Section A Answer

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

The films I have studied for this topic are La Haine and City of God. They both portray the themes of poverty, power and conflict in different ways. La Haine provides a realistic representation of the projects whereas City of God provides a stylistic representation of the Favelas. 

La Haine was written and directed by Mathieu Kassovitz and released in 1995. He was inspired to begin writing the script after hearing about the point blank shooting of Makome M’Bowole in 1993. Whilst the officer claimed the gun went off accidentally, it was not the first incident of police shootings and brutality in France. Another young non-French male was beaten to death by police during a protest in 1986 but it is said that he wasn’t even participating in the protest and instead the attack was racially motivated as he was of Algerian descent. Because of these incidents Kassovitz was inspired to write La Haine, a social realist film commenting upon both the police and French residents attitudes again non-French citizens who live in the projects. 

The opening scene of La Haine portrays the themes of both power and conflict as it begins with a montage of riots that took place over a ten-year period. The fact that Kassovitz uses real life footage provides a realistic representation because we get to see real police brutality. The film starts with a clip from a riot in which a lone protestor shouts “You’re murderers! You can shoot. We only have stones” to a line of police in the distance who appear to be wearing riot gear and have weapons. This clip is especially poignant because it appears to be one protestor against an army of police. We are positioned to view the police as antagonists and the protestor as vulnerable and heroic because he is alone, voicing his opinion. The police look especially aggressive because they appear to be faceless, this gives them an ominous and deadly appearance. After that clip one of the main characters Hubert makes a speech which he refers to throughout the film. The speech is especially significant at the end when it becomes apart he is the only person out of the three who really understands the circumstances they are in. He voices over a slow motion clip of a petrol bomb about to hit a globe. The shot is metaphorical and represents the destruction which is being caused by all the fighting and police brutality all over the world.

La Haine challenges the audience’s expectations and perceptions of Paris as foreign people typically view it as being 'The City of Love'. This representation of Paris is reinforced in the film Amelie, a very different portrayal of life in Paris. Amelie presents Paris as being vibrant, beautiful and full of culture. This is completely different to the representation we receive from La Haine as Kassovitz presents the projects as being bleak and lacking in life. Amelie also doesn't feature any non-French people so the audience receive a biased and unrealistic view of Paris. The director of the film also had any graffiti digitally removed, therefore providing the audience with a false representation of life in Paris. 

Another scene that portrays conflict and also poverty within La Haine is the scene in which the media attempt to film the three boys whilst they’re sitting in a playground. There’s a distinct separation between the two groups as the the playground is positioned lower than the road in which the media are standing on. Because of this, the news crew are shot in a low angle so they appear to be dominant and looking down on the boys, much like their genuine attitudes towards the group. The location also makes the boys look like they’re animals in a zoo enclosure. When the journalist does acknowledge the boys she gives them no respect and assumes they had participated in the riot the day earlier. Because of this the boys start to act erratic and swear at the news crew, being filmed the whole time by the cameraman. Vinz is shown to be animistic and aggressive as we view him through the camera. Kassovitz chose for the audience to see Vinz’s reaction through the camera as we can they experience how non-French youth are portrayed in the media.

Unlike La Haine, City of God doesn't attempt to portray Rio De Janeiro realistically and instead both the favelas and the narrative is presented in a stylised way. The imagery and mise-en-scene used in City of God is completely different to La Haine's as it is bright and exaggerated. There is a stark difference between look of the two films as City of God is split into 3 distinctive narratives, set over several years. Unlike City of God, La Haine’s narrative is set over one day in the life of the 3 young boys to show the circularity of the situation the residents of the projects are stuck in. The episodic structure of City of God detracts from any themes or message the film could be trying to say and instead provides an enjoyable viewing experience that doesn’t make the audience think too much unlike La Haine which presents a clear message. 

Fernando Meirelles -the director of City of God- shows the contrast between the ugliness of the favelas and the beauty of Rio De Janeiro through the beach scene. Meirelles uses lots of wide shots to show the glory and beauty of the famous Rio beaches. The filter is brighter and the sun is shining, comparing it to the favela's we can see a stark difference in the two locations. The beach is also a way for the characters to escape the drugs and violence that is prominent in the favelas. 

Unlike La Haine, City of God has a clear resolution at the end but it does reinforce the circular narrative as the reign of the favelas will just be passed onto the runts from Lil Ze, much like the murder of non-French youth by the police won’t stop in La Haine.

Overall I believe that La Haine provides a much more realistic representation of life in the French projects and City of God provides a much more stylised and attractive version of the favelas. The fast past editing of City of God detracts from any message the director is attempting to say about the favelas and how they are run by both the inhabitants and the police.