The Transition from Lil Dice to Lil Zé
City of God (Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, 2002) is based on the hardships, violence and poverty within Rio De Janeiro, Brazil from the 1960s through the 1980s. Even though the direction of the film is focused on Rocket and his storyline, the subliminal focus of this film revolves around a character called Lil Zé who is influenced by poverty and his delinquent brother to form his main goal of becoming the king of the favela. In the chosen scene, Lil Zé breaks into Blackie’s drug house for a hostile takeover. When Blackie improperly refers to Lil Zé as Lil Dice, he is irritated and corrects Blackie while he holds his chin up high to assert his dominance and this initiates this flashback. The clip shows …show more content…
The murder montage within the flashback of Lil Zé is shot as a point of view from the victim’s side with a gunshot and a flash separating each cut. This sequence of extreme low angle and medium shots, portrays him as being bigger than the world. With the flashback taking place from his point of view, it is obvious that he would portray himself in this way. The numerous gunshots symbolize the countless people he has murdered to achieve his reputation. Initially he is laughing when he kills, but soon turns into a stern face at the end showing that the act of murder has become less enjoyable, and more of a requirement for his chosen profession. After this flashback he is now completely transformed into Lil Zé and has built himself up to be the kingpin of the favela. He has now earned the reputation as the type to destroy any obstacle in his way. His lust for power has driven him to take out nearly all opposition and has earned himself a loyal following. His gang takes his lead and so ensues the gun violence within the favela so they can maintain power together. Lil Zé’s obsession with power can be observed with the following quote: “Motherfucker! I’m the boss around here but he gets his picture in the paper! Have you found my photo in there
City of God (Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, 2002) is based on the hardships, violence and poverty within Rio De Janeiro, Brazil from the 1960s through the 1980s. Even though the direction of the film is focused on Rocket and his storyline, the subliminal focus of this film revolves around a character called Lil Zé who is influenced by poverty and his delinquent brother to form his main goal of becoming the king of the favela. In the chosen scene, Lil Zé breaks into Blackie’s drug house for a hostile takeover. When Blackie improperly refers to Lil Zé as Lil Dice, he is irritated and corrects Blackie while he holds his chin up high to assert his dominance and this initiates this flashback. The clip shows …show more content…
The murder montage within the flashback of Lil Zé is shot as a point of view from the victim’s side with a gunshot and a flash separating each cut. This sequence of extreme low angle and medium shots, portrays him as being bigger than the world. With the flashback taking place from his point of view, it is obvious that he would portray himself in this way. The numerous gunshots symbolize the countless people he has murdered to achieve his reputation. Initially he is laughing when he kills, but soon turns into a stern face at the end showing that the act of murder has become less enjoyable, and more of a requirement for his chosen profession. After this flashback he is now completely transformed into Lil Zé and has built himself up to be the kingpin of the favela. He has now earned the reputation as the type to destroy any obstacle in his way. His lust for power has driven him to take out nearly all opposition and has earned himself a loyal following. His gang takes his lead and so ensues the gun violence within the favela so they can maintain power together. Lil Zé’s obsession with power can be observed with the following quote: “Motherfucker! I’m the boss around here but he gets his picture in the paper! Have you found my photo in there