Laughter out of Place
by Soraia Maciel
1. Medium Priority
2. Action Points
2.1. Goldstein goes from the perspective of Anthropologist-Informant to Participant-Observer
2.2. Goldstein notices the fact of the matter that her middle class collegues, friends and collaborators cannot fully understand the lives of those they plan to study and inevitably help, for they too are immersed in the class system of Brazil (They themselves all have domestic servants for which they rely upon).
3. Prioritize Ideas
3.1. Goldstein originally starts off her research in Brazil wanting to be part of the AIDS awareness political movment, but quickly finds herself immersed in documenting the lives of women living in the favelas.Documenting the realities of these people lives are just as important in hopes of finding sollutions to pandemic situations such as AIDS.
4. Brazil's underclass uses laughter refered to as "Black Humor" to also revolt against the upper classes.
5. Goldstein attempts to capture the true life experience of the Afro-Brazilians without getting caught up in the political agenda of a nation who blissfully fails to ackowledge it's underclass society.
6. Plan
6.1. Goldstein's original goals are to interview women, examine their sex lives, sexual histories and relationships with men.
6.1.1. Goal 1
6.1.2. Goal 2
6.2. Realizing there is a "Crucial Distance" maintained by her Brazilian collegues and the people they interview and ultimately attempt to help, Goldstein approaches her research by forming a mutual friendship with Gloria (the woman she is observing).
7. Problem
8. Ideas
8.1. Brazil's underclass uses laughter as a way to cope with the realities of their existence.
8.1.1. Sub Idea 2