Apocalipse 1,11 in São Paulo: Aesthetic Vertigo or Exploitation?

Abstract

Performed in an abandoned prison, Apocalipse I, II re-enacts a 1992 massacre at São Paulo's Carandiru prison where 111 prisoners were shot by the military police. But the inclusion of a live sex show and gratuitous violence raises questions. Apocalipse I, II sought to use theatrical coups to politicize its audience. But for Stanton it failed to get beyond its own gleefully explicit transgressions and develop a coherent critical narrative of the state of Brazil that could empower its audience.