The gangster epic "City of God" is an electrifying film that is based in a Brazilian slum. Two young children who commit crimes because of their social status are the subjects of the movie. The narrative presents a powerful force with blatantly legendary characteristics. In the story, humor is utilized to highlight the crooks' illegal means of subsistence and their method of eluding law enforcement. The police make every effort to combat crime, yet their efforts often fail in the slums. There is much aesthesis of hunger in the slums which the viewers of the movie see. These include the social, problems, economic problems and the political problems. The poor are starving are always in a state of craving (McClennen 2011).
Rocket, the lead character is only 18 years old and resides in the slums earning a living through criminal activities. He is in constant run and often believes that his crimes will one day cost him his life. An incident is presented to whereby the law enforcers come face to face with armed gangster and what happens next is a shootout last for several hours. A chicken is used in a sacrificial way to depict how life in the slums can be cheap to lose and characterized by a form of aggressiveness and victimization. Everyone in the slum dwelling is not safe and always lives are at stake. This can be as a result of killing due to attacks from the criminals or police shooting in instances of mistaken identity or in course of criminal confrontations. The criminals in the movie are young in age which is a unique occurrence in the society. The life and family structures in the City of God are dysfunction and everyone treats the other as an enemy. There are no responsible parents and adults to guide the young and innocent minds out of crime. It is disgusting as the teenagers languish in crime, orphanage and fall prey to the authorities.
The hopes of the young people are brought to halt as no one supportive is present and opportunities are limited to them. The slum before was intended to house the poor as a project but the unyielding policies and wrong priorities did not solve the problem amicably (Hamid 2004). Rocket was to be photographer but the surrounding conditions affected his dream career. Lil Dice also was passionate of becoming a monk and Lil Ze on the other hand dreamt of developing an estate. The ghetto football is associated with crime traditionally. Criminal gangs hide themselves on the pitch in order to sought refuge from the police who try to arrest them. The true power of football and nurturing of talents is thus negatively affected. The Brazilian glory of football is tainted in an intimidating game of violence and rape. The formation of gangs of civil disobedience and criminal activities is portrayed in the story. Many young lives are lost as a result of gang activities and individual confrontations between different groups of gangs. The society thus languishes in poverty amid children degradation and corruption.
Art in Brazil are instrumental in depicting the hidden ills and truths in the society. For instance, the social problems cause a number of misunderstanding and chaos in the country. Majority of the people are poor and live in the slums. The art portrays their lifestyle which is sometimes primitive to a foreign observer (Rocha 13). The hunger that majority of the Brazilians and the Europeans do not understand are presented in the art works. Violence for instance, in the slums is not caused by hatred rather by the underlying issues which affect the slum dwellers.
Work Cited
Hamid R., “Down these mean streets: City of God by Fernando Meirelles, “New Labor Forum 1 (Spring 2004), pp 111-14
McClenne S. A., “From the Aesthetics of Hunger to the Cosmetics of Hunger in Brazilian Cinema: Meirelles’ City of God,” symploke 1-2 (2011), pp. 95-106, (Jstor)
Rocha Glauber, The Aesthetics of Hunger
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