PAULO FREIRE AND THE THEATER OF THE OPPRESSED: FORMATIVE EXPERIENCES OF YOUNGSTERS IN THE INTERIOR OF BAHIA

Abstract

This article aims to present research results of Freirean formative experiences of youngsters, in context of the Theater of the Oppressed, in the interior of Bahia. It has as central theoretical reference the "Pedagogy of the Oppressed", to understand and explain the formative experiences made explicit by informants. The methodological reference was the Phenomenology of Social Relations, developed by Alfred Schutz, more specifically the notion of experience as a result of relationship between consciousness and the world. The empirical field chosen was a theater group which practices games and techniques of the Theater of the Oppressed. Five young people were interviewed based on the following criteria: a) they were from the beginning of creation of group; b) they are over eighteen years old and, c) availability and acceptance to participate. The semi-structured group interview has been used to capture the perceptions and singularities of the subjective experience of life lived there. In order to analyze data, the interviews were initially transcribed and then a vertical reading was done in search of formative experiences that are no longer in flow of life, but in flow of consciousness. In the process paragraphs and phrases have been chosen as meaning units. The results have revealed Freirean formative experiences focused on issues of gender and race, directed towards otherness, listening and respect for differences. It pointed to the importance of the face-to-face encounters between men and women, so that together they could become resistance and fight against oppression, discrimination and prejudice of race, gender and ethnicity.