Rapture Aesthetics Rapture aesthetics

Abstract

Faced with renewed social antagonism, triggered by the "Days of Rapture" – as conceptualized by the philosopher Paulo Arantes – initiated in June 2013, this article discusses the traits that compose an aesthetic unique to the far-right uprising that has occurred in Brazil in recent years. This uprising is marked by the prominence of neopentecostalism and a theatrical political expressiveness, aiming to catalyze moral and economic resentments felt amidst a general pauperization of living conditions. We argue that this aesthetic creates a visual rhetoric which, although not cohesive, succeeds in mobilizing and gaining adherents by evoking a repertoire that resonates with the reality of those living an urban everyday life marked by hustle and struggle. In this context, where the grammar of rights has faded and the most present institution is the church, the notion of a usurping State and an everyday war of all against all – the liberal ideology – and the critique of moral degenerations resonate. We discuss three films from the newest Brazilian cinema that delve into the everyday life of the raptured, and although they are fictional hyperboles, they are useful to discuss elements of the social transformation narrated by extensive ethnographic work.