City of God Analysis

City of God is a movie that takes place in Rio De Janerio beginning in the 1960s. It is a story of a young Brazilian boy named Rocket who observes and experiences the shift in power and how that power is gained and maintained in the world of drugs. It can be said that unsavory choices are made in order for L’il Ze to get to the top, however it could be argued that he is just playing by the rules of the street. This is how macro-subcultural theories apply to the movie City of God, leaders take and maintain power through force as they have been taught and continue to teach others to do.

Situated oftentimes between violence and death, being recruited in this criminal lifestyle is a risk that these young adults take everyday. However, for these members, gangs offer a second family, a reliable family, many of them come from broken homes or are seeking the stability found in a family unit.. This is one of the main reasons why the youth are drawn to gangs. Take it from Juan Carlos Lopez known as “Spanky” from “G-Dog and the Homeboys” by, Celeste Fremon. His life is no different from the people who decide to join a gang. He was a runaway teen at the age of

In the film, the two gangs are representing the system of capitalism. They divide the town, and they make everyone in the town work for them. Also, the gangs’ corruptions do not only impact the proletarian but also include the government’s services. Another example that illustrates capitalism’s control is that Seibei’s gangs and Ushitora’s gangs are competing and trying to convince Sanjuro to accept their offers and work for one of them. This competition between the two gangs shows the ideology of capitalism and its concept; gangs need to maintain their power in order to be able to control others. Seibei’s gangs and Ushitora’s gangs will do anything to keep themselves safe and to protect their territories. Also, the act of trying to hire someone to kill for them shows how the two gangs consider humans as a tool to achieve their goals. A further example that shows the negative impacts of capitalism and dehumanization of people who live in the town is when Ushitora

Describe a major theme of the movie you have selected using evidence from the movie itself as well as

Violent crimes exist in both prosperous and deprived areas as well. The deprived areas are often referred to as “barrios”. It is in the barrios where organized crime leaders and street gangs set up operations. Due to criminal control or ownership of these areas, local authorities are not often capable of entering, making these areas safe havens for the criminally minded. This allows the freedom of movement within the area and results in mass criminal

It’s a reason why City of God was such a critical acclaimed movie. It’s a stunning story and editing was amazing. Set in a small town in Brazil where drugs and killing were pretty much allowed the main Character was a young man who loved to take photographs for a living. Even though the city where the young man who name is Rocket lived at was gritty and rough the Beach scene in the movie is what caught my eye.

In conclusion the movie “City of God” was an excellent example of the many sociological theories discussed in class. The movie demonstrated the functionalist theory, the interactionist theory, the conflict theory and even the control theory. It provided a prime example of the work of many sociologists, such as Emil Durkheim, Robert Merton, Edwin Sutherland, Edwin Lemert, Karl Marx and many others. Each of these sociological theories was helpful in understanding the crime and deviance in the movie.

Thousands of tiny, cliffside houses surround the city, climbing up into the verdant hills, packed together like brightly colored sardines. These are the favelas, home to hundreds of thousands of the poorest people in Brazil. Many of Rio’s favelas remain dangerous and unstable, but in the past several years the Brazilian government has begun a movement of pacification. Where once police would simply invade, battle a gang and withdraw, they are now permanently stationed to ensure the safety of neighborhood residents. This safety, however, brings with it a new kind of danger: as the favelas are pacified and begin to develop,

Afro-Paradise: Blackness, Violence, and Performance in Brazil by Christen A. Smith juxtaposes the images of Brazil’s black populations shown in the media with the ugly reality that they actually face in their everyday lives. From an outside perspective Brazil, especially Rio de Janeiro, is known as this tropical paradise with their beautiful beaches, beautiful people, and of course Carnaval do Brasil. When you Google images of the Carnaval you will see images of colorful floats, and beautiful women with “perfect bodies” wearing outfits that look like solely mardi gras beads to cover their its and bits. “Brazil, a republic that once declared itself free of racism, is now faced with the reality that racism does exist” (5). Brazil is known as a country with such a diverse and rich culture that everyone from other races live together in harmony. The representation of black bodies within Brazil can be seen with by the performers dancing on floats and with bodies being shot on the cement. Afro-paradise is a paradox. The oppressive economy uses its identity as an exotic, black “jovial playland” for tourists to come and experience the black culture and black people. Glorifying the black culture of Bahia reinforces Brazil’s racially

Moreover, City of God is a favela built in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro for the less fortunate and deprived. The film is demonstrated from Rocket’s perspective, a teenager from City of God who struggles to escape the nightmares of the slums. He starts with the first generation of hoods back in the sixties and explains the thrilling involvement of violence displayed in the favela. Throughout the decades to come, Rocket showcases the cruel and ruthless truths surrounding the City of God. Besides the film City of God being a

Throughout the book Bourgois is exposed to stories and actual events that shines a light into the violent activities that are associated with the illicit drug trade. From the stories collected through the friends Bourgois made, he is able to understand the start of petty crimes in adolescence to the advancement to rape and burglary in adult life. Violence is seen as a requirement to be successful as a drug dealer in order to gain respect and to form a street culture identity (Bourgois 1995: 196). Bourgois uses Primo’s story and history as a way to show the correlation between social marginalization, drug use, and violence. It has already been discussed that social marginalization leads people to participate in the illicit drug trade but, violence is also a key factor in this lifestyle (Bourgois 1995: 198). Children such as Primo spend their entire lives being “below average”. Many observations in the book trace this back to school days as being the place where it all started. Primo for example grew up in a community where violence was seen as a respected lifestyle. Petty crimes were a way as a child to gain respect in their current social setting. As he grew up on the streets of El Barrio, he was surrounded by more serious acts of violence and following acts of older more “experienced” criminals was seen as the natural progression into violence as an adult (Bourgois 1995: 208). Bourgois

Brazil has some of the most violent cities in the world. The murder rate in Brazil has been going through the roof each year. Some cities have a murder rate of 50 per 50,000 people. Most murder victims are usually male, poor and teenagers. Most of these crimes take place in the infamous favelas of Brazil. Murder is not the only crime leaking in the shallow streets of the favelas. High-profile rape cases, kidnapping, drugs, and weapons dealing in the favelas are the common headlines in Brazil (Griffin, Jo). These crimes are born in the favelas and spread through the streets of Brazil. The economic growth of Brazil over the years has benefited the rich puppeteers of the society, but it has made life more miserable for the poor (McCann, Bryan). Not just in Rio, but favelas have spread throughout many cities in Brazil and now they are the number one birthplace of different types of crimes in the country. In this paper, we will analyze an article published on the online version of ‘The Guardians” regarding the lives of people living in Brazilian slums (favelas).

In today's world, there is a change in the way religious communities are coming into union through new encounters and relationships. Over the past few centuries, there has been a worldwide integration of government, cultures, societies, and even religious life. As globalization immerses, there is a greater awareness of the harsh realities of human life and of the need to collaborate across religious barriers in dealing with the pressing problems of the world. The challenge is for all religious groups to contribute to a global community in way where co-existence can take place peacefully and amicably. In "Quest for the Living God" by Elizabeth A. Johnson, Johnson tries to answer the question how does one remain faithful to their own beliefs

The innocence of Brazilian lower class children are lost in both films ,City of God directed by Fernando Meirelles, and in Pixote directed by Hector Bebenco. In both of these films the loss of innocence stems from a lack of authoritative power and most importantly the lack of a familial structure. This lack of innocence derives from the lower class socio-economic status the youth are born into. The children and teenagers are able to gain an astonishing amount of power when introduced to violent lifestyle of the streets . While both films comment upon the different causes and effects of Brazilian street culture, both films clearly exhibit how lack of authority and lack of a structure leads to the demise and death of many young street

“Violence has been a prominent social response to the application of structural adjustment policies throughout Latin America. There are societies in which, things fall apart; the center cannot hold. Violence is a shared disease that seems to arise in all societies where there are profound social differences and exploitation…Many Latin American societies are condemned to bloodletting by the precedents of violence and gross injustice that characterize their culture and their history.”