From Revelry to Performance: Biopower in the Organization of the Carnival of Olinda

Abstract

Purpose: The present study aims to understand how biopower is manifested in the organization of the Carnival of Olinda. For this, Carnival is studied as a complex organization, comprehending this concept beyond formal organizations, and power is studied under the Foucaultian perspective, which constitutes the theoretical lens of this investigation, allowing us to understand it even in its most diffuse manifestations, at the level of micro-practices, articulating the dimensions of security and wealth in the organization of the festivity. Originality/value: The notion of biopower in the management of big events shows itself to be a relevant theoretical construction, at a time when popular folksies have been increasingly permeated by business and tourism logics. The intensive use of public space requires technologies that allow freedom and entertainment while providing security and risk minimization to the patrimony and the population. The Carnival investigated has great media and touristic visibility, but it is little contemplated in the organizational studies. Design/methodology/approach: A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis was carried out on the journalistic coverage of four Carnivals in a 10-year interval (1986, 1996, 2006, 2016) in two local newspapers, the only ones circulating during throughout the study period. Findings: The results point to a growing market order, in which tourism and entertainment demands generate economic results for the city, while at the same time demanding a standardization, vigilance and loss prevention, resulting in a biopolitical production.