Sample Film Review on City of God, Güeros, and Wadjda
The three movies relay key themes of social disconformity, Isolation, Marginalization and social mobility. The City of God is a movie is based on a true story about a gang of violent youth commonly known as the hood. Their aim is to ensure that they get out of the streets to earn a better living. To them, there seems no other way out other than theft and drug dealing. Reasons behind this are mere excuses like a claim not to be smart for books, money at work is too slow but mostly it is because of laziness and greed. More problems arise when there is an eruption of power struggle in regards to whom controls the drugs business (City of God 2013). It looks like a cycle in that the younger ones idolize their elders in the business and want to overthrow them and take over their position. The concepts of marginalization, social and physical mobility, social disconformity and isolation are clearly shown in the play.
Isolation is a situation where an individual or a group of individuals are set apart and are denied privileges because they lack or possess certain characteristics. It is shown when Lil Ze as a young boy was not allowed to participate in the main raids regardless of the fact that he come up with the ideas. In wadjda it’s a culture that women cover their faces when they come across men. Sharing of meals between men and women is also prohibited. Physical mobility is shown when residents of the city of god had indecent housing and a huge number were homeless refugees while other citizens were living decently. Wadjda on the other hand such physical mobility is not seen. In gueros, the brothers live in a very poor dorm because they refuse to participate in the ongoing demonstrations in which case they would be living in better houses in the school.
Social disconformity is clear where Rocket brought up in the same conditions as the gang leader of the city of god and where everyone sees violence as the way to go, chooses a different path by his non-participation in war fronts (City of God 2013). His aim is to expose the violence and corruption in his neighborhood. This is a very risky venture as his course of action involves photography that is to be taken under very harsh environment but luckily for him, the gang leaders are not educated. In wadjda, the girl refuses to be intimidated by the rules that see the women as a lesser sex. She wants to own a bicycle at whatever cost, she is also willing to confront the family tree for not including women names in it. Her association with the male versions is not secret as she does not see the use of hiding. She confronts her head mistress for hiding the fact that she had male contact with her ex-boyfriend and staging a thief intrusion. Regardless of the fact that her mother said that no campaign bulbs are to be put over their roof, she gives the go ahead and give the go ahead to Abdullah under her own terms of course. Wadjda’s aunt also rebels the idea that she cannot work in a male dominated career and chooses to work in the hospital where she doesn’t need to cover her face and do not need to put up with the insults of the previous driver. Gueros, Santos and Sombra show social disconformity when they refuse to participate in the strike and choose to stay at home instead.
Marginalization in the slum of Rio de Janeiro as depicted in the city of god at the time cannot be overlooked; the gang leader who had killed so many people in a motel during his participation in the first raid had taken full control. In this case the rich people were not treated fairly with the robbing and massacre. The police accept bribes from him so that he could run his business free of police raids (City of God 2013). This shows great irresponsibility on the part of the police sector who are supposed to take care of its citizens. Children were seen of lesser importance such that they were excluded from raids and often suffered harassment in the hands of their elder brothers. The whole society in the city of god was marginalized as they had large number of refugees, poor housing and job opportunities were limited they also were semi educated while some of the individual were not educated at all. In wadjda, marginalization of the female gander is illustrated with much focus. Access to education was to all but boys and girls could not interact freely as the girls referred to as well-mannered were supposed to keep their distance with the boys. The girls are supposed to be quiet at an environment where the boys happen to be, as they term it, voice is the nakedness of the women. Women are also seen as a property to the men in that when wadjdas mother is unable to sire a male child, the father decides to marry another wife regardless of how she feels about him and her opinion does not even count. Her significance in the family lineage is not emphasized and she is not included in the family tree even after wadjda put it up it is dismissed. She also cannot share meals with him but is supposed to cook so well so as to impress the husbands guests.in gueros marginalization can be explained where Thomas’s mother decided to send him to his brother in Mexico. She cannot bear the nuisance that he causes and is not willing to give him a chance for change but rather just dismisses him.
In conclusion overlooking capability of an individual based on age, class or education is a start to a great downfall of a society. The battle between Lil Ze’s gang and carrot in the city of god ends when they both die. Violence yields violence. Peace and equality restores sanity to humanity. Gender based marginalization and isolation as in this case should be done away with and a consideration that all human beings are social beings should be key in determining human relations as depicted in wadjda.
Works Cited
City of God. Dirs. Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund. Perf. Bráulio Mantovani. 2003.
Güeros. Dir. Alonso Ruizpalacios. Perf. Alonso Ruizpalacios and Gibran Portela. 2014.
Wadjda. Dir. Haifaa al-Mansour. Perf. Waad Mohammed, Reem Abdullah and Abdulrahman al-Guhani. 2013