Essay
City Of God Editing Analysis Film Studies
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An essay on editing in City of God that received 18/20, a grade A, so is an excellent example for higher grade work. Covers a lot main themes and moments in the film
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How does Editing Convey Key Issue in City of God?City of God is set in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in a favela that shares the name of the film and it explores
themes of poverty, corruption of authority, crime, violence and toxic masculinity. The favelas are places
filled with crime as it has been abandoned by authority and mainland Rio de Janeiro – the picture
perfect version presented by the media. Meirelles’ purpose was to expose what has been cast aside by
the authorities - the poorer, run down communities and how they’re plagued with tragedy and violence
because they have been neglected.
The opening scene is used to establish the ubiquitous nature of violence in the favela and the first thing
shown is an insert shot of a knife which presents the cutthroat nature of the favela. A weapon being
sharpened to kill is the first thing the viewer sees and it immediately shows death as a big part of favela
life. This juxtaposed with the festival emphasises that violence is a key part of the favela even in
celebratory, fun settings because it’s ubiquitous. Even with food, brutality is necessary and it has to be
killed with one’s bare hands. The beginning is very fast-paced with many cuts and presents Life in City of
God as chaotic and frantic. The multi-stranded narrative not only allows us to see every part of the
favela life, but also creates a frenzied feel with no clear structure reflecting the conditions of the favela.
The reaction shots of the chicken to the killings of other chickens creates a sort of Kushlov effect used to
make the viewer empathise with the chicken which represents residents of the favela who are trapped
in, forced to watch their peers, family and friends die and is symbolic of what happens when someone
tries to run and escape; they’re hunted down. This is seen in the film as many people try to escape but
they’re hunted down and/or killed, with the only successful person being Rocket who even
acknowledges this when he says “If you stay they get you, if you run they get you.” There are very
limited options in that favela or even just an illusion of any options at all
Parallel editing is used between Lil Ze and Rocket to convey their opposite ideologies and lifestyles. Lil
Ze’s scenes, in the beginning especially, are very fast paced, which is representative of his chaotic and
frantic lifestyle with high prevalence of guns and other weapons wherever he is because these are the
things that control his life and what he stands for. He uses brute force to get what he wants. An example
of this apart from his life of crime would be what he did Knockout Ned’s girlfriend. Him and Rocket have
completely different ideologies of masculinity. When Rocket was rejected by the girl he liked, he simply
moved on normally. In the opening scene, Rocket’s parts are slow-paced showing his relaxed attitude
towards life and his avoidance of chaotic, violent situations.
Furthermore, in the 60s a warmer colour scheme is used to present it as a nostalgic time and a happier,
freer period before Lil Ze took over the City of God along with crime and violence. This contrasts with
the blue and colder hues used for the late 70s and 80s to convey the cold and hostile environment and
absence of humanity as the favela gets more cramped and oppressive. The blue also creates a sense of
metaphorical bareness as the favela and its residents aren’t allowed to grow and evolved due to the
dictatorship of crime lords like Lil Ze and negligence from the government.
Lil Ze has a lot of prevalence because he’s at the centre of City of God, and this is synonymous with the
fact that what he represents is the main part of the favela. This is violence, crime and tyranny. Tyranny
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