Brazilian Cinema and City Of God

City of God is a meticulously crafted political film with a message about the violence in Rio de Janeiro’s slums. With the artificiality of cinematic techniques, complex narrative structure, and realist styles, Fernando Meirelles portrays the violence surrounding the protagonist Rocket. Meirelles manipulates time in this film, by using “Todorov’s theory of an equilibrium, followed by a disequilibrium, then a new equilibrium could be applied.” The use of this theory created a dramatic sequence that serves to engage the audience and  guarantees an understanding of the changed circumstances of the city.

As earlier communicated, violence is a major ideological force in City of God. Meirelles portrays the breeding ground that the favelas have created for violence, since the citizens have no real hope of achieving anything through a means besides violence. Although the article states that the film doesn’t “provide any political references or background,” the entire film represents the gang influence in Rio de Janeiro’s slums and the dangers associated with living there. The film serves as a platform to expose the darkness of Rio’s slums.

In my personal research for the film, I feel that I will focus more on the sound production of the film, in comparison to an American mob/gangster film. The similarities and differences between the two sound designs will hopefully provide me with an interesting take on the effects that each culture had on the the sound design, primarily the instruments used to create the scores.