I have chosen Kátia Lund’s and Fernando Meirelles’ 2002 coming of age film, City of God for my textual analysis. The film is set in the 70’s in the slums of Rio where two kids’ paths diverge, as one struggles to become a photographer and the other is a gang kingpin. I have chosen the section of the film between 00:00:51 – 00:04:20 which is during the films introductory sequence. In this scene the film introduces Rocket and Li’l Ze (Li’l Dice) who are the main two characters of the film, in a standoff with the police, Rocket placed in the middle. To analyse this section, I will focus on cinematography and editing and its representations and ideologies. I will also focus on how the film links to social and historical context.

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