Arielism Versus Cosmopolitanism: Brazilian Reaction to 9/11/01 as Cultural Narrative and Identity Work

Abstract

This research examines identity work vis-à-vis Brazilian discourse regarding the events of September 11, 2001. The data is drawn from Brazilian nationals and expatriates participating in a digital discourse forum hosted by the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo. In discussing the events of 9/11/01, Brazilians also make sense of what it means to be Brazilian and what it means to be human. As the data show, Brazilians frame their reactions by drawing on larger understandings of the social world. The two most dominant stances come from Brazilians adopting what can be called Arielist and cosmopolitan stances. In addition, a small group of Brazilian expatriates join the fray as self-proclaimed Americanophiles. In examining these dynamics, we see that identities result from the process of identity construction best framed from a social constructionist perspective. In these three cases, identities emerge from interaction, engagement, and reaction to competing identity frames. Through the ongoing dialogue interactions, Brazilian participants implicitly make statements about their self-conceptions and visions of Brazil’s place in the world during this historic event. Significantly, the complementary and oppositional stances in reaction to 9/11/01 continue to persist almost twenty years after the attacks in the ideological frameworks around national identities circulating in both Brazil and the U.S. at present. In this way, the discourse from 2001 foreshadows the impending political chasm between right and left in both Brazil and the United States and provides an impetus for future research.