In this title, David Foster examines gender issues in 13 Brazilian films made after the return to constitutional democracy and elimination of censorship to show how these issues arise from the comment on the sociohistorical reality of contemporary Brazilian society. Foster organizes his study into three broad themes: construction of masculinity, construction of feminine and feminist identities,and same-sex positionings and social power. Within his discussions of individual films he offers ways of understanding national ideals and stereotypes, sexual dissidence, heroic models, US/ Brazilian relations, revolutionary struggle, and human rights violations.