Memories of a time of leisure, consumption and joy: an ethnographic study of a retirement home in Rio de Janeiro
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7458/SPP202510838027Keywords:
collective memory, consumer culture, ethnography, social distinction, leisure and sociabilityAbstract
This article presents an ethnographic study conducted in a high-end retirement home in Rio de Janeiro,
aimed at analyzing the memories of 27 elderly residents (born between 1924 and 1952) from the Brazilian urban
elite regarding their leisure, consumption, and sociability practices between the 1930s and 1970s. Based on
fieldwork observations, the elders’ narratives were interpreted as collective representations shaped by the
processes of modernization, industrialization, and the expansion of mass media. The testimonies reveal how
household appliances, automobiles, travel, fashion, media, and advertising strategies became symbolic markers
of social distinction, projecting images of prosperity and progress.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Isabel Feix, Everardo Rocha
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