A mágica de verdade de Gustavo Bernardo

Abstract

The main characteristic of postmodern society is the natural way how man deals with the illusion produced by technology. Image has become the main mediator in the contact of individuals with the world. In the literature field, this fact has strengthened the debate about the limits between real and its representation, since nowadays the borders of true and false are blurred
in empirical reality itself. Facing this new context (from which children’s and youth literary production is not excluded), literature has responded in at least two ways: by reinforcing its fictional status and by using image as a narrative technique. This is the case of Gustavo Bernardo’s O mágico de verdade (2006). This work is a significant example of how contemporary literature has reacted aesthetically to social changes. By comparing the fictional text to the author’s theoretical
formulations, we can realize that the former presents itself as an allegory that raises issues about the banishment of the imaginary by mass media simulacra, thus becoming a theory of fiction for young audience.