Exam Question

Explore how the representation of urban environments contributes to the key themes of your chosen films.

There are many instances in which urban environments contribute to the key themes of both La Haine and City of God. For example, simply the prop of a gun holds so much presence in both films that without the urban and modernized environment, both films would lose an essential metaphor that’s constant throughout the plots.

La Haine (Mathieu Kassovits, 1995) is centralized around 3 friend who all live in an urban; and quite poor area of France. Nearly all the themes within this movie would cease to be without it’s environment. The power struggle between the police and the poor, as forecasted in the opening scene of the film which features documentary style footage of riots, simply wouldn’t exist without it being set in this urban environment, as the difference in power; politically and literally, wouldn’t be as exponential. Even switching the area to perhaps a more middle-class area would ruin this dynamic, as the police would treat the civilians with much more order. The film itself even addresses this when the three protagonists become fish-out-of-water by visiting a more high-end area, which also eliminates the theme of conflict. Perhaps, there would still be an underlying theme of conflict amongst the three friends, but certainly it wouldn’t be nearly as potent. It’s also obvious that it contributes to the theme of poverty, as the entire environment is what represents their economic struggle.

The City of God’s (Fernando Meirelles, 2002) urban environment is just as important in it’s contribution to the key themes of this film. Building more upon the first point, the use of guns within both films is extremely relevant. In La Haine, the lack of literal presence is what makes this very urban prop so vital. It’s a representation of a change in power between Vinz, the police, the lower-class, Hubert, etc. It’s a constant source of conflict as well, and while the use of it is contrasted in City Of God, it has the same effect. Guns are everywhere. At the beginning, it’s a lot less common and Lil’ Dice gaining possession of one signals the transition into a new age of urban war. Without this urban environment, without guns, without the poverty-ridden warzone, it’s impossible to imagine how different the plot would be. Even the initial symbol of power in the ownership of drugs and territory would be vastly different. This makes the contribution of urban environments in the City of God even more vital than in La Haine.

In conclusion, the urban environments of my chosen films contribute to the key themes very much, in both similar and contrasting fashions. The props symbolise the themes of conflict and power, whereas the entire environment surrounding nearly all characters involved represents the theme of poverty.