These photos sparked a Cold War propaganda feud
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- Опубликовано: 28 июн 2021
- In 1961, Life magazine photographed systemic poverty in Brazil. One Brazilian magazine responded with a similar report - featuring photos of New York City.
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Life magazine, then the most popular general interest weekly in the United States, announced in 1961 that it wanted to help win the Cold War. Communist revolutionary Fidel Castro had taken control of Cuba two years earlier, making nearby Latin American countries the newest battleground over economic influence between the capitalist US and communist Soviet Union. The magazine wanted to promote President John F. Kennedy’s new “Alliance for Progress” financial aid program, which planned to use financial incentives to encourage Latin American countries to resist communism and fall under US influence.
As part of its new mission, Life sent photographer Gordon Parks to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to report on systemic poverty there. His resulting photo essay, and in particular his main subject, 12-year-old Flavio da Silva, was hugely popular in the US. Life’s readers, moved by the photos of Flavio and his story of struggling with severe asthma, mailed in thousands in donations to “save him.” The leading pediatric asthma hospital in the US, in Denver, Colorado, offered to treat him for free. A follow-up cover story by Life, titled “Flavio’s Rescue,” celebrated American generosity.
But Brazilian media saw the photo essay as a negative, stereotypical view of Brazil. Brazilian magazine O Cruzeiro - a weekly publication that, like Life, featured photographic essays - decided to respond to Life’s report. O Cruzeiro sent one of its photographers, Henri Ballot, to New York. There, he photographed a family of Puerto Rican immigrants living in a poor area of Manhattan, and O Cruzeiro printed the photos in a layout that directly copied Life’s. When examined side by side, the two photo essays - and the international feud they kicked off - tell a story of sensationalism, and propaganda.
Ultimately, US intervention in Latin American in the 1960s didn’t work out as Kennedy hoped. The Alliance for Progress sent Latin American countries billions of dollars in financial aid, but it didn’t end up benefiting the people living in the region, and by the 1970s was considered a failure. Like the two photo essays, the initiative was more about propaganda than it was about addressing the root causes of poverty.
The Flávio Story, co-published by Steidl Books and The Gordon Parks Foundation:
steidl.de/Books/The-Flavio-St...
Darkroom is a history and photography series that anchors each episode around a single image. Analyzing what the photo shows (or doesn't show) provides context that helps unravel a wider story. Watch previous episodes here: • Vox Darkroom
Note: The headline on this piece has been updated.
Previous headline: These photos sparked an international magazine feud
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We’re excited to introduce a third season of Darkroom! Our photography and history series has a whole new batch of photos to unpack for you - keep an eye out in the coming weeks for the real story of how the American bison almost became extinct, and a closer look at the most analyzed photo of all time: the famous “backyard photo” depicting John F Kennedy’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. See you soon. -Coleman
nice
2nd reply
Can't tell you how excited I am for this series.
I’m hooked! Keep it coming!
Oo
Always powerful people use the poor to their advantage, all over the world.
Well its always the rich powerful who uses poor people to take advantage something like that especilly for ads well unless its for something good like food charities
I guess that's how the WORLD works n Earth has created us like that
"U can see we humans use animals
I’m mad at both magazines
It has always been the case throughout the history. The uninformed public being exploited not just by the rich but also by some existing political agenda - to forward its cause, mainly, not for the interest of people, but because they see the world as a realm which works with power and in some cases, even in the present day, they just regard power as the ultimate goal. It's always about the narrative of the oppressed and the oppressor, of the divide among communities and when we highlight that, when we deem that it's always about groups versus groups (rich vs poor, gov't vs people, etc) we neglect an important narrative, a piece, where individual responsibility and capability plays. Like in this video, a comparison of a local's life in Brazil in the 60's against an immigrant's life in the US in the same era. I think we should also consider, why such poverty exist in both countries and to what degree or magnitude before we conclude and come up with that comparison. Fast forward to 2020s, I guess the poorest of the poor in developed countries is still in a more 'livable condition' (let's say that for the lack of better term) when you compare it against 'the poorest of the poor' in developing countries, like in my country.
Just to ensure to produce more poverty to exploit later.
US: shows poverty in Brazil.
Brazil: shows poverty in US.
US: No. This isn't how you supposed to play the game.
US Poverty Rate: 13.7% (2021)
People living in inadequate housing in Brazil: 23%
People in the comments unable to get a lesson about the real causes of poverty in both countries and just replicating a 60 years old discussion: 95%
@@knightmare1235 your point is?
@@jumbomuffin1316 You cannot compare the poverty in 1st world nations to 3rd world nations
@@knightmare1235 then compare the us to denmark, uk, germany, japan, australia, canada, france, italy, switzerland, etc. because the US is actually bottom of the pack when it comes to first world countries. You cant just say OH this is bad and proceed to say that at least your not in the CAF. people like you should go the EU, Japan, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, even Israel, because the US is not a nation without poverty. 13.7 percent of 330M is 24 million people. Also 3rd world is just countries on neither side of the cold war. Use an f'in dictionary you little 5yr old
Btw, Favela da catacumba where the photos were taken no longer exists. It was burnt down, most probably on pourpouse, a few years later in 67. Its now a beautiful park with a very dark history
also, it was during the brazilian dictatorship, which was financed and supported by the US.
@@Trilo-Kh2D Ironic considering the powerful in the us were using it as a example of misery.
I visited that parka while ago vety beatiful yet a bad vibe once you think about the fact the some people were burnt aloe then buried under some of the trail
What is it called now?
@@damongraham1398 Parque da Catacumba. Next to it, high-end residential buildings.
This is excellent. A clinical, intelligent look at the media and what lies behind the news is just what we need right now. 👍👍👍👍👍
700
So in that context what about china. America is doing same thing to china now. Even UN says there is no evidence of genocide going on in Xianxing.
Facts 💯💯💯
@@monbjra ??
Usa: lets show to the world how miserable life is in Brazil.
Brazil: lets show to the world how miserable life is in Usa.
Usa: surprized Pickachu face
i literally read this as "Usa" like a name instead of "U.S.A." like an acronym lol .... I was like, "Who is Usa?"
@@Whatsayoutuber to me it probably looked like KuroUsa; a Japanese music artist (try searching it if you want to find out)
@@Whatsayoutuber who cares
@@aryansyahputra8278 them
Aw yes, Brazil, a country with favelas that are nasty and ridden with gangs, is going to make the US look bad
Poor people are mere pawns at the hands of the rich and powerful.
Always have been...and sadly...probably always will be. The only thing equally as sad is when they claim it is done in the name of god and righteousness.
@@briobarb8525 always have been , gun Shot
@@briobarb8525 "Always have been...and sadly...probably always will be."
Not if Basic Human Decency is treated as more important than being wealthy. Of course, that would require the majority of people to realize that most of the powerful wealthy people are Sociopaths that need to be "addressed"...
@@davidhollenshead4892 Very True!
Rich people pay poor people for their service.and those poor people have some opportunity’s to become rich just like the rich people you’re going after. And not all people are the same so if you go after all of the rich and powerful people it won’t much solve the problem.
To the Vox team: You never cease to spread light on interesting, important and captivating topics, thank you.
+
Yeah vox. Thank you so much.
But still it presents too much of a liberal point of view for my taste. The problems of the world need a point of view which can go beyond the very moderate liberal views of an outlet like Vox.
@@EclecticoIconoclasta That’s a very fair point, however it must be recognized that they’re much more moderate than many other outlets out there, such as fox, on one end, or shows like John Oliver on the other. Instead it is deprived (for the most part) of initial opinion, and instead pulls views of people, positions and policies from the material discussed, and the solutions that seem the most viable. Let me know if you agree.
@@jackbrown3985 Ezra Klein and the other founders of Vox tend to be very supportive of the leadership and main line of the liberal and neo-imperialist US Democratic party. I can well remember a particular video where Klein dedicated himself to praising Obama. That is why there is hardly any questioning by Vox of the military industrial complex or of the neoliberal economic consensus that has been supported in the last decades by both US political parties who are mostly bought completely by corporations
it is a bit weird that you didn't mention the wave of american sponsored dictatorships in latin america at the time
That... Uh... Didn't happen
~The US Government
right, cricual part of that story beyond just magazines
Yeah, including in Brazil itself, along with Argentina, Chile, and many others
I feel like that would be too long and off course for this photography-centric series...maybe a story for another video or history series, perhaps.
As long as it benefits the US what do you expect
Life: Look how poor Brazil is
O Cruzeiro: *Reverse uno card*
*Cruzeiro. Not Cruizero.
Didn’t work
This was an awesome response by the Brazilian magazine. They did something I always felt American media deserved: a taste of their own medicine! Just epic!
Yes, this should be the norm.
Brazil had like 20x as many Poor people though
True
@@Homer-OJ-Simpson But the people there weren't poor simply because of the color of their skin
@@Crystal14351 nobody argued they were poor simply because of their skin color
Social Media is doing this in a massive scale today yet we are unaware of it. Maybe Vox should do a video of such incidents in present day.
!!! all the instagram pastel background slides and twitter threads trying to break down complex issues spanning over years to a 10-13 line explanation frustrates me so much-
Palestinian isreal conflict
@@michelmilaneh8963 Or Israeli genocide on Palestinians
@❤️𝕄ℂ𝕌❤️ because the UN is controlled by rich countries, which all support israel
@@user-mn2gt4ct3l if isreals plan is genocide then they're doing a terrible job
I'm Brazilian and have never heard of this story, thank you Vox team!
Darkroom has been a great series, you're uncovering stories that haven't seen the light of day for a long time. Keep doing this great work!
They really pulled a “This you?” 60 years ago
It should be taught in schools that media on any form should be looked at with critical thinking on another level.
It is thought as school atleast in my school
It already is...
My school did it
@@l.o.v.edrive3466 good school....
As an Indian, I can relate with the Brazilian response. Every second article about India that I read in a mainstream American newspaper/magazine/news portal is basically telling its American readers: "See how bad things are in India and you are lucky being an American."
That actually is true!!!
Agreed you are lucky to be in America, but if you’re black, LBGT, Hispanic/Latin, or Poor. Good luck.
Yes I agree. Any country would be offended by such a depiction. Americans always try to find excuses to make themselves look grand and better than everyone else
ikr like American magazines always take bad photos of the middle east and say : "tHeY aRe oPrEsSeD lEtS fReE tHeM
@@ChernobylPone Also Indigenous
Imagine saying that another country is ridden with poverty when your country can't afford to house 600,000 people even when there are already 1.7 million empty homes ready for the taking.
Cause they can't afford them.
Houses are not free
@@shalyfemusic That's the principle of poverty.
Only 13.7% of americans live in poverty
@@knightmare1235 that is still 20-25 million people.
And 80% of people are malnourished
I’m amused the Brazilians hit back. Lol 😂
As everyone should. Then maybe the USA would get a grip every once a while.
@@HelgaCavoli ever heard of brazils social inequalities? It stumps that of the us by 3-4 times I believe. What this news shows me is that alot of people living in rio didn’t want to be confronted by the state of life only a few miles from them, that goes for new yorkers too
Wonder how Favio and his family are doing now. He's probably in his early 70s.
from the photos it seems they've brought him alone, without the rest of his family
flavio returned to Brazil after his asthma treatment and was soon eking out a living as a security guard. but in the end he was still poor in brazil. the last article of his i could find is a 1997 latimes article.
From what I was able to find online, he stayed 2 years in the US with an adoptive family for his treatment, but then they sent him back to Brazil to stay with his family. From the donations the magazine received his family was able to get a house but far from living a wealthy life still. Flavio went on to have multiple entry level jobs throughout his life. He still speaks good English which he learned during his time in Denver, and kept in touch with the photographer until he passed away.
As of 2019, he was still alive and turned 70. He was asked about that time in his life and said “It’s God’s choice. He made you the way you are. I am the way he wants me.”
@@amandadeoliveira2353 Until Flavio passed or until the photographer passed?
it both angers and saddens me to see poor people exploited like this.
i hope both families were compensated for their public humiliation, but i'm so sure they were not.
i'm glad flavio received the treatment he needed, but healing one child is not the same as solving the overall problem.
No one could have ever thought that a video on these magazines can so terrifying
Usa: were taking you out from Brazil
Brazil: No, we bring Brazil to you
YOU. ARE. COMING. TO. BRAZIL.
Yes darkroom this is definitely the best series
But borders was wayyyyyyyy better
@@SharibShams ya shame they cant do it for another year or so
@@jackohalloran1573 it got cancelled
@@somedude0921 by Twitter or by who?
@@Campeon99 the dude that was making it left or smth
can u do a video about American backed coups in Latin American countries as well as the role of American companies
Isn't that where the term 'Banana Republic' came from?
@@ghivifahmi4252 yup it is , i wanna more in-depth video from vox plus other info about others countries in Latin America not just nigaragwa
Coup dEtat was a common thing in the 20th. Europe had much more coups than LA back then.
You guys love to blame Americans for anything. Jesus!
@@TVaz7777 but corpo-sponsored coups is a uniquely US thing during early to mid 20th century
@@TVaz7777 wdym most of the coups in Latin America were orchestrated by the US, to protect their own economic intrest by using communism as a pretext to oust the current government
The US: produce a story on Brazil's poverty
Brazil: travel to the US to do the same thing
The US: *suprised pikachu face
Fun fact :
This is still the case today, especially in the hollywood movies.
The "Maybe it is the case of sending him to Brazil" is peak brazilian sarcasm, we do tent to truce with some humor embedded. Great episode!
Do one about the Condor Operation in Latin America.
US imperialism is awful😔
And all the other brutal regimes backed by the US in Latin America
This show is about photos not "US bad grrr"
@@1nsaniel True. But VOX channel is about many things, including "US bad," grrr
Is there photos about it? Maybe they can do something if there is.
this is why you are about to get to 10 Million subscribers, cheers from Bolivia.
This is the best topic in vox, vox darkroom is the best
As a Black man in the early 1960s, Gordon Parks had a really great job. How awesome was that! 😃
Agree with all that Darkroom is the best series on Vox. Excellent production, interesting and important topics. The series should be included as a part of mandatory media literacy studies in high school. Keep up the good work!
The magazine Cruzeiro belonged to the first media magnate in Brazil, Assis Chateaubriand (a Brazilian Kane) feared by politicians for his media and political influence. At the time of the dispute over the magazines, he supported the then president Jânio Quadros. There was an economic development policy in the country and part of that policy was the idea of exporting an image of Brazil as the country of the future.
As any good media should promote. To attract investments and good trade deals.
Assis was also owned Rede Tupi, the first TV channel in Latin America established in 1950 and defunct in 1980 when company’s problem and military regime revoked Rede Tupi’s license
The USA still has levels of poverty that left me shocked when I visited a few years ago
Brazil just did a right back at cha' on lifes magazine
I'll take it you're also Brazilian, since you wrote it with 's' instead of 'z'.
@@-nyx-8850 oh shoot i mispelled it, sorry about the confusion lol
The difference between countries for the poor is very little.
As a homeless man it doesn't feel like I live in America.
A homeless man in America can apparently access the internet and watch RUclips. Not sure about a homeless man in other countries.
@@jonirojonironin5353 libraries are a thing in many countries
@@jeffersonclippership2588 Libraries aren't a thing in many countries as well.
@@jonirojonironin5353 yeah, not every where
Trust me, the difference between countries for the poor is HUGE. Being homeless in the USA is NOT the same as being homeless in Brazil, or in Germany or any other country. Countries have different welfare policies and that plays a huge role into how “poor” people experience poverty. Unless you were a homeless person in Brazil to compare, please don’t say things you don’t understand.
Side note: you can tell how there is a difference between their photography style, and it feels different from one another. And that’s cool
Beside the always-well-chosen topics, I gotta say that the editing and backgroud music are always topnotch. Great work!
I find it interesting that the comments are riddled with the same type arguments that the magazines used, finger pointing and "get-back". They both used poverty to political ends instead of highlighting the roots of it. It was theatre, from Rio to New York.
A taste of your own medicine. Impactful!
People relate more based on their economic conditions than their nationality.
Poor everywhere have it worst than rich anywhere.
If history lecture would be this interesting , I would never have missed a lecture in my lifetime.kudos to the efforts of vox team
Eventhough both sides didn't do justice to the principles of Journalism...I can understand the O Cruzerio's Side...These western countries left Africa, South America, India and many more in its most vulnerable state of economy, still has influence on them and the "restlessness" in these countries turns into profit for them, but in turn, labelled them as THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES exposing their poverty...Hypocrisy at its best and I forever hate western countries for colonialism🤦
Its always about politics. Never about the actual meaning
California also had many immigrants from Oklahoma during the 1930's. The same way these immigrants from Puerto Rico moved to NY. A long way of saying that Puerto Ricans *are* U.S. citizens.
Was waiting for months for this!
Best series on youtube ever!!
Thanks for changing the title, wasn't captured by it initially, but the video was great, thank you!
Historically, this was a problem in Latin America and the Caribbean. Someone from outside, usually from the US or Europe would highlight one of our besetting problems, like poverty or corruption, and we would react. Not with introspection and attempts to improve, but with an anger born largely of embarrassment. So we engaged in "whataboutism" highlighting the failures of foreign socities, to show they were no better than us.
We demanded that our best features be displayed to the world, not our worst, but made little effort to really work on improving things.
Thankfully that has changed somewhat, but not everywhere.
Same problem with the Philippines. Instead of fixing the problem, it’s just all you hurt our pride
I’ve been to the photo exhibit here in Toronto, it was a really detailed and interesting experience. Exciting to see the story talked about here!
My goodness. I haven't heard of this. This should be called the Magazine War of Cold War.
You laid this out very well. Very clear and easy to follow. Congratulations.
I just binge watched the Darkroom series and I am blown away. Thank you for doing this and I can't wait to see more!
My respect for Brazil goes stonks 📈📈📈
My respect for Brazil will 📈 when people are lifted out of favelas and poverty is below 20%
@@knightmare1235 you really dont know whats happening in brazil '-'
@@vidal000 Covid crisis, crime, and poverty.
To brag about the country while ignoring the problems is very popular in Brasil.
Awesome! Thank you!!! Hugs❤️❤️❤️ was perfectly timed!
Great video. Interesting to see two publications go after each other like that during that time.
Amazing story, I’m an Brazilian and I love you content.
Brazilian Magazine : Uno reverse.
wow. this is interesting! great job for putting this one!
All I can say wow credits to the Photographers
Amazing video! Congratulations!
Darkroom is probably my favorite Vox series, and that's a high bar.
I studied Parks in my first year at Uni, and he's an incredible photographer and storyteller. I love his images, and especially in this context, I think it's important to remember that the words are not hs, but the editors, and that he also photographed the poor and needy in America, as well as other places. I do also want to say that Ballot's images are similarly moving, I think there is a place to show the struggles of people everywhere, and you don't have to do this all at the same time.
BBC creates such documentaries/photos etc... about India all the time. I hope one day we too respond like the Brazilians.
French, I'm working by your videos my english practice. Thanks a lot for the quality and the so much various sugbects.
Loving this! So informative!
How can a man be free if he works seventy hours a week yet cannot pay for his rent or healthcare?
Anything over 40 is overtime. Where is this person working?
@@damongraham1398 Multiple jobs. That is the reality for much of the American working class.
@@ZephLodwick if your paycheck says 40 hours inside of a week anything over is paid at a higher rate. Please give me an example inside of the U.S. today.
Americans in the comments "but Brazil is poorer", we're not saying we aren't. We are saying that you paint life in US as the greatest, when it's not, and most important, when it''s not for everyone. You're so proud to be a developed country, yet you're the most unequal one. A country that has the best universities and hospitals in the world, and people can't afford to use these services. I'm not denying the hunger, the mass imigration or any other of my country problems, I'm saying self criticism and awareness of your reality is nice sometimes.
Mesmerizing as always, keep up the great work.
Crude reality is that both countries after 50 years have extreme poverty
Amazing video!!! thanks for sharing!!!
Brazil has a long history of paying back to the US. One might find this childish, but when the US introduced a new policy, taking photos from every traveler entering the country, I laughed my aas of, seeing in Sao Paulo three lines for emigration: Brazilian, Rest of the World, US. Just guess, in which line photos were taken ;-)
Brazil always did that when it came to travelers, it had a reciprocal policy. This only changed recently with bootlicker Bolsonaro
Wow, what a video.
I am brazilian and i know a lot about the history of "O Cruzeiro", but I didnt knew this one. I must say that besids i do not agree with the channel opinion in some videos, i must that this is one of the best in the internet.
wow, the idea to send a photographer to New York was a pro move
I was shocked to see a part of our history through this episode. It was as usual an untouchable work, but also a way to show politics as it really seems. Congratulations, again.
OMG! Não conhecia essa história! Realmente, no guarda-roupa zoa brasileiro e fica impune!!!
Wow, great piece. But it's incredibly short. This should be an hour long at least, just my opinion.
tnx great stuff
So basically it was two groups of well off people profiting of the suffering of others, wow so shocking.
Lol. Only the US was trying to profit. Brazil just wanted to hit back.
@@TheZachary86 how?, if you said so then all thing that make money is basically profitting off the people that it sell to. Stop antagonizing others
@@TheZachary86 lol yeah, but the Brazilian magazine still wanted to gain popularity from it
Wow. Just wow. I love this channel.
What happened to both families? Anyone else curious about them?
Yesss where's Flavio today?
@@letuswrap flavio returned to Brazil after his asthma treatment and was soon eking out a living as a security guard. but in the end he was still poor in brazil. the last article of his i could find is a 1997 latimes article
I really love Vox Darkroom- it's my favourite series - please never stop making these amazing analyses :D
Great video 👍
this is so well done, bravo
I was waiting for about 2 weeks for Vox's new video
Really good Video!
Control the media - control the people - control the world
Much love from Brasil
Great journalism. Thanks.
By the way, Cruzeiro was a reference to the fact that the magazine costed one cruzeiro, the currency of the time.
I had an uncle who had a photography studio in Hell's Kitchen back in the '60's and early '70's. Back then, the "big money" for freelance photographers was taking a photo that would be used in a two- page ad in a magazine like "Life", or "Look". One day I was visiting the studio, and he said: "You want to see how I make a living?", and he pulled out a big portfolio and began leafing through it. Practically every photo was one that I'd seen used for an ad in a major magazine. My uncle Richard Santuci studied photography at RIT on the GI bill after being discharged from the USAF.
QUE VÍDEO SENSACIONAL, PARABÉNS! 🇧🇷
Super well done 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Great video and story. Being from Latin America, from my perspective I feel like a little more could be said about how the media weaponizes the good will of american progressives and liberals to "help" countries in the second and third world via policies that end up hurting those countries. As it is I feel like the video equates a little too much both magazines, and I feel like O Cruzeiro approach was quite effective. Both conservatives and liberals in the US understand the second and third world as poverty-ridden and destitute while ignoring a lot of american people and towns that have the exact same problem (although from what I gathered this blindness to the problem has started to go away in the last few years). In Latin America is still very much an open discussion and in general we react in pretty much the same way as O Cruzeiro did, we find the attitude of american progressives a tad too paternalistic and patronizing when it comes to this subject. Again, I still think this was a great video. Love this series.
Despite the exploitation of the subjects, both photographers were awesome! Alguém sabe mais sobre o fotógrafo da Cruzeiro?
Vox, darkroom is one of the best things you guys make! I always learn so much! Thank you!
Pity that some will argue to the death even when they know they're wrong.
This video was awesome.💛💛💛
I find that America and it's people love to talk about how bad other nations are and their issues but then refuse to talk about the same issues in their own nation.
Nice video.
I mean... That was a good way to hit back! Smart thinking imo
Nice one!