O salto

pop culture, precarious conditions, and lived religion

Abstract

This paper investigates the representation of precarity in Brazilian society through the song "O Salto" by the group O Rappa and its music video, analyzing how these cultural elements reflect and interpret the reality of precarious lives. The research employs the concept of "lived religion" by Júlio Adam and Ganzevoort, Judith Butler’s notions of precarity, framing, and recognition, and Gutiérrez’s perspective on poverty in Liberation Theology. The choice of the song and music video is motivated by their depiction of extreme vulnerability situations, such as urban violence, lack of housing, unemployment, hunger, and lack of perspective, which are common in the everyday lives of many Brazilians. These contexts also reveal widespread distrust in political institutions, feelings of abandonment, heightened inequality, and social invisibility. Religious expressions emerge in the narratives as an implicit response to suffering and hopelessness.