Construindo imagens, narrativas e heróis: o desfecho da Segunda Guerra Mundial sob o olhar da revista O Malho

Abstract

The magazine O Malho (1902-1953) will be operated throughout this work as a resource to approach a portion of the popular thoughts about the outcome of the World War II. Throughout 1945, several institutions endeavored to narrate the movements of the countries involved in the war, therefore, the objective is to visit the perspective defended by the periodical through its illustrations, in order to identify which nations were portrayed as the protagonists, which events were narrated as heroic, which countries were approached as villains and responsible for the ills that followed during the course of the clash. According to the perspective of the collaborators of O Malho, what was essential in the narratives related to the battle that made up the pages of the periodical? Furthermore, how do the images contents indicate the political and ideological desires that the magazine aimed to spread to its target audience? Finally, how did the magazine’s content contribute to the construction of the popular imagination of the time and how did the manifestations about the war present in the magazine provide evidence in relation to the world and Brazilian political conjuncture? The images of the conflict published in popular magazines such as O Malho, in addition to portraying the movements of the outcome of the war, were also responsible for presenting a political and critical view of the subject, thus, when debating about the public target, content and ideological positioning of the magazine’s contributors, it is possible to investigate the political situation intrinsic to the analyzed context, and to infer the political strength of the magazines, in addition to understanding it as a tool for the formation of public opinion.