Theological Reflection of “City of God”
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Theological Reflection of “City of God”
The film “City of God” is a film that tells a story about life in the favela. It focuses on two main characters- Rocket and Li’l Ze- who take different paths in life. The film revolves around poverty and its effects on society. It shows how rampant crime is as individuals fight for the available resources. “City of God” takes a look at the desperation of the youth and the lengths they are willing to go just so they can survive.
First impressions – Critical Analysis
The genre of this film is crime. “City of God” revolves around the lives of gangsters and petty criminals in a favela that is found in Rio de Janeiro. The film points out the different crimes taking place such as drug-dealing, murder, rape, and corruption. Armed gangsters rule the land and their success is mainly attributed to the corrupt officers.
As I watched “City of God”, I felt both sad and hopeful. The fact that the film is based on a true story made my emotions more extreme. It was sad to watch children having to grow up in such a hostile environment. Violence is the order of the day as delinquent children have access to guns. No one seemed to care about the youth, not even the police who were supposed to protect them. The children in the “City of God” have been denied their childhood by the gangsters who are running loose all over the place. However, this film also made me believe that there is hope even in the worst situations through Rocket’s character. Even though he grew up in the same unfriendly environment, he still believed that he would one day leave it and make something good out of himself. At the end of the film, it is clear that Rocket has managed to free himself from the grasp of the slum and achieved his dream of being a photojournalist.
The main theme in “City of God” was poverty and it was addressed well throughout the film. The narrator pointed out the lack of paved streets, electricity, and transportation. He also pointed out the misery of the poor as no one cared about their problems. The rich were only focused on maintaining the inequity which favored them. According to the film, poverty led to extreme feelings of hopelessness and desperation. The youth resorted to violence, and drug abuse just so they could survive. The film shows children killing each other, looting, and robbing. In the film, most characters are struggling to free themselves from the grasp of poverty. There is hardly any room for change and the only way out seems to be death as shown by the deaths of Shaggy and Benny. Even after the death of Li’l Ze who was the biggest villain in the film, gang warfare does not end. Runts, a gang made up of preteens, is planning on killing more boys in the slum. “City of God” shows that poverty and violence are positively correlated and the cycle never ends.
The writing of the film observed the three-part sequence which started with a challenge for the protagonist and ended with redemption as he got to achieve his goal of being a prominent photojournalist. The film’s cinematography is impressive. Camera angles were used differently to bring out the character traits of the main characters. Low camera angles were used when shooting Lil Ze’ to show that he was the main antagonist. The camera angle also brought out his fierceness and powerful nature. A large part of the film was shot under low lighting which helped to set the mood. It brought out gloom as the movie was filled with violence and death. The soundtrack of the film was upbeat thus representing the fast-paced life in the favela.
Theological Reflection
“City of God” helped me understand the topic of poverty as explained by Johnson in Chapter 4: Liberating God of Life. According to the reading, poverty is a scourge that robs human beings of their dignity. It is considered a contradiction to the Christian existence as it is caused by injustice, thus has sinful roots. Poverty is one of the major instruments of death since it is characterized by a lack of necessities such as housing, food, and water. However, poverty is not just about material deprivation but also a state of powerlessness where an individual is unable to make decisions that affect him or her (E. A. Johnson, 2014). The poor have no political rights and they cannot express themselves freely. Poverty and human worth are negatively correlated. Lack of basic needs leads to the death of infants and youth in society. The struggle for the little available resources paves way for overt violence, hence the death of many regardless of age.
The City of God is a slum where everyone is struggling to survive. The necessities are hard to come by, thus propelling the youth to engage in delinquent activities such as robbery so that they can survive. In the film, children start training to be criminals at a young age. They loot, rob, murder, and engage in gang warfare. In one scene, a young boy who is barely into teenagehood is forced to kill another young boy belonging to a rival gang. “City of God” is proof that where there is poverty, human life has no worth. The inhabitants of the City of God have no say as the slum is run by the gangsters. They make crucial decisions on behalf of everyone, though they are the only beneficiaries. Anyone who tries to speak up against the criminals faces the risk of being killed and may have to go into hiding. Such poor social behavior maintains the cycle of poverty in the slum.
One of the theological issues that the film raised was the injustice committed against the poor in the City of God. They were forced to live in constant fear of the powerful gangs who terrorized them regularly. There is a scene where Li’l Ze sexually abuses Knockout Ned’s girlfriend just because she rejected his advances. Li’l Ze also beat up Ned yet he was a very peaceful man. Later in the film, Ze’s gang kills Ned’s brother and uncle. The poor in this community are always at risk of being attacked by the powerful gangs yet no one stands up for them. The law enforcement officers are on the side of the criminals. The police provide the gangs with guns which they use to kill people aimlessly. Rocket witnesses Li’l Ze bribing the police and he is let go.
The image of God in this film was portrayed by Rocket’s character. He considers avenging his brother’s death by killing Li’l Ze but he talks himself out of that thought. Even though Rocket is a beneficiary of the crime in the City of God, he does not take part in gang activities. He watches from a distance and thinks of how he can make the world know about the poor state of the favela. From the film, it is clear that those who are unjust towards the poor are usually punished. This insight is evidenced by the death of Li’l Ze and the arrest of Carrot.
Conscience, Conversion, and Social Ethics
The main challenge of this film is that it depicts death in a casual manner. Everything happens so fast that no time is taken to ponder over important decisions such as whether someone should live or die. In this film, life seems to have no meaning. From “City of God” I learned that crime leads to dire consequences. Although it took a long time, Li’l Ze was killed just like he had murdered other people earlier in the film. He was a very powerful character and he even had the law on his side but nothing could protect him from death. Benny also died at a time he was trying to make reforms and start over. Although it was a mistake, he was killed by his former partner in crime. Many children and youth died in the film as a result of engaging in delinquent activities. “City of God” is proof that very few people leave the life of crime alive. Death or incarceration is always following closely behind. I believe the film called both me and society to conversion through the clear message that death is inevitable. Therefore, it is better to live a virtue-filled life by walking in the ways of God and helping the weak in society. In this way, one can die fulfilled.
Final Assessment
I give this film 4 stars because it has depicted how life is in low-income areas. “City of God” has shown the role of abject poverty in ruining the life of the youth. The film also showed how difficult it is for the poor to get justice as the system never cares about them. “City of God” enabled the viewers to realize how the judicial system contributed to crime in society.
References
Johnson, E. A. (2014). Quest for the living God: mapping frontiers in the theology of God. New
York Bloomsbury.