During Tuesday’s class we watched Black God,White Devil (1964). The film explores many themes that are touched upon in Barravento (1962) but are approached differently. In Barravento (1962) the main story is about a group of Afro-Brazilians who are oppressed by a white business owner. Religion is an important aspect of the story, as it keeps the people from starting a revolution, but it is not the main focus. The main character and his struggle to push his people towards an uprising is the main struggle of the film. Black God,White Devil (1964),however, is a direct critique of organized religion. As a result,it remains ever-present throughout the film. While he and his wife are stuck in poverty,he turns to religion to both cope and give himself hope that they will eventually have a better life. The religious figure he turns to offers a reason and way to possibly fix his circumstances,in the eyes of his followers at least. Yet this figure,Sebastion, abuses the desperation of his followers and feeds off of their worship. Through the main character,Manuol,we see that he tortures them and forces many away from their family members through group shaming. He decides who is “unclean” and makes these people do horrible things such as murder in order to “cleanse” them or their family members. His cult is centered around sacrifice from everyone but him. Manuol’s dedication to this figure and his religion,even after he dies,motivates his actions for the rest of the film. While both films offer critiques of religion,Black God,White Devil (1964) hyper-focuses on it while Barravento (1962) shows it being used as part of a bigger system of oppression,both as an oppressor and a way to cope with oppression.