Body and Light in Ganga Zumba

Between Visibility and Erasure

Abstract

Abstract
This article analyzes Ganga Zumba (1963) by Cacá Diegues from a photographic perspective, based on a methodology that understands the cinematic image as a symbolic construction. The analysis seeks to understand the representation of the black body in the work and how photography in cinema both illuminates and conceals this body, symbolizing the struggle for freedom, yet without delving into the individuality or corporeality of blackness. The study proposes that, although the film makes Ganga Zumba a symbol of black resistance, his representation is conditioned by the perspective of modern cinema, which, in attempting to illuminate the struggle, ends up obscuring the specificities of the black body. Through this analysis, the article explores how the historical and aesthetic conditions of the time influence the way black identity and resistance are represented in cinema, offering a critique of the invisibilization of black corporeality in visual narratives. Reflecting on the use of photography in the film, the research reveals a paradoxical movement of symbolization and erasure, which still resonates in contemporary cinematic representations.