I have chosen Káita Lund and Fernando Meirelles’ 2002 crime film City of God for my textual analysis. The film is set during the 60’s-70’s in the slums of Rio de Janeiro which follows two boys named Rocket and Lil’ Dice, later Lil’ Zhe, growing up surrounded by gangs and drugs with one keeping to the legal side and the other becoming the biggest kingpin around. I have chosen the section of the film between 00:55:15 – 01:00:15 which is around halfway through the film. In this segment, Lil’ Zhe confronts Carrot, his biggest rival, for allowing a group of children, named the Runts, to perform hold-ups on his territory. Carrot tells him to do one and leaves. Lil’ Zhe then manipulates a young delivery boy in his gang, nicknamed Steak’n’Fries, into shooting one of the Runts. To analyse this section, I am focusing on the editing and the direction. The context examined focuses on socio-economic, political & historical factors surrounding the film and its production

I have chosen Kátia Lund and Fernando Meirelles’ 2002 coming of age film City of God for my textual analysis. The film is set from the end of the 1960s to the early 1980s; and features the story of two boys, one an aspiring photographer and one a gang leader, each navigating their way through adolescence in the slums of Rio. I have chosen the section of the film between 01:53:12 – 01:57:05, which is during the climax of the film. In this scene, gang leader ‘Li’l Zé’ is released from arrest by corrupt policemen and then killed by a vengeful gang of children known as ‘The Runts’, while photographer ‘Rocket’ observes. To analyse this section, I am focusing on cinematography and editing, as well as representation and ideology. The context examined focuses on social and political factors related to the film’s reception, alongside the time of its production.

Textual Analysis Film: City of God 

Director(s) Meirelles & Lund 

Sequence Running Time: 1:47:06 – 1:52:06 

Wordcount: 580

This essay analyses a sequence from the 2002 coming of age film ‘City of God’ (Meirelles & Lund). City Of God is a Brazilian Drama/Crime film mainly set in the seventies but introduces rudimentary characters such as Rocket, Shaggy and Lil Dice (Lil ‘Ze) in the beginning of the film, which is set in the sixties, during these decades the City of God which is west of Rio De Janeiro was teeming with ‘hoodlums’ and gangsters. I chose to analyse a sequence nearing the end of the film 1:47:06 – 1:52:06 which is titled ‘the beginning of the end’ this is because the gang rivalry is about to hit a climax, after Lil ’Ze gave the runts guns Knockout Neds gang ambushed Lil ’Ze’s which resulted in Ze getting caught. This section of the film can be seen to reflect the social and economic contexts of Brazil at the time, this essay explores how these contexts were depicted within the film by analysing the cinematography, editing and narrative techniques which were used.

Figure 1

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Meirelles and Lund worked with cinematographer Cesar Charlone to capture the social and economic state of the City of God. The films use of high and low angles are seen to emphasise power, at the beginning of the sequence the viewer can see the runts making their way up the stairs(figure 1) to meet Lil ‘Ze, Charlone then decides to use an eye level shot and pan(figure 3) once they have made it up the stairs, during the conversation with Lil ‘Ze a low angle shot is maintained(figure 2) when Lil ‘Ze is the subject of the shot. Charlone did this to convey to the viewer that the runts are using Lil ‘Ze to move to power, as before Lil ‘Ze gave them the guns Charlone used a high angle shot to depict the runts but after the exchange he decided to move to an eye level shot this is because the runts are moving to power, at this point in the sequence the runts still respect Lil ‘Ze which is the reason why he is depicted with a low angle shot in this part of the sequence, not only does he have the power over them but he also has the respect. The City of God is a prime example of Brazil’s governmental neglect, there were many places in Rio De Janeiro which had been neglected these were called favelas. An Increase of Favelas was seen after the proclamation of the republic, where Brazil went from an Empire to a Republic. In these favelas power became especially important socially as rules and laws weren’t applicable since favelas suffered neglect from the government many public services weren’t available. Lil ‘Ze and Knockout Ned had all the power in the City of God at the time, it becomes understandable that the runts also strive for this same power and respect. There comes this sense of dramatic Irony from this part of the sequence as the viewers can clearly assume that the runts should not be trusted, and the viewers assumptions become correct later in the film where they kill Lil ‘Ze with the same guns he gave them, essentially killing himself. The viewer can then take away that the rivalry and social tension which overrun the streets became too much for Lil ‘Ze to maintain clarity which resulted in his downfall. 

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.

Wordcount: 129

I have chosen Kátia Lund and Fernando Meirelles 2002 coming of age drama, City of God for my textual analysis. The film is set in the favelas in Rio De Janeiro and focuses on two boys who take two routes in life. Firstly, Rocket grows up to become a photographer whereas Li’l Dice turns into a dangerous gangster. The movie depicts life in the slums and highlights gang culture and poverty. I have chosen the section of the film between 36:05-41:05 which is at the beginning. It is a flashback to everyone who has previously owned ‘the apartment.’ Rocket narrates the story of the apartment and how it started with a Donna Zelia who sold drugs to ‘raise her daughters’¹ then shows how over the years it was stolen by multiple drug lords who became more violent. Rocket then narrates the story of Li’l Dice and shows his gang leader qualities. To analyse this section, I am focusing on the editing, mise-en-scene, the representation of male youths. The context examined focusses on the social, historical, political, and economic factors of the time the movie was produced.  

I have decided to analyse an extract of the classic film-noir, German thriller M [Lang, 1931] in my textual analysis, a film set in the 1920’s about the police in a German city being unable to catch a child-murderer causing other criminals join in the manhunt¹. My chosen extract is 00:49:57:00-00:54:50:00 at the start of th esecond act where the scene cuts back and forth between the murderer, Hans Beckert, prying upon a potential victim through a shop mirror and a detective discreetly searching through Beckert’s home for evidence. In order to analyse this section, I will evaluate the use of mise-en-scene and cinematography and its representations and ideologies, specifically how it links to the social and historical context of the production process. 

I have chosen Alfonso Cuarón’s 2006 dystopian science-fiction thriller, Children of Men, for my textual analysis. The film is set in 2027, in a world where women have become infertile, filling the world with panic and suffering. It is set in England, and follows Theo, a former activist, who is trying to take a miraculously pregnant immigrant to a sanctuary, while attempting to escape the British government and other antagonistic forces. I have chosen a section of the film between 01:08:30-01:12:25, where Theo and Kee attempt to travel to an overnight shelter in a migrant camp, alongside a midwife called Miriam. To analyse this section, I will be focusing on mise-en-scene and cinematography, in reference to the dystopian genre, as well as looking at the historical and social context connected to the film. 

I have chosen Alfonso Cauron’s 2006 dystopian science fiction thriller, Children of Men for my textual analysis. The film is set in the near future in which the world is suffering a global infertility crisis, The film centres around the miracle pregnancy of a women and her transport to safety. I have chosen the section of the film between 1:19:52 – 1:24:52 which is during the climax of the film. In this scene, The protagonist Theo, young mother Kee and her baby attempt to navigate their way through the uprising refugee camp. To analyse this section, I am focusing on mise-en-scene (including the use of set design and costume ) ,cinematography, and representation (specifically on immigration).The context examined focusses on the social and political factors connected to the film around the time of its production.