City of God

City of God;

Steak and Fries scene; 

• The movie uses a lot of obscure framing, replicating the idea of hidden cameras, also replicates War footage on documentaries or news footage, gives the movie a sense of realism and drama, as we feel that camera operator is scared of being seen by Lil' Ze. (mixture of styles, the changes between documentary type shots and camera angles and the mainstream, big blockbuster movie type techniques and shots)

• Movie shows how poverty is affecting the children in the favela and that their only route out of poverty is through joining gangs like, Steak and Fries with Lil Ze's gang. Arguably the movie doesn't do enough of this and this scene is great for showing the emotional response from the audience, of which the movie doesn't do a lot of the time.

• Lil' Ze has the power in the scene as he has the guns, which in the favela is the true power. We see corruption with the little kids in the favela that get dragged into the world of crime and organized crime, and eventually treated with no mercy and are killed much like adult gang members. (Kids and Guns are shown a lot, usually in the same scene, with a camera angle showing and placing emphasis on it, constant juxtaposition)

La Haine

La Haine Analysis;

• Deliberate attempt at multiculturalism, Shows a different side of the stereotypical France that the world has become accustomed to and the difference between Race, Culture and Religion even though they are French citizens.

• Riots and brawls at the start shows a war torn France, even the title of the movie is called 'Hate'. The song playing is called 'Burnin' and Lootin'' by Bob Marley, the lyrics show and describe what's happening at the time. France is at war with itself. The lyrics position you with the rioters, as it is sung from the POV of a looter/rioter. Bob Marley's lyrics pick at the idea that the people with power don't listen to those with no power and that it takes for a tragic event to happen to get them to listen.

• The movie shows real footage of riots in France at the time, then a fake news broadcast is shown afterward, which looks convincing, deliberate attempt to side you with the youth, because of the story about the youth being beaten up by a policeman during questioning, who was later suspended.

• Abdel Ichaha, the youth that was beaten by the policeman, he is on the verge on death throughout the film, it is the motivation for Vinz, as he mentions that he'll kill a cop if he dies, this creates suspension.

• The main characters all get their own scene when getting introduced, a deliberate attempt to introduce the characters and to establish them in the viewer's mind. Are these characters a stereotypes?

• Said's intro, Said is introduced as a rebel type character, he is first shown vandalising a police vehicle and writing curses aimed at them on it and then is shown shouting and swearing at people who are shouting from the apartments, it shows him as a potential rioter. All the young youths like Vinz and Said are shown to always get into trouble wherever they go, like with the Media company, ringing the bell for Astrix, in the Hospital etc. Shows that violence and anger can appear out of nowhere in France, which shows that there is a lot of tension. A stereotype of Said is shown as he curses, smokes, drinks, insulting authorities and elders, all the things that the Qu'ran says that Muslims shouldn't do. He's not dressed as a Muslim either. Because he is shown first, we could link him with being the Protagonist or main character in the story. Said is in the middle of Vinz's and Hubert's ideals about what is happening in France and Said is shown as the audience's surrogate in the story, a center for the others, he wants to have fun and tries to keep them together.

• The police's close up makes them all to look very aggressive and militaristic, they look very gruff and unemotional, the close up also only shows White policeman, they look like a gang of sorts. Police are defending the police station, makes it seemlike the police are at war with the banlieue, the mise-en-scene makes it feel like that. On the other hand the French public are still going about their own business even though all this is happening at the moment. To fix the character's name in your head, there is a close up paired with a 'whoosh' to show Said's name.

• Conflict show between the neighbour, Vinz's sister and Said and the shot to shot way of showing the argument, it also shows how easy it is for something so small to arise into something bigger.

• Vinz is introduced as a Jewish character, we know this because the first we see of him is dancing to the typical Bar-Mitzvah music. A stereotype is shown of young people, with the lazy, sleeper. The dance scene can also shows a hint of hip hop mixed with a traditional Jewish dance. The stereotype doesn't fit with the idea of a Urban youth, we have a stereotype and countertype going on at the same time. Again we see the close up and 'Woosh' showing Vinz's name. Vinz is a very aggressive stereotypical youth. He's on the edge of being a violent gangster and a troubled childish youth and innocent, the director wanted the watcher to understand this, as he does a pan of Vinz's bedroom showing the contrast elements in his room, clash of representation shown when he acts out the scene of Taxi Driver and has a obvious attempt of trying to look menacing but then checks his nose for blackheads.  Another link to American culture when acting out Taxi Driver and mimicking Robert De Niro. 'Rodney King case'

• Relationship between Vinz and Said is shown when they're walking towards a mall, Vinz is shown to be the dominant one as Said is always trying to make Vinz laugh and is lagging behind. 

• The introduction of Hubert however can be seen as very stereotypical because he represented as a typical black male, strong with no brains. He is shown as the type of character that you wouldn't want to mess with and the he is very violent as he is introduced in a very urban, dark area and that we hear his loud punches before we seen him fully. You are constantly being reminded that these characters are different, i.e Jewish, Black and Muslim. The film does show you the stereotypes but they do also show you the countertypes, the film uses the stereotypes as a type of comedy between the characters.

Power, Poverty and Corruption;

• At the start of the movie, we see a message saying 'Le monde est a vous' meaning 'The world is yours'. This ironic because the movie seems to show that it is the middle class, whites who control France, as opposed to the minorities in the banlieues.

• Hubert and Vinz, arguing about the solution to their problems. Vinz's solution is that you've got to fight violence with hate and violence itself, he prefers the idea of 'direct' action. Vinz feels that you've got to do something when confronted with a violent force, this can link to the common political solution and strategy, used by Malcolm X. Hubert and Vinz ideas on the solution conflict with each other, due to their religious philosophy, Vinz being Jewish and Hubert being Christian. Their religions conflict with each other on how to deal with violence and hatred. Much like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr., as King was a christian and Malcolm X was a muslim.

• People like Vinz act like they do, because they don't have any control or power to shape the way they live or what happens to his life and future, but now because he has a gun, he has power. They want to show social conflict between the minorities. 'The damn system' as Vinz says. Was quite shocking for the French public, as this was the first movie to give a voice to this sub group of people, the 'White Trash' type minorities, lots of negative stereotyping, as opposed to the movie that tries to get across their points, forces you to listen to him. Movie shows that the minorities aren't the problem, that it is rather the hatred and anger that is brooded between the police and the people on the banlieue.

• 'Hatred breeds hatred', Hubert believes that we should sit and talk about these issues rather than resort to violence. Hubert's demeanour is very calm and level-headed, rather than Vinz's powerful, dramatic views on his ideas. These characters are embodying the values of the movie, a visual representation between the two viewpoints, with the character's performance. Said is shown to be the audience's POV in this situation, as we as an audience reflect on the different ideals.

• The film shows that it isn't just  a disagreement between the viewpoints and ideas, but on experiences as well, as Vinz didn't go to school and isn't part of the French society and feels angry, as opposed to Hubert, who did go to school. 

• High angle, shown to cement the idea that this man is really small, the movie changes the mood of the piece to more of a comedy, they use 'toilet' humor. The variation with varying moods, it makes you feel like you're not being preached to constantly, much like a lot of political movie, it becomes a varied movie as it isn't about politics all the time. The man is kind of saying that the three friends need to stick together because you're all you have, doesn't really say this but it is an invitation to the audience to think about what the message of the movie is, gets the audience involved in the issues, a proverb. It's an unusual scene as it is a stereotypical middle class, white french telling a proverb to these three, hip-hop liking youths, this is weird as the youths and the older generation don't speak and don't listen to either one. 

• No one seems to care for the beggars, not even the poor minorities like Vinz and Said. The film uses stereotypes, but it is also quite real, which is shown when Vinz, who moments ago mentioned that the poor people who Vinz said need to stand up and stick together. Could link with the idea that they aren't minorities and that they are living in Paris and have not understood and felt the effects of police brutality in the banlieue. 

Character Profiles

Exam Question

How are characters used to convey important ideas in the films you have studied? 

'La Haine'- Multicultural characters, a Muslim, a man of black ethnicity and a blue eyed, blonde haired Jew.

'City of God' - Lil' Dice or Lil' Ze's turn to being a big gangster, Steak and Fries told to kill some one. 

Section A Questions

How Important is Performance in the films you have studied?

• Pick scenes that are powerful because of the performance of the actors. Stand out scenes.
• Key aspects like gravitas, the expressions through body and facial language.
• Why is it important? How does the performance help communicate the messages and values of of the films, Power, Poverty and Conflict.
• What effect does Performance have on the spectator?

Explore the representation of key characters in the films you have studied?

• The representation of the characters not the actors.
• Dialog, cinematography, sound all help create the character
• Think about stereotypes, do they uses common stereotypes? Or do they challenge and break the stereotype?
• Generic types? A generic type is a type of character or person in a certain films, like the princess in fantasy fariytales etc. Allows you not to see anything in a stereotypical way.

How are characters used to convey important ideas in the films you have studied? 

• How the characters help show the messages and values of the films, i.e Power, Conflict and Poverty
• Multicultural characters is La Haine. i.e - Jewish, Muslim and a Black boxer.

Characters and Narrative

LA HAINE CHARACTERS:

• Vincent Cassel - Vinz
• Said Taghmaoui - Said
• Hubert Kounde - Hubert

Vinz; 

Vinz is a blond haired, blue eyed Jew, who has a skin 

head, which defies the Jewish stereotype. This is shown as, Vinz resists the stereotype shown in movies, as he listens to hip hop and enjoys break-dancing, whilst constantly looking tough and getting into fights.

He is filled with rage and hatred, he tries to keep up his 'gangster image' and carries around a gun and poses with it to do so.

The idea that Vinz is filled with hatred is given context because of the events happening in Paris at the time, even the film's name 'La Haine' means Hatred. A lot of tension had been brewing in France at the time because of the influx of immigrants from the former and current French colonies. Multiculturalism wasn't accepted and led to violence and riots, many of the immigrants had taken residence in the banlieues, which caused all of these different cultures to mingle, which is shown, when Vinz, a Jew, is best friends with Said and Hubert, a Muslim and a black Afro-french boxer and small time drug dealer.