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

Opening Sequences:

La Haine:

The riot footage shown at the very start of the sequence is real, filmed between 1982 and 1993, showing that the film is based within a realistic framework, so we expect the rest of the film to be believable too. One immigrant looks across a crowd of police stating that they'll fought against with sticks and stones. Already the police are positioned as evil, more dominant and immigrants are innocent victims in these riots. This being said, alignment will be made with the immigrants as people tend to align with underdogs. The brutality of the beatings combine with the immediate results, which include an oxygen mask being put on by medics and a resuscitation being performed. The combination of these clips transcend into a news report, about a young immigrant called Abdel, who is in critical condition after one of the riots.

A gunshot shows with the cut from the report to Said, who has his eyes closed. This signifies him reliving the riots the night before, and possibly the events that led to Abdel being in hospital. As his eyes open, the camera cuts to a high angle shot of the police opposite, on guard with a riot van. This shows the police have taken over the projects, the idea of realism is shown as this was the case at the time. Bob Marley's 'Burnin' and Lootin' still prevalent in the background, whose lyrics seem relevant in this situation. "I woke up in a curfew" and "I felt like a prisoner" signify the feelings of the immigrants, along with anger and hate. Which Said utilises by vandalising the riot van. His graffiti reads: "screw the police". The anger coming from Abdel's situation, and the many more similar events that have happened to ethnic minorities due to the police. This minor stance signifies that he is willing to fight back against them.

The film was made while riots in real life were ongoing, so La Haine doesn't take a retrospective look like City of God does. It's a message, a biased one at that about the treatment of ethnic minorities in the projects (Les Banlieues) at the hands of the police.