Violence And Violence In Fernando Meirelles's 'City Of God'
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City of God (2002) is a Brazilian crime film directed by Fernando Meirelles, which sarcastically depicts violence and crimes in Rio de Janeiro in the period of 1960-1980. Rio de Janeiro is a slum for isolating poor people, which lacks of governance and regulation. Starting from the 1970s, the underlying juvenile gangs began to organise large-scale crimes and operate drug and arm traffic, and numerous children and teenagers were involved in. Violence and crime have became trivial issues while the police has no way to deal with. The story is presented by the spectator point of view of Rocket, whose life is unintentionally and irresistibly involved and influenced in the Gang war, indicating that people living in Rio de Janeiro have no choice for their life while they have to struggle in this treacherous city, accounted for the endless violence and crimes.
The last scene of the youth gangs impressed me the most. As Carrot was arrested and Li’l Zé was killed by children, the ending indicated that Rio de Janeiro has entered into a new era, and the youth gangs have replaced Li 'l Zé to be the new leader of the slum. The vicious cycle of the gangs reminds me of the problem of street children.
According to the UNICFE, street children is defined as boys or girls aged under 18 who spend all or most of their time on the street. Street children is a worldwide concern as it is highly related to crimes. Marshell (2014) suggested that school-excluded youth and street-involved youth are at