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Capoeira in popular culture

Brazilian martial art
Roda de Capoeira, Salvador, Bahia, Brasil.

The Brazilian martial art of capoeira, noted for its acrobatic movements and kicks, has often been featured in and influenced popular culture.

Films

Capoeira and capoeira mestres have been featured in several Brazilian films and documentaries including:

Capoeira has been a focus of several martial arts films, including:

  • Rooftops (1989), a film featuring two homeless teenagers who use dance fights inspired by capoeira to settle arguments and as a form of entertainment.[8]
  • Only the Strong (1993), a film following a former Green Beret turned teacher in Miami who uses capoeira to teach his students discipline and ultimately faces off with the local gang.[9] It is considered the only Hollywood film to focus entirely on capoeira. Much of the film's fight choreography was created by Mestre Amen Santo.[10]
  • Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor (1994) which featured a tournament with fighters of many styles, including a capoeirista played by Mestre Amen Santo.[11]
  • The Quest (1996), a martial arts tournament film featured a capoeirista played by Mestre Cesar Carneiro.[12]
  • Tom-Yum-Goong (2005), with Lateef Crowder as a capoeirista

Other films featuring capoeira include:

Video games

Fighting games that feature capoeira fighters or fighting styles include:

Other games featuring capoera include:

  • Martial Arts: Capoeira, is a 2011 RPG action game focused on capoera.[18]
  • In the mobile game Crossy Road, a playable capoeira fighter was added in a Brazil-themed update. The character navigates through the streets of Rio de Janeiro with acrobatic flips.[19]
  • In Overwatch, Lucio, a music star from Brazil, has a skin where he performs a dance move based on capoeira.[20]

Music

Anime

Anime series that feature capoeira include:

  • In the 2021 anime series Odd Taxi, Miho Shirakawa displays her limited knowledge of capoeira, to the dismay of protagonist Hiroshi Odokawa.[24] Later, Shirakawa uses the martial art to rescue Odokawa from an attacker.[25]

Other influences

Breakdancing, developed in the 1970s, has many analogous moves. However, the original breakdancers of the early 1970s based their style primarily on actors in Asian kung fu films, but received some influence because demonstrations of capoeira master Jelon Vieira in New York.[26][27]

Kofi Kingston, a WWE professional wrestler, has incorporated wrestling moves inspired by Tekken capoeira fighter Eddy Gordo.[28]

The Bob's Burgers episode "Sexy Dance Fighting" (season 1, episode 4) prominently features Capoeira. It was first broadcast on television in the United States on the Fox network on February 13, 2011.[29]

References

  1. Cordão De Ouro (1977) - IMDb, retrieved 2021-06-08
  2. Hudlin, Warrington; Black Filmmaker Foundation (1980), Capoeira of Brazil, Internet Archive, New York, NY : Black Filmmaker Foundation, retrieved 2021-06-08
  3. "Mestre Bimba – A Capoeira Illuminada". YouTube. 2012-01-29. Archived from the original on 2014-06-30. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  4. "Live Capoeira". livecapoeira.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  5. "The Assailant (2009)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  6. "Capoeira Mandinga Shanghai – New Brazilian action movie "Besouro" (Beetle)". Capoeirashanghai.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  7. Jogo de Corpo. Capoeira e Ancestralidade
  8. Ebert, Roger. "Rooftops movie review & film summary (1989) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com/. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  9. Wise, Robert (1989-03-17), Rooftops (Action, Crime, Drama), Jason Gedrick, Troy Byer, Eddie Velez, Tisha Campbell, Koch Company, Mark/Jett Productions, New Visions Pictures, retrieved 2021-06-08
  10. Allen, Terence (May 1996). "Five hot martial arts videos: For the action filled films". Black Belt: 86–88.
  11. Pyun, Albert (1994-05-14), Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor (Action, Sport), Sasha Mitchell, Kamel Krifa, Brad Thornton, Jill Pierce, Kings Road Entertainment, retrieved 2021-06-08
  12. "Top 5 Capoeira Movie Fights". Kung-fu Kingdom. 2019-06-26. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  13. "Wesley Snipes: Action man courts a new beginning". The Independent. London. 4 June 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  14. Eells, Josh (18 February 2018). "The 'Black Panther' Revolution". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  15. Tekken Tag Tournament Manual. Namco. 1999. p. 35.
  16. CAPCOM. "Round 4: Tomoshi Sadamoto Part 3 | Guests | Activity Reports". CAPCOM:Shadaloo C.R.I. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  17. "OGPlanet | Zone4 - Home". zone4.ogplanet.com. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011.
  18. "Martial Arts: Capoeira for Windows (2011)". MobyGames. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  19. "Crossy Road Characters List: How to Unlock Everything". 3 February 2015. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  20. Vincent 01/20/18, Brittany (2018-01-20). "Lúcio Gets New Capoeira Skin In The Overwatch Cosmetic Update". Player.One. Retrieved 2021-06-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. "Music – Music News, New Songs, Videos, Music Shows and Playlists from MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
  22. "Mestrando Cocada | Capoeira New Orleans". archive.ph. 2013-01-30. Archived from the original on 2013-01-30. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  23. https://web.archive.org/web/20160110151833/http://maculelecapoeira.com/. Archived from the original on 10 January 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  24. Template:Cite AV media
  25. Template:Cite AV media
  26. "Mestre Jelon Vieira" (PDF). Geocities.ws. Retrieved 2015-12-08.
  27. Edwards, Cutler (2005-10-19). "Kung-Fu Cowboy to Bronx B-Boys: Heroes and the Birth of Hip Hop Culture". Florida State University. Archived from the original on 2012-06-10. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  28. "Kofi's transition". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
  29. McCutcheon, David (January 22, 2016). "Episode 4 - Sexy Dance Fighting - Bob's Burgers Guide". IGN.com. Retrieved August 16, 2023.