The Spectacle of Propaganda: Allan Fisher’s Photography and USIS Operations in Brazil
Daniel Mandur Thomaz (Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures), Thais Blank (Fundação Getúlio Vargas – CPDOC, Brazil), Martina Spohr (Fundação Getúlio Vargas – CPDOC, Brazil)
The Spectacle of Propaganda project, led by Dr Daniel Mandur Thomaz (Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures), explored how visual media was used to shape public opinion in Brazil during the Cold War. Drawing on a previously unseen archive of photographs by US photographer Allan Fisher, who worked for the US Information Service between 1945 and 1955, the project traced how propaganda was delivered through mobile film screenings in schools, factories, and rural communities.
In collaboration with Dr Thais Blank and Dr Martina Spohr at Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV CPDOC) in Brazil, the team digitised and contextualised the images and launched a bilingual (English–Portuguese) website to make them accessible to a wide audience. They also delivered a workshop for Brazilian public school teachers, supporting them to create classroom activities that explore the history of propaganda and its relevance to modern disinformation and political messaging.
The project was enthusiastically received. Teachers reported that it changed their understanding of propaganda and helped them develop new ways to talk with students about media, history, and politics. A second hybrid workshop extended the project’s reach, and classroom activity plans were created using the material.
The project strengthened institutional links between King’s College London and FGV CPDOC, laying the groundwork for future collaborative research. The website remains live and continues to support public engagement and media literacy in Brazil and beyond.
For full details of the project, please see the PDF case study below.