Task A2 - Generic conventions ('The City of God')

Generic conventions - The City of God 

In 'The City of God', many people used guns. It did not really matter the age, because Brazil in 2002 anyone at any age could get their hands on a gun if they wanted to. Carrot (Matheus Nachtergaele) is shown giving Otto a gun but Knockout Ned (Sell Jorge) stops him as he's a young boy. This highlights how dangerous the Rio slums were, as everyone seemed to want to either get revenge or make sure they were respected by others. Knockout Ned ensuring Carrot didn't give Otto the gun, prompts the audience to like Ned as he knew the gun would mess up Otto's life, so he tried to prevent it.

Otto was a young boy that was a helper for Carrot. During the disruption scene between the two rival areas and police, Otto was shot but before he died he killed Knockout Ned. The directors decided to show flashbacks to allow the audience to understand what was about to happen. Otto wanted the gun so he could 'get my father's killer', however Knockout Ned did not realise it was him. This makes the audience feel shocked as they were not expecting this. The gunshot sound increased the tense atmosphere as it was loud and powerful, then the sound faintly submerged into no music. The lack of music emphasised the shocking scene. The use of no music makes the audience feel everything whilst encapsulating the realism of the shot, as they are trying to demonstrate the dangers of the Rio Slums.

In Brazilian movie 'The City of God' it is a crime film directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund, but produced by Andrea Bradta Ribeiro and Mauricio Andrade Ramos. The editor Daniel Cortes decided also to subvert Todorov's theory and follows a non-linear narrative which makes the audience feel as if tension in the movie to increase. The movie was set an produced in the Rio Slums of Brazil, this prompts the audience to feel as if the characters are representing the lifestyle they lived and the struggled. This allows the audience to get an understanding of how different people live. Many of the people in the Rio Slums lived very poorly because income was very low for them and they could not afford anything more. They wanted to film in the film in the real City of God but it was too dangerous and there was a current drug war. Therefore, they filmed in 'Cidade Alta' which is a similar slum but less dangerous. 'The City of God' is about two young boys named Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) and Jose "Ze" Pequeno (Leandro Firmino da Hora) who choose different paths in life.

The camera language show the different characters personality throughout the movie. The director decided to use birds eye view to demonstrate when Shaggy got shot and died. This connotes blood, danger and sadness, causing the audience to feel sympathetic for him and his family. This is because death is a very sensitive topic for everyone. This kind of angle can seem disorientated because this is rarely how the audience sees the world. Due to this Fernando Meirelles uses the birds eye view to emphasise the dramatic scene. The director also uses a low level angle to denote Lil'Ze killing everyone in the Motel. This connotes violence and anger, which is emphasised by Lil'Ze facial expressions as he smirks as he is killing everyone. The producer showing this part of his child hood may demonstrate that he life path changed from a very young age. The purpose of a low level angle shot is to denote superiorness and dominance. The audience will be able to feel the power he has at that moment. This causes the audience to feel like Lil'Dice (at the time lil'Ze at the end) was a very violent young child who felt like he was superior to everyone else. Many of the audience may not like lil'Ze because of his arrogant mindset.

Furthermore, the director also chooses to use a close-up at eye-level to denote lil'Ze getting rejected by a girl. The use of this connotes heartbreak and loneliness. The close-up emphasises that lil'Ze is really hurt that he got rejected but doesn't show it completely, which could be due to him having a lot of pride. He has a lot of pride because his character has to be tough and cold hearted, and no one is meant to see weakness. Also, an extreme long shot is used to denote the hall Benny got shot in. This connotes hurt as Benny's girlfriend cried and lil'Ze shot his gun which highlights their hurting pain through their actions. This prompts the audience to feel empathy for lil'Ze because this is the first time the audience see human-like emotions from him.

Music gives the movie many meanings as it helps portray the emotional side of a movie or to enhance the story narrative. Shaggy was one of the main characters in 'The City of God' but died very early in the movie. During the beginning of the movie, Shaggy died and during this (type of music) music was played non-digestically and perhaps suggest a reflection of Shaggy's girlfriends emotions as the cab drove by his dead body. This could make the audience feel solicitude for Shaggy's girlfriend because she just lost her boyfriend and had to runaway from her home town 'Rio Slums'. When Otto killed Ned the lack of no music being played encapsulated the dramatic Ness and shock the audience might be feeling. The plot twist makes Otto seem like a very sneaky child and it makes the 'Rio Slums' seem very dangerous, and untrustworthy.

The movie was set in the 1960/70 which is suggested by the non-diegestic fun music, this allows the audience to understand the conditions Brazil would be in those times. This makes the audience feel compassion for society in the 1960/70 in Brazil, as conditions were very poor in the 'Rio Slums'. An example of poverty is shown through the scene where Renato de Souza's (Goose) brother and him was selling fish from door to door which shows that they're desperate for money. This prompts the audience to feel empathy as it is a young boy who has to work all day. In the Rio Slums, the use of dark lighting was to portray the sadness of Benny's death and how much he was valued by others in the movie. This prompts the audience to feel empathy for lil'Ze and Benny's girlfriend because the director was able to build emotion within the audience via camera shot and lighting. The director also uses natural lighting throughout the movie, and this causes the audience to feel as if this demonstrates that violence occurs in both day and night. This encapsulates the dangerous streets of Brazil, throughout the day no matter the situation. The director doesn't use a lot of artificial lighting in the film which could demonstrate how much poverty they live in, as they had to use natural sun light to do day to day activities in their homes.

Directors use different types of characters when making a new production film. Some characters are a stereotype, archetype or countertype. In the movie, Rocket and Jose "Ze" Pequeno are represented as two typical characters because they are typical black boys who cause problems in the streets. Rocket isn't a bad kid but the people he associated with were very bad influences. Angelica (Alice Braga) is also represented as a stereotype because she is a typical teenage girl who falls in love with a "hood" boy. This prompts the audience to feel as if in the Rio slums there's many stereotypical people which people think they'd typically expect.  The theme of the corruption of youth can be seen as a convention of many films where the main character has to make a decision about whether to lead a good or bad life.  Rocket uses his love of photography to keep himself away from gangs but in Blood Diamond, we see young people, mainly boys being corrupted into killing others which adds a sense of fear, sadness and desperation to the audiences.

The Rio Slums is the poorest part of Brazil. This meant that people didn't have a lot of money and opportunities, which meant their clothing wasn't very fancy. All of the boy characters were normally dressed in a white top, shorts and flip flops. This prompts the audience to feel empathy for them because they don't have a lot of money to buy clothing. However once lil'Ze and Benny grew up, they undergo illegal activities such as drug dealing which allowed them to gain a lot of money and power. They are able to buy what they want, as shown when Benny gives Tiago (Daniel Zettel) money to buy him some new t-shirt and trousers. Many could say that some props are apart of the actors costume. Rocket has a camera which encapsulates his whole passion and dedication at once. Rocket wanted to be a photographer and this was the best way for him to get out of the violence, even though he needed to capture the violence. This may evoke the audience to understand that many young teenagers doesn't have to go down that dangerous pathway, as with a little help many can achieve better things. The use of props are very minimum apart from guns, this emphasises violence due to guns as majority of the actors carry a gun during the movie. This highlights that perhaps the Rio Slums is so dangerous due to violence being prompted from a young age. Young mothers watching this may feel very shocked as to how children didn't have a lot of discipline or empathy for the child as they deserve to be in a better environment.
(R.E.F https://jasellarosegillfilm.wordpress.com/section-a-city-of-god-key-scene-analysis/)

The editor Daniel Cortes decided to use a montage to show how different people lived in the apartment. This allowed the audience to get a better understanding of the history of the apartment. and how it became a house of crime once the original tenants were removed. This makes the audience feel considerate to everyone who lived in the apartment and so it highlights how power has changed within the Slums. The editor uses a time skip of Rocket from when he was a young boy to a teenager, so the audience can see a fast transition. This prompts the audience to perhaps feel shocked because the change sudden.  Montages are used in a variety of genres to allow the director to save time in telling a story but also tell the audience that nothing stays the same forever.  Other montages used effectively in crime films include Scarface where Tony Montana becomes more and more rich and powerful through drugs like cocaine and violence.

Fernando Meirelle, the director wanted amateur actors/not too famous so that the slim kids who were also acting didn't feel intimidated. This prompts the thought that Meirelle was being respectful and wanted the slums kids to feel as comfortable as possible. This evokes the audience to feel as if Meirelle was very thoughtful and considerate when making the film, which could be because the community of 'The City of God' was happy that they are telling their story.
(R.E.F https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jun/09/how-we-made-city-of-god)


Many director and actors decide to use improvisation during a movie because directors want the actors to be emotionally, and physically prepared. In 'City of God' Fatima, the executive director, didn't want any actors to memorise the script which prompts the audience to feel as if 'The City of God' is a very realistic movie. This may have been done because the movie is based a a real-life story.  This is a convention seen in many films usually based on crime and gangs.  Unknown actors add a sense of realism as they are often from the streets where these things take place.  Another example of a film that uses amateur actors to create realism is 'Fish Tank'.  Although they are different in their stories and  when and where they're set, the use of unknown actress Katie Jarvis as Mia or is an effective element that appeals to the audience as I believe they seem more innocent.