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

La Haine

The opening sequences to La Haine and City of God provide a realistic representation of what was and is still going on at the times the films were made. The opening sequence to La Haine shows an image of the Earth with a petrol bomb being thrown at it. This shows that something bad is happening and if it isn't stopped then people could be at risk. The film then shows a person who is shouting at the police. We see him alone while there are hundreds of police opposite him. We are forced to take the rioters and non-French characters sides as we are shown to see the police as a brutal and un-trustful force. The riot footage is real and the montage is a collection of archive footage from in between 1982 and 1993. A Bob Marley song called "Burnin' And Lootin'" plays over the sequence. The lyrics reflect how the police are seen to some people when Marley sings "uniforms of brutality." It shows that the rioters are the victims of the police's brutal force and that they are seen as higher authority figures and that other people would believe what they say went on. The montage then flows into a news report where the reporter says that the police beat up a boy named Abdel and that he is in a critical condition in hospital. The TV then gets turned off and then cuts to one of the main characters in the film called Said. He is introduced by a gunshot sound and with his eyes closed. He then opens is eyes and he sees the police who have taken over the Projects where he lives. Said graffitis a police van with the words "screw the police" which suggests that he hates them. The reasons why Said could hate the police ties into realism with what happened in the 1940's with the Setif Massacre. Said could have family who were killed in it and he could have grandparents telling him the story day after day and that could build up a lot of hatred towards the police and other authority figures. Other historical events include the police killing more than 300 people with similar ethnic backgrounds to his own. He is also a bit afraid of them with what they can actually do but takes his anger out on them by writing on one of their vans.

City of God

The opening sequence to City of god starts with a knife being sharpened connoting a dangerous place to live and also some level of crime.

shot on location
No authority, only Lil Ze taking the role
Crime prevails
Chicken represents peoples lives