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

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

James Jones

The two films I have chosen to study are La Haine, and City of God. The open sequences of these films alone tells us a lot about the time and place in which they are set, and they do this through many different ways from the footage that is used to the credits that are used for the characters. One way in which the films are similar in the way in which they present their particular time and place is the way in which they begin, as they either give the film a realistic feeling or state that the film is based on a true story.

In La Haine, the film instantly starts with use of riot footage taken from various media clips from 1982, the start of the riots, to 1993, which is just before the film was created. This almost portrays the film as a documentary, as it then transactions into a fictional news report, and then to Sayid. This gives the film a realistic framework as we believe that the riot scenes are those that happen the day before and that Abdel was a real person who had been attacked by the police, and we see the scene with Sayid as post-riot, giving the film a realism feeling. It is also important to the time and place that the film is set to show Sayid first, instead of a character like Vinz, due to his ethnicity. The context of the film suggests that immigrants from places such as Algeria were discriminated against, and it is important to know the history of France and Algeria for the sake of Sayid as it displays a reason for his ingrained hatred for the police. Due to historical events such as the massacre of Setif, Sayid will have a deep hatred for the police for their participation in such events, as well as their participation in the 300+ killings that have spanned from the police during the time.

However in City of God, the film is much more stylised despite being based on a true story, while the transaction into the Sayid and news scene is in fact fictional. The film instantly starts with shots of a knife being sharped, and this instantly gives a feeling of danger and displays instantly the violent environment that the film is going to take place in. This is important as the film is set on location in a favela, and this displays the dangers of the favelas instantly. We are then introduced to the antagonist of the film, Lil Ze. He is important as there is a lack of an authority figure such as the police in the favelas, and Lil Ze, as he is the most powerful criminal in the favela, is the authority in the favela. This links to the time and place during the time as the people of the favela and the children in the favela are going to follow him and follow his orders, and this means they are most likely going to follow in his footsteps and enter a life of crime themselves. This links into the cycle of crime in the favelas as children and the inhabitants of the favela are surrounded by nothing but crime, so much so that they don’t even react as the gang chase a chicken down the street and shoot at it with guns, indicating that crime is a very prominent feature in the favelas. Children are also likely to transcend into the cycle of crime too as they are shaped by their environment, much like the character of Knock Out Ned is later on in the film. This shows how the particular time and place affects the crime rates and the level of violence in the favela, as well as how difficult it is to escape the favela.

One metaphor that suggests how hard it is to escape the favela in the open sequence is the chicken that escapes, and has the entire gang shooting at it. The chicken can represent the inhabitants of the favela, as it can run away but it can never escape, and no matter where it goes it is very likely to be killed one way or another. This displays how hard it is to escape the environment of the favela, and also displays the danger of the favela and what its like to live in it.