A legitimately Brazilian theory of communication, Folkcommunication originated in the 1960s with Luiz Beltrão’s seminal work: the article “Ex-voto as a Journalistic Vehicle.” A reporter and researcher from Pernambuco, Beltrão had already examined the various forms of present-day communication in his first book, Iniciação à Filosofia do Jornalismo.

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Later, inspired by Edison Carneiro’s dialectics and by McLuhan’s work, he formulated his proposal to study groups that “use folk media to express their information, ideas, and aspirations, such as cordel pamphlets, folk singing contests, tales, dances, popular plays, woodcarving, and ceramics” (2013, p. 512). Excluded from traditional processes of producing and circulating information, these groups find in the tools of tradition and vernacular expression their own ways of communicating current events.

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Running counter to the dominant studies of his time, which were guided by Eurocentric authors and established objects of study, Beltrão invited us to look at phenomena as marginalized by academia as the social groups in which such practices flourish: offerings made by pilgrims, viola singing contests, artisanal labor. This shift in meaning strongly resonates with decolonial thought and the so-called epistemologies of the South.

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Dynamic, like the very objects to which it turns its attention, the theory of Folkcommunication is not fixed in past forms. On the contrary: in times of infodemic and disputes over narratives, understanding the dynamics and strategies of mediation, organization, and resistance of the popular classes in the face of old and new challenges becomes imperative.

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At the time, the author referred to these communities as “marginalized groups.” The word “marginal,” however, soon became imprecise, being used within epistemological assumptions tied to the criminalization of minority groups. Faced with this dispute, we return to the notion from its origin: Beltrão used the term in reference to Robert Park’s “cultural hybrid,” that is, the social group that acts in a counter-hegemonic way in relation to dominant culture.

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This understanding allows us to illuminate the contemporary moment through the theory, recognizing the strength of the communicative processes of the popular classes, which today also take on other forms: slam poetry, graffiti, rap, the meme; elements that occupy the same space of contestation at the heart of the metropolis.

 

Another emerging branch of research is precisely the opposite process: the way traditional objects take on new forms when revived by digital media. Blessing rituals passed on through TikTok, myths rewritten by Artificial Intelligences, quadrilhas that incorporate new steps based on the logic of virality on social media, WhatsApp groups where the intrigues of the global village are fed and stimulated by platforms...

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Attentive to the diagnosis of the present, to the dynamics of domination under technopoly, and to the dilemmas of algorithmic mediation over cultural forms, the Folkcommunication researcher finds themselves before a myriad of possibilities for analysis and reflection.

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Shall we go together?

 

Thífani Postali holds a PhD in Multimedia from Unicamp and a master’s degree in Communication and Culture from Uniso. She is currently a full professor in the Graduate Program in Communication and Culture at Uniso and scientific director of Rede Folkcom.

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Andriolli Costa holds a PhD in Communication and Information from UFRGS and a master’s degree in Journalism from UFSC. He is currently an associate professor at FCS/UERJ and president of Rede Folkcom.
 

References

BELTRÃO, L. Folkcomunicação: a comunicação dos marginalizados. São Paulo: Cortez, 1980.

______. BELTRÃO, Luiz. Folkcomunicação: teoria e metodologia. São Bernardo do Campo: Umesp, 2004

______. O folclore como discurso. In: MELO, J. M.; FERNANDES, G. M. Metamorfose da Folkcomunicação. São Paulo: Editae, 2013. p. 511-515

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COSTA, Andriolli. Folkcomunicação: Vínculos epistemológicos fundamentais entre Comunicação e Folclore. Revista Internacional de Folkcomunicação. v. 21, . 47, 2023. p. 170-191.

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FERNANDES, G.; SANTANA, F.; WOITOWICZ, K. Folkcomunicação e resistência: elementos de uma práxis informacional

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LUYTEN, J. Folkmídia, nova acepção da palavra. In: CONGRESSO BRASILEIRO DE CIÊNCIAS DA COMUNICAÇÃO, 25., 2002, Salvador. Anais... Salvador: Intercom, 2002.

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POSTALI, Thífani. Blues e hip-hop: uma perspectiva folkcomunicacional. Jundiaí: Paco Editorial, 2011.

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WOITOWICZ, Karina. Grupos marginalizados. In: GADINI, S. WOITOWICZ, K. (Orgs.) Noções Básicas de Folkcomunicação. Ponta Grossa: Editora UEPG, 2007. p. 59-63.

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Would you like to be part of the vanguard of research in the field? Consider becoming a researcher-member of the Rede de Pesquisas e Estudos em Folkcomunicação, or Rede Folkcom. You can learn more about the history of the association, which has now existed for more than 20 years, in the  History section. You can also consult our main publications in the Books section.