Capoeira in popular culture

Capoeirista performing an Aú Batido

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:

• Danca da guerra (1972), a short capoeira movie by Jair Moura.
• Cordão de Ouro (1977), a futuristic Brazilian movie, stars several well-known Mestres, such as Nestor Capoeira and Mestre Camisa.
• Capoeira of Brazil (1980) is a documentary short by Warrington Hudlin, featuring Mestres Jelon Vieira, Loremil Machado and Eusebio da Silva.
• Mestre Bimba: A Capoeira Illuminada (2006), a documentary about Mestre Bimba and capoeira.
• Besouro (2009) is based on the story of a capoeira fighter, starring Aílton Carmo as Besouro. It includes extensive capoeira fighting scenes.
• Jogo de Corpo. Capoeira e Ancestralidade (2013), documentary on the Angolan origins of capoeira, following mestre Cobra Mansa to Africa.

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.
• 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. 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.
• Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor (1994) which featured a tournament with fighters of many styles, including a capoeirista played by Mestre Amen Santo.
• The Quest (1996), a martial arts tournament film featured a capoeirista played by Mestre Cesar Carneiro.
• Tom-Yum-Goong (2005), with Lateef Crowder as a capoeirista

Other films featuring capoeira include:

• Many of Wesley Snipes' action films include scenes involving capoeira, as it is one of several martial arts he practices.
• In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, capoeira is one of several African martial arts that T'Challa utilizes in combat.

Video games

Fighting games that feature capoeira fighters or fighting styles include:

• The Tekken series features capoeiristas Eddy Gordo and Christie Monteiro. Both characters have been well received, and have been credited with popularizing capoeira to a wider audience.
• The Street Fighter III series feature the capoeirista Elena. Elena, an African woman, was envisioned to have long arms and legs, and capoeira was chosen as a suitable fighting style for her.
• The Fatal Fury series features two capoeira fighters, Richard Meyer and Bob Wilson.
• Zone 4, an online martial arts game, includes capoeira as a playable fighter's type.

Other games featuring capoera include:

• Martial Arts: Capoeira, is a 2011 RPG action game focused on capoera.
• 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.
• In Overwatch, Lucio, a music star from Brazil, has a skin where he performs a dance move based on capoeira.

Music

• The music video for "The Obvious Child" by Paul Simon features capoeira. This was the first single from Simon's album The Rhythm of the Saints, released in 1990.
• The 2006 music video for "Mas Que Nada" by the Black Eyed Peas and Sérgio Mendes features several scenes of capoeiristas along with various Brazilian dance forms, and Professor Marcinho playing.
• The music video of the song 'Roots Bloody Roots' by Brazilian metal band Sepultura features several shots of capoeira.

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. Later, Shirakawa uses the martial art to rescue Odokawa from an attacker.

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.

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

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.

See also

• Lethwei in popular culture
• Muay Thai in popular culture

References

1. ^ Cordão De Ouro (1977) - IMDb, retrieved 8 June 2021
2. ^ Hudlin, Warrington; Black Filmmaker Foundation (1980), Capoeira of Brazil, Internet Archive, New York, NY : Black Filmmaker Foundation, retrieved 8 June 2021
3. ^ "Mestre Bimba – A Capoeira Illuminada". YouTube. 29 January 2012. Archived from the original on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
4. ^ "Live Capoeira". livecapoeira.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
5. ^ "The Assailant (2009)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
6. ^ "Capoeira Mandinga Shanghai – New Brazilian action movie "Besouro" (Beetle)". Capoeirashanghai.com. Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
7. ^ Jogo de Corpo. Capoeira e Ancestralidade
8. ^ Ebert, Roger. "Rooftops movie review & film summary (1989) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com/. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
9. ^ Wise, Robert (17 March 1989), Rooftops (Action, Crime, Drama), Jason Gedrick, Troy Byer, Eddie Velez, Tisha Campbell, Koch Company, Mark/Jett Productions, New Visions Pictures, retrieved 8 June 2021
10. ^ Allen, Terence (May 1996). "Five hot martial arts videos: For the action filled films". Black Belt: 86–88.
11. ^ Pyun, Albert (14 May 1994), Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor (Action, Sport), Sasha Mitchell, Kamel Krifa, Brad Thornton, Jill Pierce, Kings Road Entertainment, retrieved 8 June 2021
12. ^ "Top 5 Capoeira Movie Fights". Kung-fu Kingdom. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
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 8 June 2021.
17. ^ "OGPlanet | Zone4 - Home". zone4.ogplanet.com. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011.
18. ^ "Martial Arts: Capoeira for Windows (2011)". MobyGames. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
19. ^ "Crossy Road Characters List: How to Unlock Everything". 3 February 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
20. ^ Vincent 01/20/18, Brittany (20 January 2018). "Lúcio Gets New Capoeira Skin In The Overwatch Cosmetic Update". Player.One. Retrieved 8 June 2021.{{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. 30 January 2013. Archived from the original on 30 January 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
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. ^ I Know Capoeira | ODDTAXI. Crunchyroll Collection. 19 April 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
25. ^ Capoeira Paid Off! | ODDTAXI. Crunchyroll Collection. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
26. ^ "Mestre Jelon Vieira" (PDF). Geocities.ws. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
27. ^ Edwards, Cutler (19 October 2005). "Kung-Fu Cowboy to Bronx B-Boys: Heroes and the Birth of Hip Hop Culture". Florida State University. Archived from the original on 10 June 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
28. ^ "Kofi's transition". Sky Sports. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
29. ^ McCutcheon, David (22 January 2016). "Episode 4 - Sexy Dance Fighting - Bob's Burgers Guide". IGN.com. Retrieved 16 August 2023.

v t e Capoeira
History	Engolo Angola Carioca Regional Contemporary
Music	Bateria Atabaque Berimbau Toques Songs
Mestres	Pastinha Besouro Sinhozinho Zuma Bimba Noronha Cobrinha Verde Camafeu de Oxóssi Waldemar João Pequeno Canjiquinha Gato Preto Leopoldina João Grande Suassuna Acordeon Moraes Jelon Vieira Cobra Mansa Barrão Pé de Chumbo Amen Santo
Techniques	Ginga Negativa Aú Aú batido Chapa de frente Chapa de costas Rabo de arraia Meia lua de compasso Scorpion Meia lua de frente Armada Queixada Martelo Rasteira Headbutt
Groups and foundations	Senzala Axé FICA GCAP Abadá Cordão de Ouro Candeias Capoeira Brasil
See also	In popular culture Roda Jogo de dentro Batizado Batuque Samba Maculelê Knocking and kicking Ladja
Category