City of God
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Get Help Now!The “City of God” is a magnificent film that showcases the ingenious cinematic and aesthetics skills of the director, Fernando Meirelles highlighting the social aspects of life of the rich and poor. With its setting in urban slum in Rio de Janeiro, the film unfolds with inherent furious energy as it indulges viewers into the grim realities of global city, urban slum and physical environment, urban crime and youth gangs, lack of social and economic mobility, housing, social networks, and importance of education. In the mise-en-scene, it is notable that the slum is another city in the city with different social and culture different from that of wealthy urban dwellers.
Both the slum dwellers and affluent in the city live in constant conflicts as the rich feel unsafe from the slum dwellers whereas the slum dwellers seem to have a grudge against the affluent in the society. Notice the hate and killings that occurs when the Tender Trio gang invades the hotel as well as the gang that robs the city bank. Deaths highlighting the social conflicts that emanate from the differences in lifestyle of the two city dwellers. The rich and affluent loath the poor because they feel they are out to steal from them whereas the poor feel the rich have condemned them to their poverty.
The disparity between the rich and poor is also depicted in “City of God” through depiction of the urban slum life and the physical environment. Just like elsewhere around the world where slums continue encroaching global cities, the urban slum life as well as the physical environment is one that breeds poverty, urban crime, and other social evils. Education is not valued in slums compared to the affluent organized settlement. A panning shot of the slum life in City of God depicts despair and hopelessness. Children are assimilated in drug dealing while in school and become the drugs’ lords even before they mature. The importance of education is not realized because the physical environment erodes the essence of education. Rocket when he accesses the newspaper distribution and eventual job as a photographer does not know how to operate in a big city like Sao Paulo simply because he is illiterate. Another panning shot of the affluent settlement shows people with hope living in good houses and with paved roads. The environment suits the children of the rich and offers them an opportunity to quality education.
Urban crime is aggravated by extreme poverty exhibited by the urban poor who indulge in crime and form gangs as a mode of survival. Urban slums have a few infrastructure and employment opportunities that act as a source of livelihood for the dwellers. The situation was further exacerbated by lack of law and order thus becoming a breeding ground for youth gangsters in their bid to eke a living. Growth of various gangs involved in drug businesses and robbery activities make life difficult. The blame is on the government, which does not fight crime as its officer perpetuates the social evils in one way or another. These are the stark realities youth growing in ghettos have to grapple with not only in Brazil but also around the world. Condemning them is not a solution as given the survival tactics is a moral justification of their survival means. The wealthy are worse as they amass wealthy through illegitimate and illegal means.
Drawing comparison with the film “Tsotsi” (2005) by Gavin Hood in South Africa, the “City of God” explores on the prevalence of extreme poverty and criminal activities which lure youth to urban crime. Such conditions inherently inhibit social and economic mobility in life of slum dwellers whether in Rio de Janeiro or anywhere in city ghettos. A society where education is not valued leads to deterioration of the social dynamics in that society. Economic activities are supposed to bring better living standards and lifestyles of people in society for social and economic mobility to be achieved. However, like in any slum dwelling, the mindset of the people confines them to that lifestyle and no longer thinks of a way to upgrade their lives. Even when Lil Ze had all the money he could get from the drug business he cannot progress and ends up being eliminated by the young drug dealers. The economic activities are supposed to add value to the life of slum dwellers but they continue to wallow in deep poverty.
The film documents realism that is never far-fetched from factual and sociological predicament of the urban poor. Government has failed in tackling crime whether in Latin America, American major cities, and other cities’ slums in the world. As government grapple with the problem and give empty promises and slogans in fighting crime, drugs continue wrecking havoc on the youth in society – killing the future. From the film, the ghetto space showcases the real stories in the contemporary society, which corresponds to the ethnographic and sociological accounts of inhabitants of ghettos. The houses in ghettos do not conform to the millennium development goals for a better future. The blatantly intense dichotomies within any global city as depicted in the film leave people concerned on the degenerating of the contemporary society into social crisis. The social networks as a result of urbanization have contributed to social ills affecting the urban slum dwellers. The class struggles and constraints experienced forces the urban poor to unite and start terrorizing the rich. The two sides are thus ever pitted against one another and this leaves the society in need of remedial measures to contain social vices.
Summarily, the “City of God” is an inspiring and shocking revelation of life in slums compounded by mass hysteria pitting the poor on one side and the rich on the other end; just like it was during the McCarthyism era. Whereas the rich do not possess the moral authority to despise the slum dwellers, the poor need to learn the importance of education if they are to achieve social and economic mobility. The film further explores on inequalities facing the contemporary society, which unless long lasting solutions are sought, the class struggles, disparities between the rich and poor will continue to haunt the society for years.
Work Cited
City of God. Dir. Fernando Meirelles. Perf. Alexandre Rodrigues, Alice Braga, and Phellipe Haagensen. Miramax Films. 2002. DVD.
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