Social Issue of Poverty in “City of God” and "Battle of Canudos"

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Film Analysis
Poverty is a point of convergence in the social issue of crime explored in the film “City of God” by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund and the text on the Battle of Canudos narrated by Luiz Zanin Oricchio. In the text, Oricchio asserts that the republican government failed to recognize that among the factors that kept Canudos going were hunger, drought, and hopeless poverty in sertao (139). In the battle, Conselheiro was never the main cause of the evils. If anything, he was perceived as hope for redemption in escaping the hopeless situation resulting from poverty. A similar theme of poverty is explored in the film. The criminal activities evidenced in the film result from young people trying to better their lives. The “hoods,” as they are referred to in the movie, represent a group of youths who are willing to go to all lengths to earn a better life in the City of God. Similarly, Ivana Bentes explores the aesthetic of violence in the larger context of poverty (123). Bentes describes favelas (slums) as a place of misery and mysticism. This description mostly points to misery brought about by the social issues emanating from aesthetic poverty. A similar description applies to the City of God, a slum controlled by gangs of children to whom murder is not foreign. All three sources seem to converge at the central theme of poverty.
Violence is largely brought into sharp focus in the film. From the beginning of the film by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, the audience is introduced to the notorious gang members who rob people day and night using violence. The film especially introduces the audience to gun violence, where many child delinquents in the film are armed with firearms. The violence is specially brought to focus through Lil Z’s character, which starts murdering a young boy. Lil Z adopts more violent means as he becomes of age and takes over the drug business in the City of God. The foul language used in the film also brings the theme of violence into sharp focus. English subtitles try to be modest of the language used in the film. For example, the phrase “f...