O Globo - Censorship

Censorship

In 1994, just a day before the premiere of the British documentary Beyond Citizen Kane on Rio de Janeiro Modern Art Museum, the Military Police confiscated the copy of the film, obeying a court warrant. The film makes a critical approach towards the establishment of Rede Globo, the largest television broadcaster in the country, explaining its ties with the military dictatorship. Globo's attempt to restrict the film, however, proved to be a failure with the internet boom in the 2000s (decade). On August 20, 2009, the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo reported that Rede Record bought the broadcasting rights of the documentary for less than US$ 20,000. This happened after a series of mutual attacks between Globo and Record because of an investigation conducted by the Public Ministry against Edir Macedo and other high profile members of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God. Macedo is the owner of Record since November 9, 1989.

The first public screening of the film was expected to happen at the Rio de Janeiro Modern Art Museum in March 1994. One day before the premiere, the Military Police received an order to fulfill a court warrant requiring the confiscation of movie posters and the copy of the film. The direction of the museum was threatened with a heavy fine in case of disobedience. The Secretary of Culture of Rio de Janeiro, put under pressure, was fired just three days after the incident.

Through the 1990s, the film was illegally screened in Universities and political acts without public notice. In 1995, Globo requested in court the confiscation of copies available at the library of the University of São Paulo, but the claim was overruled. The film was restricted to University groups until the 2000s (decade). With the internet boom in Brazil, the movie was made widely available.