City of God

1)      Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening. The City of God, (Cidade de Deus) is a Brazilian crime film directed by Fernando Meirelles and co-directed by Kátia Lund. Based on a semi-autobiographical novel from 1997 by Paulo Lins, about three young men and their lives in Cidade de Deus around the 1960s to the late 1980s. The topic discussed in class was what are the elements of a narrative/story. Which include what the theme is and how it is expressed in the work. The main characters, subordinate or supporting characters and minor characters. Next is the plot and structure, referring to the selection and arrangements of incidents that give a story focus and how and why do certain events happen. The following is the setting, cultural, social, and physical context of the story’s action. And finally, the point of view, which is who is telling the story and the affect of how it is told, which in this film Rocket is the point of view we are learning from. The film demonstrates all the elements of a story and more some. Based on somewhat true-events shows the culture and life style that was alive in Brazil during the 1960s and so on.

2)      Find a related article and summarize the content. In the article, Liberation Aesthetics: Sinning and Surviving in Meirelles’ City of God, by David C. Ryan, goes in depth into the directing style of Fernando Meirelles. A critic named Peter Rainer, then of New York magazine, complained that Meirelles’ techniques glamorized violence. As stated, “The filmmaker’s intention is to develop an empathic understanding of these young criminals, because they take pride and seek fame in hurting their enemies. They’re thrilled when they murder. The film illustrates their frame of reference, so we can comprehend how they live, make decisions, and target their victims. This empathic approach is meant to make us cringe at the fast-paced world in which these kids live and die.” We get to see in the film the soul less kids making these decisions that make a huge change including joining gangs and murdering people.

“Fernando Meirelles' City of God - Film Review.” Identity Theory, 30 May 2013, www.identitytheory.com/meirelles-city-god-movie/.

3)      How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.? How the film is one can only imagine who would take on the role to produce such a film that exposes a lot of the world many people choose not to see. For violence happens all the time, we are just fortunate not to be living in such exposure to it.  For his director, “art must intrude into and open up closed worlds; his is a kind of liberation aesthetics that sheds light on serious social matters.” And he succeeds in expressing how the film is presented.  

  

4)      Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article. With reviewing the elements of a narrative one can see how a film is in the process of being made. A story must be told and there must be certain elements and themes.  For this film it included the structure of how communities were, misuse of power and authority, lack of leadership and respect of one’s people.  With so much chaos, one can only imagine the other stories that are there to tell.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM   1) (x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.  2) (x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.  3) (x ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.  4) (x ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.  5) (x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.  6) (x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.  7) ( x) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.  8) ( x) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.  

Name: Andre Perez Date: June 5, 2018