Conservadorismo no Cinema dos anos 1980

Abstract

Here we seek to discuss the representations of the main characters of the movie “Excalibur, A Espada do Poder” (Excalibur, 1981, John Boorman), in order to identify the discourse that they carry, and elucidate how these figures were adapted by the 1980s and what this can tell us about the context in which they are inserted. In addition, we also work with the concepts of Medievalities and Medieval Reminiscences, in order to highlight how the Middle Ages were portrayed in our source. In that sense, we used the 15th century book entitled “The Death of Arthur”, the basis of the film's script, in order to make clear the choices made in the film adaptation. Because of that, we realized that the 1981 film presents a very clear exaltation of the male characters, who even have their negative attitudes relieved and, at the same time, a depreciation of the female protagonists, relegated to roles with few lines and caricatured images. These aspects reflect its historical period, marked by conservative and reactionary views, as we will explain below.