The Portrayal of Violence in City of God

The movie is narrated by young teenager, Rocket, who is portrayed as an innocent and humble boy who has made it his dream to be a successful photographer. The film is a flashback story that draws its viewer to the 60s where the town was inhabited by the less fortunate. The main character and agent of violence in the town is Lil’ Ze. Lil’ Ze was the most feared drug lord who used excessive force to wipe out his rival groups. The excessive use of violence made him the most wanted criminal in Rio De Janeiro. The director effectively accomplishes this by using slum as the main site of violence. As it is evident from the title, the movie is mainly about the geographical place, the favela, as any of its residents.

In such areas where security is not guaranteed and people will do basically anything to make ends meet, the acts of violence and other evil behaviors will always be the topic of the day. Rape, drugs and general crime are the main elements that are used in the film to show the extent of violence. Benny a friend and a key member to Lil Ze’s group. Violence is also portrayed in a scene where Little Ze and his friends break their way into one home and rape a woman. It is in this scene that the director showcases how the gangs and other unruly youths used violence to gain anything including sexual satisfaction. Some of Little Ze’s friends, however, disagreed with his ideologies but still could not manage to control him, Benny, for example, is one of his gang members who tried his best to keep Lil Ze sane.

Ze used to punish all of those refused to join his gang, and it is in this scene where this is evident. He and his group forced their way into the house of Mane Galinha, a guy who refused to be part of the drug business. The character played by Rocket can transit between the physical and symbolic worlds, the primitiveness of favela and the peaceful areas of Rio hence transforming himself in the process. Rocket’s docile nature is the gets him through to the other world of civility and order as evident in his acceptance in the newsroom of a mainstream newspaper. Even though he is considered to be a man after he had sex with the journalist and joined his fellow workmates in the newsroom, the approval of his masculinity is given conditionally.

Contrary to what the movie seemed to suggest, Rocket and Little Ze are not worlded apart. They are two sides of the same coin. Gang and criminal activity are dominant in the film an can be seen to some of the results of the war-torn area. In the film, the results of the different kind violence are quite evident; there is a rise in insecurity, corruption, racial discrimination and decline in morals among the people of the favela. The people were in constant fear of being attacked by the rogue members of Lil Ze’s group. For example, criminals and gangs walk free in Rocket’s place of residence, and this drives fear into the everybody in the neighborhood. In the area where Rocket lives, criminals and gangs walk free. Praying is not something that is usually associated with such characters in any society.

In the same vein, Goose gives up on the kind of life he was living and starts to go to church. The gangsters are not the only ones who do not fully live by their code in the film; the police are other people who fail to live up to the people’s expectations. The main duty of the police is to protect the people, but in the film, some of them defend the criminals instead. Given that favela was an isolated town and no one apart from the police was allowed to get into the slum, the people had nowhere to run for help. com, www2. movies. com/movies-city-of-god-2002-0123movies. html.