City of God's representation of Rio de Janeiro and its favelas challenges the dominant identity created by Brazil's ruling class. The film offers an unvarnished depiction of life in the favelas that stands in contrast to glossy tourism advertisements seeking to portray Rio in a positive light. Through its realistic portrayal of poverty, violence, and the drug wars plaguing the favelas, the film underscores the vast divide between the wealthy parts of Rio and the slums. The location shooting enhances the film's perceived authenticity and provides a gritty street-level chronicle of life in one of Rio's most notorious favelas, City of God.

2. Learning Objectives
Identify how City of God’s representation of Rio
differs from the Dominant ‘Identity’ created by
Brazilian ruling class
Complete short contextual
analysis of Rio and the Flavela’s
Discuss the causes of the Brazilian
Drug War and how they are
represented in City of God

3. Rio De Janeiro

4. City of the Gods?
Watch this short tourism advert
from Brazil and answer the
following question:
How does this representation of Rio contrast with the
environment seen in City of God?
Include example from the
Advertisement and from the film
You must make direct comparisons
between the two texts

5. Rio De Janeiro
• City of God’s realistic depiction of Rio’s slums
challenges the established ‘Dominant
Ideology’ reinforced by the Brazilian ruling
class
• As we have already identified
“National cinema is often at odds with the
dominant cultural ideology of the country it
depicts”
• This tourism trailer paints a vibrant picture of
Rio as it attempts to attract tourists and reinforce
the ‘positive’ image of Rio
• City of God offers an alternative depiction of
Rio and challenges everything put forward by the
ruling classes of Brazil

6. Favela
• Favela is a Brazilian word meaning ‘Shanty
Town’
• The majority of Favelas have electricity but it is
mostly tapped illegally from the public grid
• Flavela’s are small, cramped and close together
an made from a mix of materials ranging from
brick to refuse (Garbage)
• Flavela communities are plagued by sewage,
crime and hygiene problems
• Flavelas are found throughout Brazil in most
mid-large sized cities
• One in every four Cariocas (as Rio’s inhabitants
are known) lives in a Favela

7. Drugs in the Favelas
Rio (City) Murder
Rate:
• The Colombian cocaine trade has impacted
40 per 100,000
Brazil and in turn, it’s Flavelas
• Favelas tend to be ruled by Drug Lords Rio (Favelas)
Murder Rate:
• Regular shoot outs between traffickers and
? per 100,000
Police or other criminals are common place, as
well as an assortment of other illegal activities Paris Murder
• 40 Murders per 100,000 is extremely high it is Rate:
believed that the rate in the Favelas is much 2 per 100,000
higher What
• Traffickers ensure safety to the citizens in their comparisons can
we make
areas through their actions and political
between La
connections Haine & City of
God?

8. Drugs in the Favelas
• They achieve this through building reciprocal
relationships and respect, creating an
environment in which critical segments of the
local population feel safe, despite the ongoing
high levels and violence and murders
How did Lil Ze do this in City of God?
How does this inform our
understanding of characters like Lil Zee
and his role in the City of God?
given or felt by each toward the
other; mutual: reciprocal respect

9. Brazils Drug Wars
• Watch the following short and prepare to answer the following
questions:
Do the police really have the situation under
control?
Why do the drug gangs remain such a
‘formidable force?’
How does the government plan to ‘solve’ the
problem?
Why do you think Lou Lou was seen as a
Robin Hood figure by the people?
What are the potential problems with sending
in the Army?

10. The Dividing Line
• The best known Favelas are those in and around
Rio De Janeiro
• Rio’s peculiar urban geography has placed most
of them up the hills that face the city’s seaside
neighbourhoods and tourist spots
• The geographical separation provides a dramatic
illustration of the gap between wealthy and the
poor
• The Favelas are juxtaposed with the luxurious
apartment buildings and mansions of Rio’s social
elite
• It is estimated that at least 19% of Rio’s
population lives in Favelas

12. Flavela Wars
• Watch the following short and prepare to answer the following
questions:
What are some of the programs being run to
help the young people?
Outline the differences between the Wealthy
and the Poor
How are the locals trying to help?
“Kill or be Killed”... How is this mantra
or rule demonstrated in City of God?

13. The ‘City of God’
• The neighbourhood of Cidade de Deus is
located to the west of Rio in the borough of
Jacarepaguá
• The neighborhood was founded in 1966
• Between 1960 – 1975 Rio made up the City
Today with a population
state of Guanabara of almost 50 thousand
• During this time the government began inhabitants, City of God
systematically removing Favelas from the presents social indicators
centre of Rio and resettled their inhabitants which are among the
in the suburbs most critical in Rio de
Janeiro

14. The ‘City of God’
Area (2003):
1.2058 km²
Population (2000):
38,016
Residences (2000):
10,866

15. The ‘City of God’
• Cidade de Deus (City of God), is technically not a Power
real Favela, since it was originally a government-
sponsored housing community designed to replace a Poverty
Favela, which subsequently ran down and took on
Conflict
many of the very social features of Favelas it was
intended to eradicate. Drug Traffikiing
Violence
What do you think these ‘Social Features’ are?
Isolation
Make a list of Social Issues that are
commented upon in City of God and provide Lack of education
at least one scene that demonstrates your
point Hopelessness
Fear

16. Favelas in Pop Culture
• The City of God and Favelas have been
used many times in modern pop
culture
• As a result, the Favelas are as symbolic
of Rio De Janeiro as the famous
beaches

17. Representin’ the City
• Representation is constructed through
textual elements and informed by the
context of a film’s production
• You will need to give detailed consideration
to the ways in which cinematography, mise-
en-scene, editing and sound are combined
to create a specific representation of the City
of God
How important is the location in the film?
Use the following stills from the film and
make notes on how the lighting and mise-en-
scene give us information about the different
time periods the film is set across

18. Location, Location
• During the 1960’s ‘Tender Trio’ era the city is bathed in
golden light and wide shots present a poor but content
neighbourhood
• Individual, one levelled houses fill the environment and
represents the positive intentions of the City
• Characters are seen swimming in a river enjoying their
environment
• During the 1970’s the landscape is filled with high rise
tower blocks, creating a very intense and claustrophobic
setting
• It also demonstrates the radical transformation and
degeneration of the city – however the is still golden and
most scenes are set in the bright day time

19. Location, Location
• As we move in to the early 1970’s the lighting slowly
transitions to a cold blue tint
• In the early 1980’s many more scenes are filmed at night
• Flavelas have taken over and the cramped streets feel far
more oppressive and dangerous
• This change in visual style underscores the war between
Lil Zee and Carrot
• The mise-en-scene shows a city in decay with building
collapsed and dead bodies littering the streets
• Graffiti and gang posters litter the walls – a subtle touch
that adds depth to the unseen gang wars
• The final phase of the film returns to bright day light – a
symbolic foreshadowing of Lil Zee’s death

20. Location, Location
In the film the Favela is almost like a
separate character in the film.
Discuss.
Working in pairs discuss this comment and
prepare an essay plan for how you would
answer the question

21. Representation of the Flavela
• The real world of the slum can be
seen to exist in the use of the film’s
location.
• It can be read as a ‘street urchin a child who spends most of
his time in the streets
chronicle’ set in a city in the especially in slum areas
developing world and featuring non-
professional actors a homeless boy who has been
• Audiences and critics may approach abandoned and roams the
them as sociological documents streets
giving them an insight in to the
problems that the protagonists face
Do you agree with this assessment?
Provide examples from the film to
support your points

22. Los Olvidados
(The Young and the Damned / The Forgotten)
Los Olvidados
A snippet from Spanish-Mexican
filmmaker Luis Buñuel classic film: Los
Olvidados - winner of Prix de la mise en
scène (Best Director) at the 1950 Cannes
Film Festival.
In this clip some street kids led by El Jaibo
harass a disabled man because he refuses
to give them cigarettes.

23. Pixote - A Lei do Mais Fraco
Pixote - A Lei do Mais Fraco
Hector Babenco 1982 - Brazil
Pixote, a 10-year-old runaway boy, is
arrested on the streets of Sao Paulo during
a police round-up homeless people.
Pixote endures torture, degradation and
corruption at a local youth detention
center where two of the runaways are
murdered by policemen who frame Lilica,
a 17-year-old transvesite hustler. Pixote
helps Lilica and three other boys escape
where they make their living by the life of
crime which only escalates to more
violence and death

24. Centro do Brasil (Central Station)
Centro do Brasil (Central Station)
Walter Salles 1998 – Brazil
Dora, a dour old woman, works at a Rio de
Janeiro central station, writing letters for
customers and mailing them. She hates
customers and calls them 'trash'. Josue is a
9-year-old boy who never met his father.
His mother is sending letters to his father
through Dora. When she dies in a car
accident, Dora takes Josue and takes a trip
with him to find his father.

25. Orfeu Negro
Orfeu Negro
Marcel Camus 1959
In Rio, Orfeo is a trolley conductor and
musician, engaged to Mira. During Carnival
week, he sees Eurydice, who's fled her village
in fear of a stalker; it's love at first sight. Her
cousin Sarafina, with whom she stays in Rio, is
a friend of Orfeo and Mira, so the star-crossed
lovers meet again. Later, during the revels,
wearing Sarafina's costume, Eurydice dances a
provocative samba with Orfeo. Not only is
Mira enraged when her rival is unmasked, but
she is being stalked by Death: Eurydice is in
danger, pursued through noisy crowds and a
morgue.

26. Past and Present
How do these past representations of
the Favelas compare to the present?

27. Authenticity
The location filming is another
contributor to the film’s perceived
authenticity. Discuss.

28. Modern Changes
As with any medium the representation of the
favelas has continually been in a state of flux.
Where do you see the future of this
representation going?

29. Favela Rising
The 2005 documentary, Favela Rising,
directed by Jeff Zimbalist, has won
several awards for its daring look at
life in Brazil's slums. The film focuses
on the work of Anderson Sá, a
former drug trafficker who
establishes the music group Afro
Reggae. This group aims at using
music and education to better the
lives of youth and prevent further
growth of gangs.

30. Homework
Are the locations represented within City
of God presented in a way that seems to
conform to the dominant social attitudes,
or do they seem to challenge dominant
ideologies?
Word Count: 750 words
Deadline: Monday 31st October
matthew.oregan@sssfc.ac.uk