SSC Film Studies

How far should the films you have studied for this topic be seen in relation to their particular time and place?

The opening sequence of La Haine opens with a montage of real life riot footage taken in France from 1982 to 1993, this starts the film off with a real life account of the riots, which then leads into a news report and then into a shot of Sayid, all this gives the film a realistic framework because the viewer goes from real life to the non real film almost without realising it. This transition from real to non real suggests that the riots happened the night before as Said is stood outside a police station which was said to have been attacked in the news report, he is stood in a post riot environment which gives the film a sense of realism yet again.

When the shot of Sayid comes on screen, it is significant that he is non-white and just like a lot of the population in the projects he is a migrant which yet again gives the viewer a realistic interpretation on the project citizens. It also shows he hates police as he is shown writing “screw the police” on the back of a police truck, this links to real life historical events of the French police like the Setif Massacre and how the police had killed 300 other people just like Sayid in the recent years.

The opening sequence of City Of God opens with a shot of a knife being sharpened, this suggests the place is a very dangerous place filled with crime. The scene is also shot on location of a favela in Brazil, which gives the viewer an insight into what the place looks like in real life.

The scene features a group of kids chasing after a chicken with guns shooting at it and no one seems to take any notice of it, this shows that gunshots and groups of kids running round with guns is a common occurrence.

-no police, lil ze is authority

-real life but exagurated, stylised

-chicken cant escape