Capoeira in popular culture explained

The Brazilian martial art of capoeira, noted for its acrobatic movements and kicks, has often been featured in and influenced popular culture.

Films

Capoeira and capoeira mestres have been featured in several Brazilian films and documentaries including:

• Danca da guerra (1972), a short capoeira movie by Jair Moura.
• Cordão de Ouro (1977), a futuristic Brazilian movie, stars several well-known Mestres, such as Nestor Capoeira and Mestre Camisa.
• Capoeira of Brazil (1980) is a documentary short by Warrington Hudlin, featuring Mestres Jelon Vieira, Loremil Machado and Eusebio da Silva.
• (2006), a documentary about Mestre Bimba and capoeira.^[1]
• Besouro (2009) is based on the story of a capoeira fighter, starring Aílton Carmo as Besouro. It includes extensive capoeira fighting scenes.^{[2] [3] [4]}
• Jogo de Corpo. Capoeira e Ancestralidade (2013), documentary on the Angolan origins of capoeira, following mestre Cobra Mansa to Africa.^[5]

Capoeira has been a focus of several martial arts films, including:

• Rooftops (1989), a film featuring two homeless teenagers who use dance fights inspired by capoeira to settle arguments and as a form of entertainment.^[6]
• Only the Strong (1993), a film following a former Green Beret turned teacher in Miami who uses capoeira to teach his students discipline and ultimately faces off with the local gang. It is considered the only Hollywood film to focus entirely on capoeira. Much of the film's fight choreography was created by Mestre Amen Santo.^[7]
• (1994) which featured a tournament with fighters of many styles, including a capoeirista played by Mestre Amen Santo.
• The Quest (1996), a martial arts tournament film featured a capoeirista played by Mestre Cesar Carneiro.^[8]

Other films featuring capoeira include:

• Many of Wesley Snipes' action films include scenes involving capoeira, as it is one of several martial arts he practices.^[9]
• In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, capoeira is one of several African martial arts that T'Challa utilizes in combat.^[10]

Video games

Fighting games that feature capoeira fighters or fighting styles include:

• The Tekken series features capoeiristas Eddy Gordo and Christie Monteiro.^[11] Both characters have been well received, and have been credited with popularizing capoeira to a wider audience.
• The Street Fighter III series feature the capoeirista Elena. Elena, an African woman, was envisioned to have long arms and legs, and capoeira was chosen as a suitable fighting style for her.^[12]
• The Fatal Fury series features two capoeira fighters, Richard Meyer and Bob Wilson.
• Zone 4, an online martial arts game, includes capoeira as a playable fighter's type.^[13]

Other games featuring capoera include:

• Martial Arts: Capoeira, is a 2011 RPG action game focused on capoera.^[14]
• In the mobile game Crossy Road, a playable capoeira fighter was added in a Brazil-themed update. The character navigates through the streets of Rio de Janeiro with acrobatic flips.^[15]
• In Overwatch, Lucio, a music star from Brazil, has a skin where he performs a dance move based on capoeira.^[16]

Music

• The music video for "The Obvious Child" by Paul Simon features capoeira. This was the first single from Simon's album The Rhythm of the Saints, released in 1990.^[17]
• The 2006 music video for "Mas Que Nada" by the Black Eyed Peas and Sérgio Mendes features several scenes of capoeiristas along with various Brazilian dance forms,^[18] and Professor Marcinho playing.^[19]
• The music video of the song 'Roots Bloody Roots' by Brazilian metal band Sepultura features several shots of capoeira.

Anime

Anime series that feature capoeira include:

• In the 2021 anime series Odd Taxi, Miho Shirakawa displays her limited knowledge of capoeira, to the dismay of protagonist Hiroshi Odokawa.^[20] Later, Shirakawa uses the martial art to rescue Odokawa from an attacker.^[21]

Other influences

Breakdancing, developed in the 1970s, has many analogous moves. However, the original breakdancers of the early 1970s based their style primarily on actors in Asian kung fu films, but received some influence because demonstrations of capoeira master Jelon Vieira in New York.^{[22] [23]}

Kofi Kingston, a WWE professional wrestler, has incorporated wrestling moves inspired by Tekken capoeira fighter Eddy Gordo.^[24]

The Bob's Burgers episode "Sexy Dance Fighting" (season 1, episode 4) prominently features Capoeira. It was first broadcast on television in the United States on the Fox network on February 13, 2011.^[25]

See also

• Lethwei in popular culture
• Muay Thai in popular culture

Notes and References

1. Web site: Mestre Bimba – A Capoeira Illuminada . https://web.archive.org/web/20140630081929/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6nlbB6DLoQ . 2014-06-30 . dead. YouTube . 2012-01-29 . 2015-12-08.
2. Web site: Live Capoeira . livecapoeira.com . 2015-12-08 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110916040852/http://www.livecapoeira.com/capoeira-articles/2/capoeira-mestre-besouro-manganga.html . 16 September 2011.
3. Web site: The Assailant (2009) . IMDb.com. 2015-12-08.
4. Web site: Capoeira Mandinga Shanghai – New Brazilian action movie "Besouro" (Beetle) . Capoeirashanghai.com . 2015-12-08 . 9 July 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090709053956/http://www.capoeirashanghai.com/news/325 . dead .
5. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3575844/ Jogo de Corpo. Capoeira e Ancestralidade
6. Web site: Ebert. Roger. Rooftops movie review & film summary (1989) Roger Ebert. 2021-06-08. www.rogerebert.com/. en.
7. Allen. Terence. May 1996. Five hot martial arts videos: For the action filled films. Black Belt. 86–88.
8. Web site: 2019-06-26. Top 5 Capoeira Movie Fights. 2021-06-08. Kung-fu Kingdom. en-GB.
9. News: Wesley Snipes: Action man courts a new beginning . The Independent. 4 June 2010. 10 June 2010 . London.
10. The 'Black Panther' Revolution. Eells. Josh. Rolling Stone. 18 February 2018. 2 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180225052231/https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/features/black-panther-chadwick-boseman-ryan-coogler-cover-story-w516853. 25 February 2018. dead.
11. Book: Tekken Tag Tournament Manual. Namco. 1999. 35.
12. Web site: CAPCOM. Round 4: Tomoshi Sadamoto Part 3 Guests Activity Reports. 2021-06-08. CAPCOM:Shadaloo C.R.I.. en.
13. Web site: OGPlanet | Zone4 - Home. zone4.ogplanet.com . https://web.archive.org/web/20110518130059/http://zone4.ogplanet.com/en/main.og . 18 May 2011.
14. Web site: Martial Arts: Capoeira for Windows (2011). 2021-06-08. MobyGames.
15. Web site: Crossy Road Characters List: How to Unlock Everything. 3 February 2015 . 2021-06-08. en-GB.
16. Web site: Vincent 01/20/18. Brittany. 2018-01-20. Lúcio Gets New Capoeira Skin In The Overwatch Cosmetic Update. 2021-06-08. Player.One. en.
17. Web site: Music – Music News, New Songs, Videos, Music Shows and Playlists from MTV. . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080513095743/http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?artist=16226&vid=54139. 13 May 2008. 7 January 2008.
18. Web site: 2013-01-30. Mestrando Cocada Capoeira New Orleans. https://archive.today/20130130021017/http://nolacapoeira.com/content/mestrando-cocada. dead. 2013-01-30. 2021-06-08. archive.ph.
19. Web site: http://www.maculelecapoeira.com. dead. 19 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160110151833/http://maculelecapoeira.com/. 10 January 2016.
20. April 19, 2021. I Know Capoeira ODDTAXI . January 24, 2022. Crunchyroll Collection.
21. June 7, 2021. Capoeira Paid Off! ODDTAXI . January 24, 2022. Crunchyroll Collection.
22. Web site: Mestre Jelon Vieira. Geocities.ws. 2015-12-08.
23. Web site: Edwards. Cutler. 2005-10-19. Kung-Fu Cowboy to Bronx B-Boys: Heroes and the Birth of Hip Hop Culture. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120610161238/http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-11142005-144636/. 2012-06-10. 2018-08-30. Florida State University.
24. Web site: Kofi's transition. 2021-06-08. Sky Sports. en.
25. Web site: McCutcheon. David. Episode 4 - Sexy Dance Fighting - Bob's Burgers Guide. IGN.com. January 22, 2016. August 16, 2023.