How far can it be argued that your chosen films provide a 'realistic' representation of the people and places they focus on?

La Haine features it setting on Les Banlieues. The projects are filmed on location, and are shown after the riot footage. These riots taking place is actual archive footage, between the French police and ethnic minorities. This enforces realism onto the audience from the very start of the film, and is shown combined with the soundtrack of Bob Marley’s song, ‘Burnin’ and Lootin’. This creates a documentary style to the starting scene, and the song seems to create a bigger stance over the police in these riots. After this scene, the film moves straight onto the projects. This reinforces that the sense of realism is embedded into La Haine. The view we see of the projects is set in black and white, creating a strong sense of the working class life there. Nothing is stylized, creating a realistic representation for the film’s setting.

There are several references in regards to real life events in La Haine. For example, the interrogation scene and the link to the Makome M’Bowole case. Both Hubert and Said are picked up by the police because of a minor disturbance, similar to M’Bowole. He got arrested for stealing a packet of cigarettes. Ethnicity comes into the situation also; Vinz isn’t arrested because of the colour of his skin, and the fact that he can come off as being French. This isn’t the case for the other two characters. They are arrested due to their ethnicity. Hubert and Said are being interrogated in the police station, more like violent abuse. For the police, this is institutionalized racism, an accepted part of culture for a significant minority of the French police. The further reference within this scene occurs when one of the policemen threatens Hubert by saying, “You want me to put this gun to your neck?” This is a direct connection between M’Bowole’s death as he was shot in the neck while being interrogated. This is a dramatization between of a real life event and a scene in the film, evermore increasing the idea of realism.

Though this is true, we can assume that not all police are like this and that they don’t carry out these type of acts, we only see a police’s point of view when the interrogation scene occurs, though the young policeman doesn’t actually take part in the interrogation, he is complicit in the activity, he does nothing to stop it form happening. So, in one sense the representation of real life events is quite realistic, the point of view is biased and therefore we can’t entirely take in this representation as plain fact. There is two sides to every story.

City of God can be considered a national cinema film, considering the setting. So, these films are often at odds with the dominant cultural ideology of the country it depicts. This film offers an alternative depiction of Rio de Janeiro and challenges the norm to what is shown of Brazil. It could be argued that the alternative is not a realistic representation, but gives the audience a broader understanding of the place being represented.

Ongoing reports and statistics have shown that the actual favelas of Rio de Janeiro has a high murder rate, due dominantly to the drug trafficking activity of gangs in the favelas. This is shown throughout the 30 year span of City of God. So in terms of violence and murders, this film hits the nail on the head in terms of a realistic representation. These favelas are shown as being high rise and closely packed in together, much like the place in real life. This is first exemplified in the film during scenes set in the 1970's. The landscape is filled with high rise tower blocks, creating a very intense and claustraphobic setting. This isn't only important in representation, but signifies a 'light before the dark', indicating the transition into the next era, the dark of the upcoming gang war between Lil Zee and Carrot, set in the 1980's.

The fact that City of God is filmed on location is argument enough that this film provides a realistic representation of the place it focuses on. The real world of the slum exists within the film. This film provides an authenticity, not only with it's location but it's use of non actors who are actually habitants of the favelas themselves. Alexandre Rodrigues, a non actor, who plays Rocket, actually lived in the actual 'Cidade de Deus' itself. Not only was the favela a location shown, an actual motel was used and was kept open during the sequence of the shooting at the motel, when Marreco, Cabeleira and Alicate rob the clients. Later on, some clients complained to the management that they heard gunshots in some of the other rooms.