#cannibalist

So in this section of him being 17 this should be when Toby killed his dad, and this is literally him during the act. But look at his mouth, for some reason it is COVERED in blood, but it’s not coming from his gash. Rather, it’s leaking and dribbled on his lips as if he was eating something..

It could imply that Toby literally cannibalized on his dad before dipping.

Themes of the "Cannibalist Manifesto"

Colonialism

The most defining and significant aspect of de Andrade's thought was the constant juxtaposition of colonizing, European, violent, and evil interests to the native, indigenous, local, natural, and good Brazilian interests. He lived in a country struggling to create its own national identity and which had been paralyzed by the imposing superstructures of Portuguese thought. De Andrade’s primitivism was a response to that colonial power; a “return” in time and ideology to what was native to the country before European corruption. He demonstrated the worthiness of “primitive” culture (using “primitive” as a tongue-in-cheek label of the original cultures which European settlers had labeled as such) and the necessity of Brazil to create a new tribal identity. To do so, he proposes a matriarchal primitivism in “Cannibalist Manifesto”. De Andrade describes his animosity towards previous Brazilian art as such: “‘We have an art with no personality because the memory of classic formulas has prevented, for a long time, the free emergence of a ‘true national art’’”(de Andrade qtd. p. 159).

The entire text of the "Cannibalist Manifesto" can be seen as a critique of colonial relations. Each of the specific themes explored here is only an offshoot of the general criticism of the colonial oppression of Brazil that has been internalized to a point of paralysis. Portugal imposed particular forms of European religion (Christianity), ideology, philosophy, and psychology without regard for the particular cultural context of Brazil. Indigenous Brazilian tradition was vilified and covered over by a shroud of European imposition. The text uses the metaphor of clothing to express the difference between indigenous and European cultures: "What clashed with truth was clothing, that raincoat placed between the inner and outer worlds." (38). This illustrates two things: it highlights the differences between European and indigenous customs and it also equates colonialism with an oppressive and stifling covering over the natural "body" of Brazil.

A specific historical reference is made to Dom João VI, the King of Portugal who “made Brazil a kingdom” and “was Brazil’s last colonial monarch before independence” (47). He is referred to in disparaging terms as a metonymic stand-in for the larger colonial system. The text also refers to Lucien Lévy-Bruhl, another example colonialism. Lévy-Bruhl was a prominent French anthropologist who focused on the “primitive mentality”. He believed that primitive thought was “pre-logical” and “mystical”. He cited Emile Durkheim, and specifically the concept of “group ideas”, to support his beliefs that cultures could reason so differently. De Andrade inverts the negative European labels of "native, primitive, or tribal" into positive identifying qualities. The ignorance and destruction of Brazilian tradition complicated Brazilian identity even in the postcolonial world. De Andrade wrote in this historical context and was one of the first thinkers to successfully forge an identity separate from Portugal.

Modernism

De Andrade’s work created a flashpoint for a Brazilian modernism around the issue of cannibalism: a metaphor for the interstices of European and traditional cultures within Brazil. Another important modernist work, referenced in this text, is Raul Bopp’s Cobra Norato. De Andrade references the Great Snake, the central focus of theme of Bopp's work. However, in general, Cobra Norato focuses on many uniquely Brazilian rites and practices taking place in the Amazonian jungle. In contrast to his earlier texts, the philosophy of “Cannibalist Manifesto” appropriated primitivism as “an aggressive tool” rather than promoting mere assimilation of different cultures.

De Andrade understood that it was impossible to simply repudiate all European thought. Modernity had been so violently imposed on Brazilian society that there was no way to destroy all of its vestiges. Instead, he incorporated some select elements of modernity into his new world and created “technological barbarism”. De Andrade also satirizes trivial forms of technology such as films and movies, referring to the "starring roles" of those he critiques and that "American movies will inform us" (38).

He also endeavored to highlight any and all factors which made Brazil "primitive" culture unique. One example of this is his celebration of the term "saudade". Saudade originally comes from the Latin word solitate, which translates to loneliness. However, saudade does not have a direct English translation, though nostalgia seems to be close to its meaning. Saudade describes a feeling that is distinctly Portuguese, and there is an even a Day of Saudade celebrated on January 30.

Indigenous Tradition, Primitivism, and Cannibalism

De Andrade first explored primitivism as a response to colonialism in Manifesto of Brazilwood Poetry (1924) which urged new forms of Brazilian poetry separate from the imposed structures of European literature. Brazil, in his view, should not merely copy, but instead reject and reform European forms into a new national style. De Andrade refers to two specific tribes, the Tupi and the Caribs, who exemplify the Brailian traditionalism he supports.

The first statement of "Cannibalist Manifesto" is "Cannibalism alone unites us. Socially. Economically. Philosophically." (38). The work begins with this strong conviction of cannibalism as the spectre under which all other themes will occur. De Andrade then universalizes cannibalism to become a relevant question for all cultures and nationalities: "The world's single law. Disguised expression of all individualism, of all collectivisms. Of all religions. Of all peace treaties."(38).

Cannibalism is expressed in “Cannibalist Manifesto” as “absorption of the sacred enemy” (43) and an act that is “carnal at first, this instinct becomes elective and creates friendship. When it is affective, it creates love” (43).

The key distinction to be made is between European cannibalism and native cannibalism. The European destructive impulse is “low cannibalism, agglomerated with the sins of catechism – envy, usury, calumny, murder. We are acting against this plague of a supposedly cultured and Christianized peoples. Cannibals” (43). On the contrary, native cannibalism is a productive force and can be used as a tool by the oppressed to violently destroy their oppressors. They can invert the relation of information flow. Instead of being subjugated to European influences, they can literally eat those influences, digest them, and excrete new, evolved, forms of art and culture. This cannibalism is productive and healthy whereas the European cannibalism is "cadaverized" (40) and thus sterile and unnatural.

Cannibalism's pragmatic practicality can be seen in the text's statement of the "Need for the cannibalistic vaccine. To maintain our equilibrium against meridian religions. And against outside inquisitions." (39). Cannibalism is seen here as a potentially revolutionary project of rejecting the influences that previously stifled Brazilian possibility.