It was May 13, 2021 when Carlos Murillo, the general manager of Pfizer in Latin America, revealed at the Covid CPI that the Brazilian government had ignored at least five offers of doses of Pfizer vaccines against the coronavirus. On the 24th of that month, Brazil recorded 450,000 deaths as a result of the pandemic. Six days later, there were 462,000 deaths. No reason to smile, let alone laugh.
But the laugh came on June 9, when comedian Esse Menino posted on Instagram his satire of the situation, winner of the Megafone Award in the category of best meme of 2021.
In the video, the comedian incorporates the pharmaceutical, which tries, unsuccessfully and over 57 emails, to close a deal with the management of Jair Bolsonaro (then without a party, now in the PL) for the purchase of immunizations.
The humor of the video is stitched together by satirical, but engaged and also informed criticism, with references both to pop culture and to the revelations that emerged at the CPI in the Senate. For example, the testimony of Fabio Wajngarten, former Secretary of Social Communication of the Presidency, in which he stated that Pfizer, via letter, expressed interest in making Brazil the showcase for vaccination in Latin America.
“Just like the opening of the soap opera ‘BelÃssima’, the Brazilian performing immunized, Caetano in the background, a showcase for the world”, says Esse Menino as he types and gestures, ending the email that begins with “Say it, Naro. !”
The video is a meme that unfolds into several. Popularized expressions such as “tá passed?” and “who is real knows who is false”. And yet he created others, such as “scientific kisses”, “are you going to answer no, bitch?” and, of course, the name of “Pi-faizer”, pronounced with an almost mute and exaggerated foot.
“The finalist actions brought a portrait of the dramatic situation that our country lived in 2021, when we suffered attacks on basic rights guaranteed in the Constitution, such as the right to life”, says the artist Mundano, creator of the Megafone Award.
The award honors Brazilian activism and is divided into 14 categories, such as Direct Action, Street Art, Demonstration Poster, Young Activist, Photo and Documentary. And, thinking about social media, Meme.
The other nominees in the category were cartoonists Laerte and Carol Cospe Fogo, communication and diversity specialist Anna Cristina Almeida, from the Afro profile on Instagram, and communicator Tukamã Pataxó. Below, see the nominees:
Father Júlio Lancelotti received the Megaphone of the Year, the highest honor of the award, for his work aimed at the homeless population of São Paulo. In the Music or Video Clip category, the version of “Bum Bum Tam Tam”, by MC Fioti, for the vaccination campaign was the winner.
Recorded at Instituto Butantã, in São Paulo, the clip features the participation of professionals from the institution and adapted the lyrics of the hit to encourage people to get vaccinated, at a time when many representatives of the federal government were trying to generate distrust in relation to immunizers. .
“It is the involving vaccine that moves the minds of those who are present. It is the salient vaccine, which will cure us of the virus and save many people”, sings the MC in the adapted version.
To find out about other nominees, access the Megafone Award website by clicking here.
