The essence of movies is in most cases, for entertainment and maybe education. While this might be the case, very few times do we find a movie that embodies not only the social challenges affecting a certain society, but also painting a real picture of just how difficult the entire process of solving it, can be. The essence of such a movie lies in the underlying undertones, compounded by the unseen messages being conveyed from the entire theme. Such movies are usually rare to come across, but when one comes by, it is usually so hard not to sit up and take note of the masterpiece.
One such movie is the one titled City of God, by Fernando Meirelles. While not so much publicized among the hits of the so-called Box Office, the movie is quite deep. Tracing much of its storyline from the adversities of reality, it is one of the most profound movies to have ever been made. It paints the grim reality of how life is, in the Favelas of Brazil. The nation by then, was struggling to pick itself up from economic quagmire that had seen it trudge in the mud of third-world statistics. Poverty was the headlines, closely competed by corruption.
Ultimately the City of God is a movie of despair which shows one side of the urban culture in Brazil. It indicated the social divisions which seem wide to bridge, where majority suffer from poverty which hinders progress of change and where many people are brutalized by poverty. This movie takes place in slums which isolates people from the city. Where people grow in areas teeming with life, and there is a danger because there is no law and the streets are ruled by the gangs. It begins with the sharpening of knives this is an enigma code because the addressed audience doesn't know the reason for them being sharpened and what they will be used for.
Chickens are then involved which tells the audience knives will be utilized in killing the chicken. Human is shown dancing when chicken is facing death. This indicates a contrast showing the opposition of the life of human and death of the chicken. From the movie, little Ze who is the chief thug is portrayed to be powerful than everybody else. There is an instance where insanity and madness of characters to the audience are shown. From a general perspective, one might mistake the movie to be glorifying the life in these Brazilian shanties, where poverty led to numerous vices. However, from a more critical perspective, the movie is indeed trying to pick out and illustrate the specific aspects that affect the society.
When the movie first involve context is from Ze to emphasize the extreme close-up they had on Ze's face on the first dialogue. When Rocket appears for the first time, there is a movement among the evil characters surrounding Ze. This shows Rocket has the control and they respect him. The police surround the thugs and Rocket who was trying to help the chicken is also involved in the action simply because he was there. This show the area is harsh for everyone even if they are not involved in what is happening. When chicken is freed and runs away, joy and happiness are indicated when it shows everyone jumping into the streets. The camera then whirls and turns into the sixties when Rocket was a young boy playing football.
In conclusion, the movie brings out various themes, most of which revolve around the impacts of poverty on the basic foundations of society. One can imagine what kind of people the kids in these shanties would grow up to be. It is even scary to imagine the kind of future society made of the same people.