Mongols in Northern China fear the end of a distinct cultural identity. Until the late 19th century, cultural differences between Mongols and Han could be seen through differences in each group's traditional way of life. Mongols were nomadic pastoralists. Han were sedentary farmers. Recent economic development, rapid urbanization, and assimilation policies have threatened Mongolian cultural identity. In response to this cultural identity anxiety, Mongols in Inner Mongolia have looked for ways to express their distinct cultural identity. This dissertation analyzes three case studies derived from material cultural productions that represent Mongolian cultural identity. These include pastoralism, the use of Genghis Khan, and the Mongolian language. The analyses of different material cultural artifacts and the application of cultural and political theory come together in this dissertation to demonstrate how Mongolian cultural identity is reimagined through representation. In this dissertation, I also demonstrate how these reimagined identities construct and maintain ethnic boundaries which prevent the total absorption of a distinct Mongolian identity. / Ph. D.

Orientador: Claúdio Bertolli Filho / Resumo: Defende-se a tese de que o documentário se instaura como uma mídia alternativa que dá voz a diferentes atores sociais e constrói espaços de visibilidade e aprofundamento de causas, demandas e problemáticas do contemporâneo que são evidenciadas através dessa representação simbólica. Nessa instância de luta por poder, como se constroem identidades de resistências por meio da narrativa documental audiovisual? São analisadas as representações sociais nos documentários "Lute como uma menina" (2016), "Espero tua (re)volta" (2019) e "Acabou A Paz, Isto Aqui Vai Virar o Chile!" (2016), que ilustram as ocupações secundaristas contra a proposta de reforma do ensino paulista em 2015. Tais levantes possuem como características elementos de uma cultura de protesto semelhantes aos eventos de Junho de 2013 e característicos das insatisfações da sociedade em rede. Metologicamente se recorre à pesquisa bibliográfica e documental, à netnografia e análise fílmica, entrevista em profundidade e análise da percepções de tais obras junto à opinião pública. / Abstract: It defends the thesis that the documentary establishes itself as an alternative media that gives voice to different social actors and builds spaces of visibility and deepening of the causes, demands and problems of the contemporary that are evidenced through this symbolic representation. In this instance of struggle for power, how are identities of resistances constructed through the audiovisual documentary narrative? Social representations are analyzed in the documentaries Lute como uma menina (2016), You turn (2019) and Acabou A Paz, Isto Aqui Vai Virar o Chile! (2016), which illustrate the secondary occupations against the proposed reform of São Paulo education in 2015. Such uprisings have elements of a protest culture similar to the events of June 2013 and characteristic of the dissatisfaction of the network society. Methodologically, bibliographic and documentary research, netnography and film analysis, in-depth interview and analysis of the perceptions of such works with public opinion are used. / Doutor