City Of God Flashcards
Name of the Tender Trio members
Goose, Shaggy, Clipper
Which tender trio character is shot by the police?
Shaggy
Who is Lil Ze’s best friend
Benny
Quote to describe LilZe’s one obsession
“One obsession, to become the boss of the slums”
What does bennie become?
“A playboy”
Quote to describe bennie
“Coolest hood in the city of God”
“The problem is simple, LilZe was ugly, knockout need was ………. He could get any girl he wanted. LilZe had to…….. ….. …….. ……..
Handsome
Had to pay or use force
The tone of theirs world cinema can reflect a revolutionary atmosphere and deliver its message, expressing frustration with what?
Class, racial or gender oppression
Third world cinema aims for ……………. Of the oppressed
Liberation
How does theirs world cinema challenge viewers?
It challenged viewers to reflect on the experience of poverty and subordination by showing how it is lived, not how it’s imagined.
What is one of the major way in which city of God illustrated how it is a third world film?
By its main setting being in a real favela
What does rocket aim to do?
Rocket aims to be liberated form his oppressive home, supporting idealists within third world cinema of ‘liberation of the oppressed’.
How does rockets character subvert previously held conceptions that everyone in the favela resorts to violence to survive?
He gets a job and chooses not to use violence
What was responsible for the proliferation of favelas in Brazil?
The wave of migration form the country side to the cities from the 40’s to the 70’s
From 1950 to 1980 the number of people living in favelas increased from what to what by the early 21st century?
170,000 to more than 600,000
How do audiences see lil zee gain power?
Through a low angle montage of graphic shots. Contrast to goose looking down on him. The gun he holds gives him power and this is the point in which the camera moves from a high angle to low.
How do we see lil Ze’s greedy nature early on?
Close ups of material goods as lil zee looks at other dealers.
How do we see a sense of lil Ze’s mental instability?
During the montage we only see lil Ze’s shooting gun, showing that he has not changed despite getting older, suggesting an arrested development and the handheld camera suggests mental instability as it is shaking. Furthermore the diegetic sound of laughter as he kills people is psychopathic and off putting to his characte
What year was Gita of his released?
2002
How does rocket have power?
As he is the narrator
How do the rungs get power?
By killing lil ze they start power cycle again. They inherit his money and territory
How is power demonstrated?
Violent acts and murder
What physical representations of power are there?
Money as its gets lil ze out of jail
Gun as you can kill others for territory
What triggers a war in the favelas?
Bennies death
What happened when someone dies
Their death acts as an exchange of status and power to killer
Who directed it?
Fernando Meirelles
Opening scene
Fast edits
Knive noise and image - danger
Fiesta music, cultural
Blue tint
Close ups - gives a sense of the crowded and claustrophobic city
See guns very early on, establishes them as a major theme
Chasing chicken gives a sense of the aimlessness of their lives
What is the effect of using sepia in the 60 sequence?
Gives a warm atmosphere and sense of happiness, contrasts to scene before which is cold and blue
Cinematography contrast between 60 and 80
Use of long shots. During 60’s to show freedom, contrast to use of close ups in pending scene
Editing during 60’s contracts to 80’s
A lot slower, calmness
As soon as lil ze comes into shot during 60’s what happens
The shots get tighter, showing rising tension and he is robbing them of the freedom they had before
Guns were once used for liberation as seen during 60’s but lil zee makes them tools of oppression
True
During the 60 what is the mise em scene overall saying?
Yogi be a sense of stability and happiness, white clothes, warm colours, laughing children
How are the assperations of young string different to assperations of young runts
Stringy wants to be a life guard, runts want to kill
When the tender trio are sat with lil dice they are covered in barbed wire and metal rods, what does this tell us?
When lil ze is around there is no control with the gun, the three become trapped
Apartment montage
Montage of long shot, low lighting graphic matches
Starts of Sypia, warm and welcoming, becomes blue, cold and eroded
Introduces characters and shows a passing of time through fades
Edits become faster
Constant use of non diegetic sound track, shows how this is a never ending cycle
Story of lil dice
First shot is low angle close up, because he has the gun he is powerful
Gives a sense of his mentality through psychotic laughter after killing
Do not see the bodies that he shoots, does not matter to him
The highly contrasting lighting between sepia and very low key shadows- when lil ze is involved thing become very exaggerated and out of control
When goose gets involved we see lil ze in a very high angle, until he gets the gun out in which it turns to low
Graphics matches of lil ze growing up but never changing, shows a passing of time. The shots get very hand held and shaky to show unstable mind.
Canted angle when he is sniffing around competition, shows his unstable mind but bennie in the shot keeps it stable
Shooting runts
Before lil ze shows up the camera is very stable and does not use many cuts, just pans. When he does show up angels are introduced, hand held camera is employed, the focus goes off, use of a lot of close ups make it very claustrophobic and crashes a a sense of danger as we cannot escape.
Age provides power in this situation, but guns push it forward
In what way do we see that bennie cannot escape?
When he says that he wants to to to a farm, reminded of shaggy who could escape and we know that he cannot either
Bennies party
Crowded shots this time portray popularity rather than claustrophobia.
Stables shots even though it is a stable atmosphere connotes that even though lil ze is there bennie is in control.
Camera becomes out of focus and hand held when lil ze gets mad, connotes danger is approaching. Canted Angels, fast cuts, close ups, zooming in and out.
Strobe lighting is introduced to create further sense of panic, acts as cuts, very disorientating and , audience feel powerless, unable to help, blue lighting is introduced to show death, going between close ups and long shots, to show instability. low angel on black.
As soon as bennie is shot we have diegetic sound of people screaming, creates panic.
Knockout ned montage
Feels less threatening then when lil ze steals, use of dissolves allow it to feel calmer and mor win control
Hand held cameras place us in the middle of the action, non diegetic is ambient and uplifting, reminding us that it is all for the greater good.
Use of cuts at end create pace but not as bad as lil zes
