Have you watched Glória, the first Portuguese Netflix series? No? Well, shame on you! Ok, maybe this is just my Portuguese heart speaking, but I loved this series so much that I want everyone to watch it! This is the perfect series if you’re learning Portuguese or always wanted to know more about the History of Portugal.
Glória takes place in Gloria do Ribatejo, a small village where RARET operated. The plot is focused on 1960s espionage and the Portuguese political system before the ‘Revolução dos Cravos’ (Carnation Revolution). Unfortunately, before the Revolution, we lived in a dictatorship with a lot of bans. You probably already knew about this, or maybe you didn't, and this series will give you a glimpse of how it was living back then.
Even I, a Portuguese, learned from it. I knew that we had some espionage during the Cold War, but I had no idea about RARET and the number of people/countries that were involved in it. This series also appealed to me more than other Portuguese shows because it has our essence (nostalgic, fado, and even some Portuguese songs of the time), but with some flavour. It has a lot of action and twists that will make you not leave your couch. It's definitely binge-watching material!
It shows you how people – especially women – were struggling to make a living and be happy at the same time. It was a time when poor people couldn’t speak or even dream too much, where even people with a bit more money couldn’t listen to most records from other countries.
It also shows the other side, the work ethic of our people, the communist party, the downfall of Salazar, and how different groups were trying to fight against the regime.
Speaking about Salazar, did you know that nowadays all our films and movies are subtitled and not dubbed into Portuguese because of him? It was a power move to continue dictating Portuguese lives. In the 40s, the illiteracy rate was over 50%, so if the movies were subtitled most people wouldn’t see them anyway because they couldn’t understand them.
Do you see the power of translation and how it can be used in a manipulative way?
He was trying to do a bad thing, but it turned out to be a good thing. I have to say that I can’t watch dubbed movies, and I believe we have a tendency for speaking and understanding more languages because of subtitling.
Although they don't speak about this in the series, you will learn much more in it and have a love-hate relationship with the main character. Go watch it now and let me know what you thought in the comments!
Whohho super interesting! Good job Mélanie !
Reply