Brands of pre-Olympic Rio: imaginaries of sex, violence and epidemics on a Sino-American YouTube channel

Abstract

In this article, we’ll analyze an array of variables related to the image of Rio de Janeiro in audiovisual productions from the Republic of China (re)published on YouTube on the opening day of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, in which subjects such as zika, pollution and sex prevailed over other relevant points of the mega-event. In order to do that, we have chosen a compilation of 11 animated news stories produced by the Taiwanese website TomoNews, published on its American YouTube channel on August 5, 2016. In the products analyzed, it is possible to realize that despite of the efforts in city branding to construct the brand Rio, there was an ironic disbelief that the city would be prepared to host the Summer Olympics, especially due to possible epidemics and violence. Inspired by authors like Sodré, Siqueira and Amâncio, we discussed issues related to communication, tourism and heritage in a city ruled by fear, but that wants to attract tourists.