There is in colonialism a very peculiar function for words: words do not designate, but conceal. And this is particularly evident in the republican phase, when egalitarian ideologies had to be adopted and, at the same time, citizens' rights were hidden from a majority of the population. There is no talk of racism, and yet in very recent times we have witnessed collective racist outbursts, which at first glance are inexplicable. We believe that the hidden, buried forms of the cultural conflicts that we carry are exposed there, and that we cannot rationalize. We can't even talk about them. We have a hard time talking, connecting our public language with private language. It is not difficult to say what we think and to become aware of this instinctual background of conflicts and unconscious shame. This has created for us rhetorical ways of communicating, double meanings, unspoken meanings, speech conventions that hide a series of misunderstandings and that guide practices, but at the same time divorce the action of the public word.
From our perspective, we can find in the images social interpretations and narratives, that from pre-colonial centuries illuminate this social background and offer us perspectives of critical understanding of reality.