City of God by Fernando Meirelles - Essay Example

? ‘Favelas’ of God ‘Favelas’ of God Introduction The of God’ also known, as ‘Favelas’ is a film where Fernando Meirelles is the director. The film is set in Portuguese but with an intention of portraying the rising level of crimes in Brazil. Katia Lund acted as assistance to Fernando in the creation of this film, which they released in 2002, but it had a worldwide release in 2003 (Eagleton, 2010, pp. 129). The film is based on real events that have taken place other than on fictions grounds therefore making it interesting and educative to watch. The main theme of the film is the realization of the level of increased crime that occurred in Brazil between 1968 and 1980. Fernando Meirelles illustrates the level of insecurity and crime when he makes use of comments that there is no safe to be even if a person decides to run or not run, out of this, the individual will either be hunted down or caught stranded by the criminals (Xavier, 1997, pp. 49). In the film, most actors and participants originated from Favelas. In 2004, ‘City of God’ received four awards from its competency and level of production. The film had received the same accolade in Brazil in the previous year although the ratings were lower than in 2004. Setting of the Film The films plot begins when there is an event of slaughtering chicken to be consumed but one of them escapes and is followed by some people. While still on pursuit, the chicken finds itself between the people chasing it and Rocket (Buscape) who thinks that the aim of these people is to kill and eliminate him. The production team then develops a timely change of time and occasion and brings out Rocket as a very young boy thus the development of ‘City of God.’ The setting of the film in this location indicates that Rockets belief is not factual since he was not originally involved with the chase in the first place. Three renowned thieves who are known as Clipper, Shaggy and Goose who is a brother to Rocket usually rob businesspersons. The thieves split a section of what they steal from Robin Hood, which deals with fashion to Favela citizens. The citizens have an obligation of protecting the thieves in return. This is a clear indication of a connection between a society and thieves that is produced by the film, which signifies that there exists conspiracy between the public and lawbreakers. Due to their fame and recognition in Favela, several young men begin accompanying the three thieves in the operations (Skidmore, 1993, pp.118). Li’l Dice is a young man who becomes an accomplice to the trio and pleads with them to take part in robbing the occupants of a motel. In this occasion, the trio is against any killings but Li’l Dice starts killing the victims after the departure of the other group. This signifies that he thinks killing would gain him fame and recognition but on the other hand, it attracts the attention of the police. The motel incidence forces the three thieves to flee and the police shoot Shaggy in his quest to run away in the company of his girlfriend. Clipper becomes a church follower while Li’l Dice kill Goose for taking his money. This setting illustrates the criminal events that happen in Favela in the late 60s and the interaction of the lawbreakers, local citizens and the police (Landers, 2002, pp.87). The abolishment of criminals in the slums indicates an improvement in this part thus the directors of the film gain great compliment from the viewers (Castro, 2004, pp.54). The setting of the film is changed from the 60s to the 70s where Rocket is illustrated to have joined a section of the young men who usually smoke marijuana. This indicates that the there are still elements of other lawbreakers since marijuana is an illegal drug. The introduction of Li’l Dice in this phase of the film is achieved by Fernando to bring to the attention of the viewer of the development of his criminal activities. Li’l Dice is illustrated as a drug peddler who together with his long time friend Benny does away with all other drug peddlers apart from Carrot, a friend of Benny. The ‘City of God’ is filled with peace as Li’l Ze’ does away with the criminals that would come on his line of business so that he can keep the police from realizing his criminal involvement. Benny eventually defects from drugs involvement and is murdered by Blackie who is a drug trafficker whose intention was to kill Ze’. The death of Benny leaves both Ze’ and Carrot in fear. This implies that Ze’ has to retaliate to revenge on the death of his friend and in so doing rapes the girlfriend of Ned and kills his younger brother and uncle. This series of killings as illustrated by Fernando in his film shows the level of crime and insecurity that existed in Favela in the 70s (Brookshaw, 1986, pp.33). The continuation of the film shows the combination of Ned and Carrot to stop the reign and control of Ze’ who is left without a sidekick or partner. The rivalry of the two parties marks an event of war and a start of the 80s. in the quest to outweigh Ned, Ze’ negotiates with his brother Rocket to take and produce photos of him and a section of his soldiers and publish them in the local newspapers. This leads to the sexual relationship between Rocket and Marina who is a publisher in the local newspapers. Fernando creates a sense of stigma in this section of his film since he illustrates that the citizens of Favela as people who are easily influenced by power and fame. This takes place since there are a series of killings that take place in the quest for power and superiority and in the same line immorality is shown when Rocket sleeps with Marina in favor of Ze’ (Bakhtin, 1981 pp. 22). Fernando directs the film from the 80s and turns the events back to the 60s. This gives the viewer a flow of event from the happenings of the most recent to the past. Fernando’s settings of the film indicates how the flow of events generated or happened from the time the characters were young in the 60s to when they are old in the 80s. An illustration of how the characters have achieved their status is also drawn to the attention of the viewer, from how they developed to what they are currently. From the settings of the movie, it is evident that Fernando directs the film back to its original status at the end. Rocket is startled by his brothers’ opinion of him taking the photos of his soldiers together with him and making sure that the photos are published in the newspapers. In the process of taking these photos, Carrot makes an attack together with his soldiers and exchange of gunfire is realized between Ze’s soldiers and those of Carrot (Arias, 2006, pp. 30). The war brings about police involvement but in the process, a boy kills Ned. The boy revenges the death of his father who was a security guard in a bank and was killed by Ned in one of the bank robberies that he had been involved with in the past. The police arrest the other two rivals, Carrot and Ze’. Carrot is taken by the police to be aligned with the criminal activities and deeds in the society before the press while Ze’ is released and killed by his associates (Runts) for taking part in the murder of one of their colleagues. The whole event takes place in the presence of Rocket who takes the photos of all that takes place during the whole ordeal. Due to his grown affection for photography, Rocket decides to take the photos that he took during the war to the publishing newspaper so that he could a salary and occupation improvement. The setting of the film in this scene demonstrates the lack of critical security involvement of the police and public. The public is afraid of getting involved with the dealings of the criminal group and the police lack to facilitate effective and promising security to the locals (Fludernik, 2009, pp. 222). The lack of human respect and life is also illustrated due to the acts of revenge and killings. The aspect of Rocket being afraid of producing the photos that includes the acts of the police shows that there are levels of insincerity from the Favelas police. The police department is reluctant to the ordeals that take part in their areas of jurisdiction and they involve themselves with irregularities and illegal dealings. This is the reason Rocket fails to produce the photos showing the brutal and inhumane acts of the police departments fearing that they would start hunting him down. This indicates that the director of the ‘City of God’, Fernando, had studied and developed the outcomes that had befallen Favela between the 60s and 80s thus his production of the film. The main theme of the film is the realization of the level of increased crime that occurred in Brazil between 1968 and 1980. In 2004, ‘City of God’ received four awards from its competency and level of production. The film had received the same accolade in Brazil in the previous year although the ratings were lower than in 2004. The end of the film takes the viewer back to where it started and illustrates the fall of events. Three renowned thieves who are known as Clipper, Shaggy and Goose who is a brother to Rocket usually rob businesspersons. The thieves split a section of what they steal from Robin Hood, which deals with fashion to Favela citizens. The citizens have an obligation of protecting the thieves in return. This is a clear indication of a connection between a society and thieves that is produced by the film, which signifies that there exists conspiracy between the public and lawbreakers (Johnson, 2002, pp.107). Due to their fame and recognition in Favela, several young men begin accompanying the three thieves in the operations. Li’l Dice is a young man who becomes an accomplice to the trio and pleads with them to take part in robbing the occupants of a motel. In this occasion, the trio is against any killings but Li’l Dice starts killing the victims after the departure of the other group. This signifies that he thinks killing would gain him fame and recognition but on the other hand, it attracts the attention of the police. The motel incidence forces the three thieves to flee and the police shoot Shaggy in his quest to run away in the company of his girlfriend. Clipper becomes a church follower while Li’l Dice kill Goose for taking his money. This setting illustrates the criminal events that happen in Favela in the late 60s and the interaction of the lawbreakers, local citizens and the police (Johnson, 1995, pp.233). The abolishment of criminals in the slums indicates an improvement in this part thus the directors of the film gain great compliment from the viewers. The chicken, which is used at the beginning of the film, is used as a metaphor to demonstrate how the people of Favela or any other location worldwide is cornered in unfriendly conditions. The film acts as a more reliable tool from the book, which contained a lot of pages and chapters. The film brings makes small details clear and real since the actions and characters are well established and governed (Monaco, 2000, pp.288). In the settings of the film, Fernando used the term Favela, which implies a location that is prone to poor economical strains and slums. Fernando makes use of Favela not only to illustrate the levels of poverty that are experienced by the locals but also to show the social encounters that are faced by these locals. The abolishment of criminals in the slums indicates an improvement in this part thus the directors of the film gain great compliment from the viewers (Bentes, 2003, pp.127). Fernando uses the use of metaphor and other related fields immensely in the production of the ‘City of God’. The chicken is a significant of the suffering citizens of Favela, which is secluded from the other powerful and rich areas. The police and other government officials that are supposed to govern and ensure that law and order is kept rarely visit this location (Mandelbaum, 1980, pp.199). This attributes to the increased levels of theft that takes place in Rio de Janeiro and the high death rates realized in Favela. Due to the high insecurity, numbers of deaths that occur in the slums and outside are very high. The expectancy rate of the location, Favela, is reduced to early twenties since the youths die due to involvement in criminal activities. Fernando produces this in his film by the presentation of Favela, the living conditions and levels of crime that are experienced in this place. Conclusion The flow of the film is depicted by the use of real events that are experienced in the societies . In the film, most actors and participants originated from Favelas. In 2004, ‘City of God’ received four awards from its competency and level of production. The film had received the same accolade in Brazil in the previous year although the ratings were lower than in 2004 (Cooper, 2007, pp. 128). In the settings of the film, Fernando used the term Favela, which implies a location that is prone to poor economical strains and slums. Fernando makes use of Favela not only to illustrate the levels of poverty that are experienced by the locals but also to show the social encounters that are faced by these locals. The abolishment of criminals in the slums indicates an improvement in this part thus the directors of the film gain great compliment from the viewers. The chicken, which is used at the beginning of the film, is used as a metaphor to demonstrate how the people of Favela or any other location worldwide is cornered in unfriendly conditions (Benedict, 1991, pp.69). The film acts as a more reliable tool from the book, which contained a lot of pages and chapters. The film brings makes small details clear and real since the actions and characters are well established and governed. References Arias, E.D., 2006. Drugs & Democracy in Rio de Janeiro; Trafficking, Social Networks & Public Security. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. Bakhtin, M.M., 1981. The Dialogic Imagination. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. Benedict, A., 1991. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso. Bentes, I., 2003. The sertao and the favela in contemporary Brazilian film, In Lucia Nagib, ed. The New Brazilian Cinema. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. Brookshaw, D., 1986. Race and color in Brazilian Literature. Metuchen, N.J. & London: The Scarecrow Press. Castro, R., 2004. Rio de Janeiro, Carnival under Fire. London: Bloomsbury. Cooper, T.D., 2007. Dimensions of Evil; Contemporary Perspectives., Minneapolis: Fortress Press. Eagleton, T., 2010. On Evil. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. Fludernik, M., 2009. An Introduction to Narratology. Abingdon: Routledge. Johnson, R., 1995. Brazilian Cinema., New York: Columbian University Press. Johnson, R., 2002. “Brazilian Cinema Novo” Bulletin of Latin American Research 3.2 (1984): pp. 95-106. Landers, C.E., 2002. (translation) Inferno. Patricia Melo. London: Bloomsburry Publishing Plc. Mandelbaum, A., 1980. (translation), Inferno, Dante Alighieri. Berkeley: University of California Press. Monaco, J., 2000. How to read a film: The World of Movies, Media, and Multimedia. New York: Oxford University Press. Skidmore, T.E., 1993. Black into White. Race and Nationality in Brazilian Thought. New York: Oxford University Press. Xavier, I., 1997. Allegories of underdevelopment: Aesthetics and politics in modern Brazilian Cinema., Minneapolis, London: University of Minnesota Press. Read More