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Porta dos Fundos Posted by on Feb 26, 2016 in Brazilian Profile, Culture, Customs, Entertainment, Learning, Uncategorized, Video

Learning a nova (new) language is a serious thing. But having some fun enquanto (while) you do it can sempre (always) ajudar (help). As it has been mentioned in previous posts, a country’s sense of humor, culture and language are closely linked. And a good way to become familiar with Brazilian comedy is to assistir (watch) the thriving YouTube channel Porta dos Fundos.

Porta dos Fundos was created in 2012 by a comedy troupe. Their videos follow the sketch format that usually last from dois (two) to cinco (five) minutes. According to its founders, their dissatisfaction with the restrictions and lack of creative liberty in Brazilian television motivated the creation of the YouTube channel, where they could have all the artistic and comic freedom they wanted. With this autonomy, they are able to more freely satirize politics, religion, the police, sex, Brazilian customs and traditions, mock famous brands as well as simply to ridicule everyday life. Though the subject matter and sometimes politically incorrect approach may be controversial and not please todo mundo (everyone), the group still presents a very unique take on comedy that was much needed in Brazilian media.

With their acid and bold sense of humor, the channel soon went viral and reached a nation-wide success, ranking among the most viewed in the country. Porta dos Fundos has over mil (a thousand) videos, which amount to an impressive number of over 2 billions views and 11 million subscribers, a true internet phenomenon.

But, hey! Não fique triste! (Don’t be sad!) if you are not fluent in Portuguese ainda (yet), you don’t have to miss on all the diversão (fun): the Porta dos Fundos group also has a channel for international audiences called Backdoor, where it is possible to access their videos with English subtitles and descriptions so you can rir (laugh) with us and practice your Portuguese skills at the same time. I have selected seis (six) of their top sketches, so take a look:

 

Bromance

Sometimes your significant other is not the person you’re married to, but someone else who, deep inside, you always knew was your better half:

 

Casamento (Marriage)

The dreaded “speak-now-or-forever-hold-your-peace” moment always holds big surprises:

 

Deus (God)

We each have our own idea of God. So after dying and going to heaven, you never know what awaits for you at pearly gates.

 

Dez Mandamentos (Ten Commandments)

Though widely accepted nowadays, the ten commandments were initially met with a lot of resistance:

 

Fundo Verde (Chroma Key)

The movie world is truly fascinating, particularly when it comes to special effects:

 

Logout

You’ve never seen despair in a man’s eyes if you’ve never watched them realize their forgot to logout of Facebook at home:

 

Here’s the link to their channel in English. Subscribe if you liked them!: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheBackdoorchannel/videos

Now as for their official channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/portadosfundos

Tenham um fim de semana divertido! (Have a fun weekend!)

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Comments:

  1. Nevada Sample:

    What really really helped me when learning Spanish was watching South American soap operas with both spoken Spanish and well-synchronized closed captioning in Spanish (here in the US).
    If you ever have such a channel to recommend, I would very much appreciate it. Google’s closed captions are in-sync, but not very accurate.
    Thanks. I always read your blog posts.

    • carol:

      @Nevada Sample Thank you for your advice, that was truly helpful. Always nice to hear from readers.
      I’ll definitely look into that and, if possible, write a post on it.
      Hugs from Brazil

  2. Paul:

    Dear Adir,

    Thank you for your fab blog! I study Brasilian Portuguese for five years now – living in the Netherlands, having a boyfriend in Brasil – The trouble I have with Portuguese is hearing/recognizing the words in day by day talking. Those videos show this type of language. Subtitles in English help me to understand, but I still can’t ‘grasp’ the words in Portuguese. It would help me when the subtitles would be in Portuguese. I wonder there is a special training for listening.

    regards Paul