CITY OF GOD COMPLETE PODCAST

In this podcast episode, the hosts discuss the 2002 Brazilian film City of God. They talk about the film's portrayal of the drug underworld and gang culture in Rio de Janeiro. They highlight the themes of poverty, the jungle-like environment, and the lighting and cinematography in the film. They discuss how the characters in the slums are excluded from society due to lack of job opportunities and are trapped in a cycle of violence and drugs. They also mention the hierarchy and power dynamics within the city, as well as the symbolism of the high-rises and the darkness in the cinematography. The hosts emphasize the contrast between the bright and innocent early years of the film and the darker and more violent later years. They also mention moments of hope and freedom in the film. Hi everyone, welcome to our podcast today for the CITES module. I am Jennifer, I'm here with String and Paloma and we're going to be chatting a bit about the 2002 Brazilian film City of God by Fernando Miriles. This film is about the sort of drug underworld and the sort of gang underworld of Rio de Janeiro and we're going to be chatting a bit about that, sort of the theme of poverty, sort of jungle-like environment and also a bit about the lighting and cinematography in the film as well. So I'll hand you over to String who's going to be chatting a bit about our first point there. Thanks very much. Yeah, so in the film we get a sense that this area in the slums is excluded from the rest of society and Ali Mandanapour mentions that the main source of exclusion therefore is the lack of access to employment and this is very much the case in the slums as we see there isn't really any opportunities for people to have careers or anything, there's only really a career offered in the drug trade and climbing the ladder of the drugs trade. Our main protagonist Rocket mentions that he has a job working in a shop but he's only earning peanuts and he can't sustain his living through this way. So in this area of the slums it's very much like segregated and that the drugs run everything and there isn't really opportunities that exist outside of the drug trade. The space of the favela as well is also excluded from the rest of society. Mandanapour also mentions that space has a major role in the integration or segregation of urban society and we definitely get a sense of this in the film as when we see from when they're younger the space of the slums is a little bit more open, it's a bit more rural but as the drug empire develops and as they get older it becomes more trapped in the high rise of the favelas. All the streets are like a little maze and they're just tightly compressed and separating this trapped area of the city that drugs run. I think Little Z mentions at one point as well that we're like rats in a trap, you can't get out. This is definitely clear, not only of the space that they're in and that they can't really escape this but also of the trade and the violence that goes on, they can't escape what's going on in this secluded area. Yeah I think that's interesting, especially because the city itself feels like a rat run. You're always trying to go to different areas but there's always someone there that's dangerous or could kill them. You're right, there is no escape for them. Even the people that do try to escape, as we see Benny tries to leave and the original trio that we see try to escape at the start but they just can't escape from this area and you definitely get a sense that you're trapped in and once you're here it's extremely hard to get out of. You're not left with many options. Especially with, what I think is interesting is although they chat about how drugs are making them a lot of money, they still come across as really poor because they don't have that access to the city. So when Benny sends that guy who's a little bit more, I don't know, a little bit richer than him I guess, to get him designer clothes, I think that's really interesting. He shows up, he's the only one in designer gear and stuff. The rest of them are all still poor. And also the fact that he's shot and killed. He wants to leave but he never makes it out. It symbolises you will never get out of here, as hard as you can try. And the thing is, he's not really asking for a crazy rich life, he just wants to leave. Yeah, exactly. He just wants to live on a farm, like a lot of them do, but still he can't even do that. He's stuck to poverty in that area. I think that sort of speaks a lot to the idea of the city being a jungle as well, which I kind of thought when I watched it. Especially the idea of there being a food chain within the city, so there's always going to be someone at the top and someone at the bottom. And in this case, you see little v's at the top. And I found a good quote from Sarah McDonald that says, In the city of God, it is the appearance of masculinity that is its successful public performance that is of primary importance in the establishment of power relations in these communities. So there's a really interesting idea of performance in the city, and you see that a lot with little v, who's always creating a sense of fear around him. You get the sense he's top of the food chain, he's almost like king of the jungle that he lives in. I found that really interesting, that sort of power dynamic that's going on, that even though this is a poorer city, there is still that hierarchy. It's just a violent hierarchy. But it is still money-orientated. So I don't know if you guys have any thoughts about that. Yeah, no, I agree. You definitely do get a sense it's like a food chain. It's kind of a little bit like a ladder as well. When the Runts are, or I think it's Rockets, talking about the different roles that you can have, you start off as carrying packages as a young kid, and then you work as a spotter, and then you do as a dealer, and then you'd be involved in killing people and stuff like that. It's just this idea of a food chain, of trying to climb up it. And again, it's just mentioning that employment thing. Instead of talking about, I don't know, working at an office job, maybe making the teas, and then going up and working different places in the office, you're starting at the bottom, delivering drugs, and then slowly working up to being at the top, which is killing people. And just getting money from killing people. So it's quite animalistic, like you were saying about going quite animalistic, understanding of how the dynamics work within this secluded bit of society. Yeah. I think even going off on that, I think the humanity of the people in the Fezel are really, it's really taken away to the point where they are like weapons almost, like soldiers really. Like when they come up, they're not people, you know what I mean? They are disposed of as easily as a gun is, and they're taken onto the gang as easily as someone gets a gun there. It's like, people aren't humans anymore, they're commodities, or it's just a separate gang. Yes. No, definitely. And we also spoke a bit about the idea of the high-rises that they all live in, and the idea of the city being really built up. And we also were linking that to the idea of Christ the Redeemer, which is obviously probably Brazil's, at least Rio's, biggest landmark, right? It's what it's kind of famed for. Obviously a huge tourist spot, and the idea of Christ the Redeemer loops over the city. And they obviously refer to the Fezelas that they live in as the City of God. But the idea of the high-rises making it shadowy and in the shadows, and it's not a place that the light of God would shine on. So they're able to commit all these crimes under the shadow, because God isn't necessarily watching them. They're underneath all these big buildings and everything. So they're hidden from the view of Christ the Redeemer, obviously. Yes, kind of, yes. And I think, just going on from that, that's really reflected in the cinematography, especially the lighting, I think. So we start off early in the film. Basically, we are so close to the city of Rio. The Fezela is only about 15 miles away. Rio de Janeiro, the beach, the nightlife, the romance. But 15 miles from paradise is a place called the City of God. But it's kind of, the cinematography is so different, especially when it comes to the end of the film. So when, in the earlier decades of the Fezela, the cinematography is a lot brighter. And Dickens talks about this in his article. He says, this is the age of innocence of City of God, and hence the use of golden colours and much light to depict a relaxed household, cosy houses, streets full of happy kids, and so on. The law and other further figures cannot fully assert their authority, but despite being in crisis, they're nevertheless somehow respected. So I think, as he says, the cinematography and the lighting is a lot brighter. But then as we move along the decades to when the Fezela really is getting consumed by all this violence, the lighting completely changes. It becomes a lot darker. And also there's other changes in the cinematography in terms of the camera movement. So it's a lot more frantic and kind of portrays this claustrophobia which we have in the Fezela as the decades move on. And there's an increase in crime and violence. So yeah, it's a lot darker as well. You can visually see that the shots are darker and claustrophobic in that way, compared to the beginning where it was a lot more innocent. The characters were kids. So they knew what the violence was, but it was through innocent eyes compared to the end when they're a bit older and you really see how it distracted the lights and the Fezela, really. Yeah, I think it feels a bit warmer. At the start you definitely get a sense of that, as opposed to later on it's like the built-up city is a bit more scary and a bit more intimidating of this area that's secluded from the rest of society and there's all sorts that goes on. But at the start, yeah, I definitely agree with that. That's a good point. Yeah. I think there's also a scene that takes place on a beach. So the area's vast and there's no blocking buildings or anything like in the Fezela. And that's a time where you can see that our protagonist, Rocket, is actually having a proper childhood experience where he's just with friends, taking photos, having fun. And I think the vast area of that, where he's not trapped, he can go where he wants, really reflects that freedom which he doesn't have in the Fezela. Yeah, I definitely think those moments, because the lighting is so bright, it's little glimpses of hope almost, of a better life, of a brighter life. But then obviously you go back to the Fezela and the city of God where it's all just grey and dull and it feels like there is no hope there, it is completely lost. So yeah, definitely. I felt like the slums as a space, it's weird how it is just so different and excluded from the rest of society. In the rest of society we have normal laws and rules that everyone abides by, but in this slums there's separate rules. It's like, drug dealing and murdering is okay, but you're not allowed to... Like, Willoughby shoots one of the runts for robbing the stores and hold-ups and everything. It's like, well this isn't okay, but it's perfectly fine to murder people and have massive gang warfare. So I thought it was interesting, the different kind of social rules that goes on. Because in the outside of this society and the rest of society, killing people and murder is obviously not allowed. There's just a huge contrast of what goes on in these two different societies. And I think that just furthers the point that this area is just so detached from the rest of the world and the rest of understanding of right and wrong, that it's just completely on its own. It's just its own area that has its own laws. And I think it goes back to how the people aren't really treated as humans. They can do this because no one actually cares. No one wants to step in because there's so much violence, but also they don't really want to help them because they don't see them as being worth it of being helped. I think a really good quote that sums up our ideas about the film is by Knockout Ned, when he says, if you run, the beast catches you. If you stay, the beast eats you. Which encapsulates the idea of the urban space that they exist in anyway. Again, going back to the idea of the jungle, they do exist in that food chain. There is ways of moving up and down in the food chain, but they're always going to be in it. There's always danger. They're always liable to be killed in some way. So yeah, I think that overall really sums up our thoughts on the film. Definitely. Good discussion, guys. Thanks for discussing it. Thanks for listening, guys. Thank you.