Gabriel Godoy criticizes comedy without reflection: ‘Bullshit for nonsense’

For actor and comedian Gabriel Godoy, 38, continuing to be an artist in Brazil is the purest act of resistance. For him, art, whether in audiovisual, theater or even television, makes society reflect and debate, which can be against the government’s wishes. “Being an artist in our country, with this government and with the pandemic, has been the essence of the profession since its origin: persistence and courage.”

In the cast of the comedy “Doce Família”, starring Mariana Xavier, the artist says that humor is a great tool to provoke these questions, and uses as an example the feature film in production -which addresses fatphobia and aesthetic pressure, especially with the women. “I am very concerned about the proposal of reflection of the comedies, since their function is to provoke a social debate.”

He points out that the Brazilian audiovisual sector “loses its grip” on national humor films, and ends up “spending energy on scripts that don’t go anywhere, they are left in the thick of it.” In addition, the actor also comments that art has a political function, which can even annoy the government. “That’s exactly why we’re being so oppressed.”

“This government that doesn’t want to invest and doesn’t like culture and what it causes, but we are a strong army fighting it”, he adds, saying that there are many artists leading these movements. “What they [governadores] want are people who are deaf, blind and who do not think. And we want society to think through art”, he adds, in an interview given to F5 backstage on the set of “Sweet Family”.

The actor also says that being able to return to productions brings a mix of joy and fear, due to the cases of Covid-19. Despite the insecurity, he says that the audiovisual is an extremely safe environment and that other classmates, such as theater, circus and dance artists, were more affected by social distancing.

For the future, Godoy says he has hope in times of change, especially for artists. “Next year we will have a government that will join hands with us, and we will be able to return to making art as such an important role it has in society.”