''Beyond Citizen Kane'' is a 1993 British documentary film directed by
Simon Hartog, produced by
John Ellis, and first broadcast on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service in ...
. It details the dominant position of the
Globo media group, the largest in
Brazil, and discusses the group's influence, power, and political connections.
[''Folha Universal'']
"Crença na impunidade"
, Arca Universal. (27-09-09). Globo's president and founder
Roberto Marinho
Roberto Pisani Marinho (December 3, 1904 – August 6, 2003) was a Brazilian businessman who was the owner of media conglomerate Grupo Globo from 1925 to 2003, and during this period expanded the company from newspapers to radio and television.
...
was criticised and compared to the fictional newspaper
tycoon
A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...
Charles Foster Kane
Charles Foster Kane is a fictional character who is the subject of Orson Welles' 1941 film ''Citizen Kane''. Welles played Kane (receiving an Academy Award nomination), with Buddy Swan playing Kane as a child. Welles also produced, co-wrote a ...
, created by
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
for the 1941 film ''
Citizen Kane
''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...
''. According to the documentary, Marinho's media group engages in manipulation of news to influence
public opinion
Public opinion is the collective opinion on a specific topic or voting intention relevant to a society. It is the people's views on matters affecting them.
Etymology
The term "public opinion" was derived from the French ', which was first use ...
.
TV Globo
TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Grupo Globo. The TV stati ...
(known as Rede Globo at the time of filming) objected to the film's position and tried to buy Brazilian rights, but Hartog had already made agreements to give non-television rights to political and cultural groups in Brazil. However, the documentary cannot be broadcast on
television in Brazil
Television in Brazil has grown significantly since the first broadcasts in 1950, becoming one of largest and most productive commercial television systems in the world.Straubhaar, JosephBrazil - The Museum of Broadcasting Communications Its bigg ...
since it contains large sections of footage owned by Globo. Nevertheless, copies sold in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
reached Brazil in the 1990s and circulated widely there.
In addition, since the internet boom of the early 21st century, the film has been released on
video-sharing websites such as
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most vis ...
and
Google Video
Google Video was a free video hosting service launched by the multinational technology company Google on January 25, 2005. Similar to YouTube, this platform allowed video clips to be hosted on Google servers and embedded on to other websites ...
.
Plot summary
The documentary tracks Globo's involvement with and support of the
Brazilian military government
The military dictatorship in Brazil ( pt, ditadura militar) was established on 1 April 1964, after a coup d'état by the Brazilian Armed Forces, with support from the United States government, against President João Goulart. The Brazilian dict ...
; its illegal partnership of the 1960s with the American group
Time-Life; Marinho's political connections (notably its owner's connections with
Antonio Carlos Magalhães, Minister of Telecommunications) and manoeuvres (such as airing in ''
Jornal Nacional
''Jornal Nacional'' (; ) is the flagship television newscast of TV Globo. First airing on September 1, 1969, according to IBOPE (Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics), in the week of September 28October 4, 2015, it was the second ...
'', the network's
prime time
Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
news program
News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or televis ...
me since 1969, highlights of a 1989 presidential debate edited in a way as to favour
Fernando Collor de Mello
Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello (; born 12 August 1949) is a Brazilian politician who served as the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his impeachment trial by the Brazilian Senate. Collor ...
); and a controversial deal involving shares of
NEC Corporation
is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network soluti ...
and government contracts. It features interviews with 21 people, including noted Brazilian politicians and cultural figures, such as politicians
Leonel Brizola
Leonel de Moura Brizola (22 January 1922 – 21 June 2004) was a Brazilian politician. Launched into politics by Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas in the 1930–1950s, Brizola was the only politician to serve as elected governor of two Brazi ...
and
Antonio Carlos Magalhães, singer-songwriter
Chico Buarque
Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic, ...
, former Justice Minister
Armando Falcão, politician
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party, ...
(who would serve as President from 2003 to 2010 and again since 2023); and former employees Walter Clark, Wianey Pinheiro and Armando Nogueira.
The title refers to the 1941 film, ''
Citizen Kane
''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...
,'' whose fictional newspaper
tycoon
A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...
Charles Foster Kane
Charles Foster Kane is a fictional character who is the subject of Orson Welles' 1941 film ''Citizen Kane''. Welles played Kane (receiving an Academy Award nomination), with Buddy Swan playing Kane as a child. Welles also produced, co-wrote a ...
was created by the director and actor
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
. He was believed to have been based on the American publisher
William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboyan ...
, noted for creating
yellow journalism
Yellow journalism and yellow press are American terms for journalism and associated newspapers that present little or no legitimate, well-researched news while instead using eye-catching headlines for increased sales. Techniques may include e ...
and exploiting the press. The 1993 British documentary criticised Globo's president and founder
Roberto Marinho
Roberto Pisani Marinho (December 3, 1904 – August 6, 2003) was a Brazilian businessman who was the owner of media conglomerate Grupo Globo from 1925 to 2003, and during this period expanded the company from newspapers to radio and television.
...
for his close ties to the military dictatorship and suggestively compared him to the Kane figure for manipulation of news.
Controversy
Dispute with Globo over British rights
The documentary was first shown on 10 May 1993 in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Nor ...
, broadcast of the programme had been delayed for a year as
Rede Globo
TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Grupo Globo. The TV stati ...
disputed the programme makers' right under
British law to use short extracts from Globo programmes without permission, for the purposes of "critical comment and review".
During this period of legal manoeuvring,
Simon Hartog, the director, died after a long illness. The process of editing was taken over by his co-producer
John Ellis. When the film was eventually broadcast, the production company sold copies in the United Kingdom at cost. Many individuals in the Brazilian community in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
sent copies to associates and friends in
Brazil.
Censorship in Brazil
The film was also to be shown at the
Museum of Image and Sound (MIS) of
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
. The MIS copy was confiscated after two screenings, according to a later account by Anhaia Geraldo Mello, then coordinator of the TV and Video Museum. He said the order came from the governor of São Paulo,
Luiz Antonio Fleury Filho. The official story at the time was that the film was cancelled because of technical problems.
["Documentário polêmico sobre a Globo completa dez anos" (Controversial documentary about Globo celebrates ten years)](_blank)
, '' O Estado de S. Paulo'' 8 August 2003 , accessed (on Google Translate) 23 June 2013
Through the 1990s, the film was illegally screened by universities, political groups and unions, as copies were made available informally.
In 1995, Globo requested in court to confiscate copies of the film available at the library of the
University of São Paulo
The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the best ...
, but it was over-ruled. The film was officially restricted to university groups until the 2000s, when the internet boom in Brazil
made it impossible to control access, as people could put it on the web (and did). (Brazil is the fifth country internationally by
number of web users and first in time spent by individuals on Internet use monthly.)
Screenings and internet phenomenon
At the time of release,
Rede Globo
TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Grupo Globo. The TV stati ...
sought to buy the Brazilian rights to the programme, presumably seeking to suppress it. But during production, as part of his working with groups in
Brazil, Hartog had made agreements to give them the non-television rights to ensure wide showing of the programme by both cultural and political organisations. Globo lost interest in buying the programme when they learned this, and as of 2015, it had not been broadcast on
television in Brazil
Television in Brazil has grown significantly since the first broadcasts in 1950, becoming one of largest and most productive commercial television systems in the world.Straubhaar, JosephBrazil - The Museum of Broadcasting Communications Its bigg ...
.
But numerous
VHS and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
copies have circulated, and the documentary has become available on the internet, via
peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the network. They are said to form a peer-to-peer n ...
networks and
video-sharing websites, such as
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most vis ...
and
Google Video
Google Video was a free video hosting service launched by the multinational technology company Google on January 25, 2005. Similar to YouTube, this platform allowed video clips to be hosted on Google servers and embedded on to other websites ...
(where it has been watched nearly 600,000 times). Contrary to popular belief, the movie is also legally available in Brazil, though copies are difficult to find, mostly buried in libraries and
private collection
A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...
s.
On 20 August 2009, the newspaper ''
Folha de S.Paulo
''Folha de S.Paulo'' (sometimes spelled ''Folha de São Paulo''), also known as simply ''Folha'' (, ''Sheet''), is a Brazilian daily newspaper founded in 1921 under the name ''Folha da Noite'' and published in São Paulo by the Folha da Manhã c ...
'' reported that the
Record television network bought the broadcasting rights of the documentary from producer
John Ellis for less than US$20,000. This happened after the Globo and Record attacked each other through their media during an investigation conducted by the
Public Prosecutor's Office
Public prosecutor's offices are criminal justice bodies attached to the judiciary.
They are separate from the courts in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking parts of Switzerland, and are called the Staatsanwaltschaft.
This kind of office als ...
against
Edir Macedo
Edir Macedo (born February 18, 1945) is a Brazilian evangelical bishop, writer, billionaire businessman, and the founder of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG). He is the owner and chairman of the third-largest television networ ...
and other high profile members of the
Universal Church of the Kingdom of God
The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG; pt, Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus, IURD) is an evangelical charismatic Christian denomination with its headquarters at the Temple of Solomon in São Paulo, Brazil. The church was founded i ...
has owned Rede Record since 9 November 1989.
On 14 February 2011, the newspaper ''
Jornal do Brasil
''Jornal do Brasil'', widely known as ''JB'', is a daily newspaper published by Editora JB in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The paper was founded in 1891 and is the third oldest extant Brazilian paper, after the ''Diário de Pernambuco'' and '' O Es ...
'' (quoting the network's spokesperson) reported that Rede Record would broadcast the documentary in 2012.
"Muito além do cidadão Marinho" (Far Beyond Citizen Marinho)
''Jornal do Brasil'', 14-02-11, accessed in translation 24 June 2013
See also
* Criticism of Rede Globo
* Partido da Imprensa Golpista
''Partido da Imprensa Golpista'' (''PiG'', en, Pro-coup Press Party) is a term used by left-wing Brazilian websurfers since 2007 to characterize an alleged attitude of the Brazilian mass media towards President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva dur ...
* Concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership (also known as media consolidation or media convergence) is a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media. Contemporary research demonstrates in ...
* Military dictatorship in Brazil
The military dictatorship in Brazil ( pt, ditadura militar) was established on 1 April 1964, after a coup d'état by the Brazilian Armed Forces, with support from the United States government, against President João Goulart. The Brazilian di ...
* Censorship in Brazil
* Television in Brazil
Television in Brazil has grown significantly since the first broadcasts in 1950, becoming one of largest and most productive commercial television systems in the world.Straubhaar, JosephBrazil - The Museum of Broadcasting Communications Its bigg ...
* ''Jornal Nacional
''Jornal Nacional'' (; ) is the flagship television newscast of TV Globo. First airing on September 1, 1969, according to IBOPE (Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics), in the week of September 28October 4, 2015, it was the second ...
''
* 1993 in British television
References
External links
BBC: Brazilian media magnate dies
*
2008 interview with John Ellis
on Folha Online
*
Observatório da Imprensa – Muito Além do Cidadão Kane
*
Sociólogo francês compara Marinho a Berlusconi
*
*
Video
*
Download the film
(Audio is Portuguese. Few parts have audio in English with Portuguese subtitles)
*
Mirror
(Audio is Portuguese. Few parts have audio in English with Portuguese subtitles)
* {{in lang, pt}
''Beyond Citizen Kane'' – download and streaming
(Audio is Portuguese. Few parts have audio in English with Portuguese subtitles)
''Beyond Citizen Kane''
in its entirety on Large Door's YouTube channel (Audio is in its original English)
1993 documentary films
1993 films
British documentary films
Documentary films about the ruling class
Documentary films about mass media owners
Documentary films about television
Films about Brazilian military dictatorship
TV Globo
Works about the information economy
Documentary films about Latin American military dictatorships
Film controversies in Brazil
1990s English-language films
1990s British films