Nao e TV; E somente un idiota

At times a little bit of history is a good thing, even if we played hooky from time to time growing up. So, at this moment I would like to step out of the realm of Hollywood and branch out into the world of television.
HBO, otherwise known as Home Box Office, has presented thousands upon thousands of people with the opportunity to comfortably sit on their couches with the divine knowledge that a program of substance will unfold in front of their eyes. After all, HBO has given us “The Sopranos”, “Flight of the Conchords”, “Sex in the City”, “Rome”, “The Wire”, and last night premiered the television movie “Grey Gardens”.

Two days ago I came across a new series. It was bound to be a sensation: after all its not TV:it’s HBO! So without hesitation I began to watch “Alice”, a new series produced by HBO Ole. I don’t speak a word of Spanish, so I read the subtitles, but as the show progressed I noticed a strange thing; why are they speaking Spanish?

Here is the bit of history and fact I discussed previously: Alice, the story’s main character is from Palmas, which is located in the state of Tocantins in the north of Brazil bordering Bahia.

Brazil is the largest country in South America, and unlike all of its neighboring countries, the national language is Portuguese.
Why on earth did HBO bother to encourage the ignorance of North Americans by adding to an unfortunate general assumption that Spanish is the native language of Brazil? The actors in this show are Brazilian, speaking Portuguese. HBO had to go out of their way to hire countless people to dub the Portuguese perfectly, convincing the viewer that each and every Brazilian speaks Spanish. This is inexcusable (not to mention absurdly expensive).

Why, was there a consensus at HBO (pardon me, HBO Ole) that ‘Alice’ would receive less attention by US audiences if they kept the show in Portuguese?

Brazilian film is very popular in the United States. ‘Central do Brasil’ (Central Station) won the oscar in 1998 for Best Foreign Film; ‘Cidade de Deus’ (City of God) received an Oscar nomination in 2004; and ‘Orfeu Negro’ (Black Orpheus) took the Best Foreign Film Oscar home in 1960.

Actors from Brazil, such as Fernanda Montenegro (Love in the Time of Cholera), Alice Braga ( I am Legend, Blindness), and Seu Jorge (The Life Aquatic) have graced the screens of American television and film. Brazilian communities cover the United States, notably in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Florida, New York, and Los Angeles.
Why would HBO embarrass themselves by showing a complete disregard for the entire Brazilian community?

HBO spent time constructing a program around Brazilian culture, spent time filming in San Paulo, all the credits are in Portuguese, so what prompted the damaging racist, and humiliating decision to mute the language altogether?

It is a mystery, and one that passes the dunce cap to the executive staff at HBO. It’s not TV; it’s just an idiot!