Gender: The theme of masculinity in the city of god is portrayed as toxic. With many younger boys in the film feeling they are forced to become more aggressive and violent to be able to survive in the slums. this can be seen through steak and fries who wants to kill lil ze stating “I am a man” as a result of being forced to shot his friend earlier on in the film.

Aesthetics: City of God has a high sense of verisimilitude, this is done through the visual style of the film using grounded mise en scene in sets and costumes as well as the cinematography using hand held camera movements and dolly shots giving a realistic documentary style feeling to the film.