1. City Of God
Location
Aim:
To undertake the
importance of Location in
City of God

2. Geographically

3. Rio de Janeiro
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUcdv7gqrIo&

4. How does this representation of Rio
contrast to that of the Favela in City of
God?
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5. Favela
• Favela is a specifically Brazilian
word for a shanty town. The
majority have electricity, but in
most cases it is illegally tapped
from the public grid. Favelas are
constructed from a variety of
materials, ranging from bricks to
garbage. Many favelas are very
close and very cramped. They are
plagued by sewage, crime and
hygiene problems. Although
many of the most infamous are
located in Rio de Janeiro, there
are favelas in almost every large
or even mid-sized Brazilian town.
In Rio one in every four cariocas
(as Rio's inhabitants are called)
lives in a favela.

6. Drugs in the Favelas
The Colombian cocaine trade has
impacted Brazil and in turn its favelas,
which tend to be ruled by druglords.
Regular shoot-outs between traffickers
and police and other criminals, as well as
assorted illegal activities, lead to murder
rates in excess of 40 per 100,000
inhabitants in the city of Rio and much
higher rates in some Rio favelas.
Traffickers ensure that individual
residents believe they can guarantee their
own safety through their actions and
political connections to them. They do this
by maintaining order in the favela and
giving and receiving reciprocity and
respect, thus creating an environment in
which critical segments of the local
population feel safe despite continuing
high levels of violence.
How did Little Ze do this in City of God?

7. Brazil drug wars
• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?
v=k-1Z3DfPcXw
• Do the police really have the situation under
control? Discuss.
• Why do the drug gangs remain such a
‘formidable force’?
• How does the government plan to ‘solve’ the
problem?
• Why do you think LouLou was seen as a
Robyn Hood figure by the people?
• What are the potential problems with sending
in the army?

8. Favelas in Rio
• The best-known favelas are those in and around
Rio de Janeiro, possibly because Rio's peculiar
urban geography has placed many of them up
the hills that face the city's prosperous seaside
neighbourhoods and tourist spots, and thus
made them readily visible. They provide a
dramatic illustration of the gap between poverty
and wealth, juxtaposed with the luxurious
apartment buildings and mansions of Rio's social
elite. Several hills in Rio are densely populated by
favelas. In 2004, it was estimated that 19 percent
of Rio's population lived within favelas

9. The Slums
The Wealthy

10. Favela Wars
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqO3qCgyFJ0
• 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 was this mantra
demonstrated in City of God?

11. The area
• The neighbourhood of Cidade de Deus is part
of the borough of Jacarepaguá, in the Western
Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
• The neighbourhood was founded in 1960,
planned and executed by the state
government of Guanabara as part of the
policy to systematically remove favelas from
the center of Rio de Janeiro and settling their
inhabitants in the suburbs.

12. Figures
• Area (2003): 1.2058 km²
• Population (2000): 38,016
• Residences (2000): 10,866

13. • Cidade de Deus (City of God), is technically not
a real favela, since it was originally a
government-sponsored housing community
designed to replace a favela, which
subsequently ran down and took on many of
the very social features of favelas it was
intended to eradicate.

14. Contrasts
• The images of poverty, violence and
hopelessness are in direct contrast with that
of Rio as a city of pleasure, carlival, samba and
suntanned girls on the beach. Now the Favelas
have become as symbolic of Rio de Janeiro as
these famous beaches.

16. Favelas in Film and pop culture
•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=latLyAI_mbU Michael Jackson they don’t care about us
A 1963 documentary, fish need to learn how to swim, marked the film debut of Gordon Parks.
In his 2006 book, Shadow Cities: A Billion Squatters, A New Urban World, Robert Neuwirth reports on the time he spent
in the favelas as well as in squatter settlements in other parts of the world. He focuses on some of the positive aspects of
life in these places and argues that many of the problems in these communities stem not from the fact that they are
poor or illegal but from the way they are viewed by authorities.
The documentary Bus 174, also released in 2002, placed a focus on the poor conditions of favelas and their instigation of
social stigmatization and street crime.
The 2007 film Tropa de Elite (Elite Squad) shows the Brazilian elite force BOPE fighting against the druglord of the favela
Babilônia, in 1997. The favela must be "cleaned" because Pope John Paul II would stay at the nearby Rio Archbishop's
Residence during his visit to Rio de Janeiro.
The Brazilian television series City of Men and the 2007 film version takes place in a favela.
The skateboarding video game Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam has a skate course in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.
One of the levels in the PC game Counter-Strike (not included with the original game and available as a separate
download) takes place in a Rio de Janeiro favela.
The 2000 film BMW Vermelho gives an interesting insight into the economic and cultural aspects of living in a Favela
from a comedic perspective when a Favela resident wins a BMW that he can neither use nor sell.
http://posters.imdb.com/title/tt0275950/
In the game SOCOM II one of the areas of operation is in a Rio de Janeiro favela.
The opening scenes of Marvel and Universal Studios' 2008 film The Incredible Hulk find main character Bruce Banner
hiding out incognito in a densely-populated Brazilian favela, with an elaborate chase scene ensuing amid the rooftops
and alleyways.

17. Representation of Location
• 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 way in which
cinematography, mise-en-scene, sound and
editing function to create representational
meaning within your chosen film.
• How important is the location in the film?

62. Film as a character
• In the film the Favela is almost like a separate
character in the film. Discuss.
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63. Past representation of the Favelas
• 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 chronicle’ set in a city in the
developing world and featuring non
professional actors.
• Audiences and critics may approach them as
sociological documents giving them an insight
into the problems that the protagonists face.

64. Los Olvidados
(The Young and the Damned / The Forgotten)
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.
http://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?
v=kN--3xGdAPw&feature=rel
ated

65. 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
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPu_cQ11Tb0&feature=related

66. 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.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIzwNX10O2w&feature=related

67. 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.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyfN0cVDXj4&feature=related

68. Past and Present
• How do these past representations of the
Favelas compare to the present?
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69. Authenticity
• The location filming is another contributor to the
film’s perceived authenticity. Discuss.
• ________________________________________
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70. 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?

71. 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.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OmJi8PrmEM
•

72. Get your planners out.

73. 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?
• Write a response to the above question.
Structure it like an essay; it should be over a
page long.