to “The Game That Changed The History” series made by José Júnior with general direction of Heitor Dhalia. Casting, scenography, art production, outfit and photography are excellent.
Since an audiovisual work is a director’s masterpiece, we first need to highlight the excellent direction of Heitor Dhalia, who made the Hollywood film “Gone” (2012), alongside other directors like Matias Mariani and Cláudio Borelli.
With their international experiences, all of them were fundamental in translating the unique speech to civilization speech. A masterpiece presented through streaming platforms can become a powerful tool to challenge the ideas of globalization.
Another reason to pay attention is Erick Bretas, the former leader of digital products and paid channels at Brazilian broadcast giant Globo and Globoplay. When he introduced the new projects on Globo’s streaming platform, he stated, “This is the film that will change audiovisual history.” “The Game That Changed History” features great actors Ricardo Romão and Babu Santana.
In this photo, Erick Bretas wore the Globoplay shirt. On the poster, Ricardo Romão and Babu Santana.
His statement was made during Rio2C, the biggest creativity event in Latin America that was held in 2022. Everyone at the GlobalStage, the main stage of the creative industry, heard this phrase.
In Bretas’s farewell message on Instagram about leaving Globoplay, he stated, “Today, the Globo seal is a marker of prestige for a series… Much of this is recognized by audience success, production value, and cultural impact.”
Because of this, the phrase deserves our attention with the launch of this masterpiece now. Certainly, “The Game That Changed History” carries the recipe for success, being attractive to the public, and for the production value and cultural impact.
Bretas bridged mainstream difusion with the social function of art by partnering with José Júnior. Júnior exemplifies social transformation in Brazil.
José Júnior gained recognition for rescuing criminals and reintegrating them into society through art with the NGO Afroreggae. Today, as a showrunner at Afroreggae Audiovisual, he employs dozens from the Maximum Penalty Cultural Institute and hundreds of actors from slums, the north zone, the western zone, and other states. One notable actor is Jailson Silva, who played Belmiro, one of the main characters in “The Game That Changed History.”
Júnior subverted the hegemonic narrative by listening to people with viewpoints rooted in their lived realities and cultural contexts.
That’s the key question: Who possesses this cultural diversity?
Breaking stereotypes allows for the humanization of characters who date, kiss, and make love. These dramatic arcs, covering themes of love and violence, resonate globally, stirring deep emotions, as said by Bob Marley on “Stir it up”.
As a result, overcoming the hollow rhetoric of “mind and heart” is so common in the Brazilian left and its syndrome of superiority. actor Otávio Müller portrayed his character “Mrs. Hélio” effectively, bringing to light an age-old challenge since the military dictatorship: the struggle with self-criticism, the inability to acknowledge others, and a lack of dialogue with the people.
During the divisive election between Lula and Bolsonaro, when Lula nearly lost, at a Partido dos Trabalhadores event, Mano Brown, the leader of the Hip Hop band Racionais MCs, criticized this modus operandi and was booed, perhaps for the first time. It was a critical mistake that has been recurring for forty years since the return of democracy, yet no one was willing to listen.
However, those who listened to Fernanda Torres’s self-criticism in her recent interview on the TV program Roda Viva heard her say, “The problem is that the White intellectual, after being the spokesperson, felt free, superior, and the voice of the people. And today, the people speak for themselves.” Moreover, “The Game That Changed History,” besides its aesthetic value, can contribute to democratizing our discourse by giving a voice to the marginalized populations from Divided City and Deeper Brazil.
Actor Paulo Mileno portrays the character Tripa in “The Game That Changed History” on Globoplay.
Correspondingly, in the plot of this series, Paulo Mileno plays an important role through the “Tripa” character where we can see a narrative rupture in Brazilian history during its nascent democracy. The birth of the Red Command faction marked a significant chapter in Brazilian history, and we need to revisit this plot twist to understand the present and change the future. As Bob Marley questioned, “where did it all begin? When will it end”?
Finally, and no less important, it must be noted that the Black community has been valued well paid with cache right and comprises the majority of the cast, with 71% of actors being Black, as selected by casting director Raoni Seixas. This representation can change perceptions and reflect the true diversity of Brazil on screen.
Because Brazil has the largest Black population outside Africa and the second largest Black population globally, after Nigeria, which is predominantly Yorubá people
In this context, what’s most important are the subjectivities and ancestry. According to Rosane Svartman, a Brazilian TV writer and author of “Telenovelas and Transformation: Saving Brazil’s Television Industry” (2021), if television changed, society was the primary catalyst. “The author must have the sensitivity to discover what the audience wants to see and engage in debate,” Svartman emphasized.
“The Game That Changed History” has the potential to revolutionize Brazilian streaming by serving as a mirror to societal changes and a platform for debate and reflection. Indeed, it has the capacity not only to reformulate Brazilian streaming but also to contribute to broader societal transformations.
Paulo Mileno is an actor, filmmaker, cultural producer, writer, editorial advisor of Africa and Africanities Magazine and he was a researcher in the Nucleus of African Philosophy at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). Mileno also contributes to Observatório da Imprensa (São Paulo – Brazil), Brasil de Fato (São Paulo – Brazil), Jornal do Brasil (Rio de Janeiro – Brazil), Black History Month (London – England), Ufahamu: A Journal of Black Studies from Los Angeles University -UCLA (Los Angeles – USA), San Francisco National Black Newspaper (San Francisco – USA), Black Star News (New York – USA), New York Amsterdam News (New York – USA) and Africa Business (Cape Town – South Africa). Reach him via [email protected]
