City of God

Question 1

Aesthetics

Answer 1

• Cold, lifeless concrete throughout the mise-en-scene - blue colour palette. Signifies the destruction of the city and the dull state of it since the gangs took over
• Shift in the colour palette signifies that the city will go through a big change, as we go back in time to warmer colours
• The city is much less chaotic and has order and linearity, anchored down by the buildings all being lined up and in order
• 2 styles of filming:
  Reportage
  Music Video aesthetics

Question 2

Reportage style

Answer 2

• Signifies a sense of realism
• Chaotic, hand-held, location shooting
• Reflects the fact that the film is based on real events
• Raises awareness to life in the slums, and may at as a criticism to the Brazilian impoverished lifestyle

Question 3

Music video aesthetic style

Answer 3

• Expressionstic, hyper-stylised
• Creates a sense of cognitive dissonance against the reportage style of filming

Question 4

Apartment sequence

Answer 4

• Editing in a montage style, and a repetitive nature is emphasised by the camera staying in the same place
• Documentary style of filming, fly-on-the-wall
• Apartment becomes a mirocosm of the favela, anchored down by the colour palette shifting from warm to cold colours, which reflects the way the film changes
• Homely features of the apartment worsen as the sequence progresses through time
• Walls begin to decay, which mirrors how the state of the favela deteriorates
• In contrast, their clothes change from being cold pastel colours to more warm vibrant colours, which connotes how motives have shifted to being more materialistic for selling drugs rather than providing for a family like the initial woman

Question 5

Cinema Novo influence

Answer 5

• Story of Li’l Ze adopts styles from cinema novo such as:
  . Non-professional actors and authentic locations
  . Experimental/symbolic aesthetics, such as the necklace being symbolic of power in the favelas
  . Rejection of escapist narratives, as it uses niche topics such as drug deals and drug culture in Brazil. There is an emphasis of emotion and gore/violence
  . Innovative cinematic techniques, such as a birds eye view of Li’l Ze killing all of the drug lords

Question 6

Colour as a narrative device

Answer 6

• Colour is used to represent the destruction and deterioration of the city
• Warmer colours at the start of the flashback shift to colder colours as the gangs take over the city and the war breaks out
• Colour is a key driver of the narrative

Question 7

Oppositional reading to the film

Answer 7

• Meirelles is creating a form of ‘poverty-porn’ by glorifying the gang culture as he shows the masses of money and power it can get you
• Glorification of violence as Li’l Ze looks happy after killing people, which may create the idea that violence is good
• Using runts may portray the idea that the only life in the favela is through drugs and crime, which may not accurately represent life in Brazilian favelas

Question 8

Preferred readin/Meirelles’ intention

Answer 8

• He was trying to shed light on the issues of gang culture and drug life by showing how it destroyed the whole city and caused mass killing and death
• Shows the negative impacts of drugs and how easy it is to get addicted and reliant on it (through thiago)
• Uses visceral imagery to outline the underlying issues of rime in Brazilian favelas e.g. rape scene is very eye-opening and spreads awareness to the Western World

Question 9

Representations

Answer 9

Men:
- Hegemonic masculinity as men dominate the city
- Aggressive and violent male characters, through their performance e.g. Li’l Ze
- Gun as a phallic image - with no gun their sense of masculinity is withdrawn
Women:
- Lack of/underrepresentation of female characters, and there is a lack of female agency as a result
- Females are sexualised and objectified e.g. rape scene, and newspaper woman is only there to help Rocket lose his virginity
- Nuturing, maternal, domesticated roles throughout the film
- Unloyal characters e.g. Angelica with Rocket and Shorty’s wife sleeping with Goose

Question 10

Shooting the runts scene

Answer 10

• Reportage style of filming, signfied by the hand-held camerawork, which is used to connote realism
• Dirtying of the frame creates a voyeuristic, fly-on-the-wall documentary feeling
• Longs lens cinematography to create a shaky-cam look
• Performance has an emphasis on innocence, which is created by the authenticity of using non-professional actors
• Lack of soundrack to heighten the sense of realism
• Removal of any stylised effects helps to anchor down brutality and impact
• Acts as a criticism of Brazil and the socio-economic disparities they have. Vast amounts of extreme poverty, at the time it was made