john mason
Bluelighter
This is something I am writing for my sociology class. The assignment asks us to pick a certain subculture out of a movie of book, and describe their morals, values, language, norms, clothing, etc. I'm not finished yet, but these are the first 3 pages.
I'd appreciate it if a few of you could tell me what you think so far.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A subculture could be defined as “an ethnic, regional, economic, or social group exhibiting characteristic patterns of behavior sufficient to distinguish it from others within an embracing culture or society”. In the movie City of God, director Fernando Meirelles brutally depicts the unthinkably horrible cycle of violence which has now continued on for decades in the criminal, violent subculture of the Rio de Janeiro slums. To give a brief background on the story, it is told through the eyes and voice of Rocket, a young poor boy of color, living with mother, father, and older brother – “Goose”. Being 2 years younger and a great deal smarter, Rocket has not joined a gang like his brother. People who join gangs in the slums are commonly referred to by the slang term “hoodlums” or “hoods” – many of which are under the age of 8. This aspect of the culture is the focus of the movie. The story begins when Rocket is about 5 years old. As he grows older, he witnesses countless acts of violence, drug dealing, and even suffers the loss of many people who are very close to him – even his own brother, Goose.
City of God is probably the single most undesirable place in the world to live. Perhaps the two most startling and shocking elements of their subculture are their norms, and values – most of which fall distinctively under the category of explicit. In general, the richest people in the slums are drug dealers and criminals. The majority of the common citizens who work for their living and provide for their family are incredibly poor, and just manage to scrape by most of the time. Homelessness is very common. In the beginning of the movie, a chicken escapes from a market and is immediately chased after by at least 2 dozen young children, many of which pull out revolvers and fire at the chicken during their pursuit. In other words, money is very scarce. As a result of the severe poverty in the slums, things such as theft, robbery and drug trade are all daily occurrences. Even honest, working people will run out of their homes and grab tanks of gas off the trucks which are routinely held up while driving through the streets. A sense of pity and empathy washed over me as I saw this happen, as it is clear that it’s done simply in order to survive. Virtually all the residents in the slums own guns. Not because they are all killers, but in the slums a gun is a necessity to protect your own life. Many of the good-hearted characters own guns, but they mainly use them to commit robbery, but don’t have the heart to commit murder. There is also no electricity, paved streets, or public transportation in the slums. Marijuana and cocaine use are widely accepted as okay, and in many scenes the young, pre-adolescant hoods sit around on crates discussing plans to rob a house while casually smoking a joint. For the hoods, their way of life has been chosen.
The culture, values, and occurrences in the slums have a dramatic effect on toddlers who are growing up, and they often lose hope of living a better life in the early stages of childhood, Sadly, this has been the case for many of the main characters. As a result, many of them simply become hoods in an effort to feel as if they are a part of something. There is a strong sense of intimidation and fear present between the people of the slums. During one incident after a robbery, 3 young hoods are escaping in a car and crash straight into the outside terrace of a local restaurant. After they quickly run off to the nearby forest to hide, the owner emerges and questions everyone outside what they had seen. No one talked, for fear of receiving an unwanted visit from a hood. This value of keeping your mouth shut was a huge implicit “more” in the slums. Many folkways are present in the movie as well. If someone wrongs someone else in the slums, 99% of the time a violent and sometimes deadly revenge will ensue. Marital values were also treated very seriously – if a husband caught his wife cheating on him, it wasn’t uncommon for her to be killed, as Fernando illustrates in a very disturbing scene of the movie. We later on see the husband crying while digging his wife’s grave. Violence in the slums was more or less unavoidable, and for a surprisingly large amount of people, it was a way of life. This is especially true for drug dealers and criminals – oftentimes a friend or business partner would be killed for merely being a few days late in paying money that was owed.
Although there were laws in the slums like any other place, law enforcement was few and far between. This is a huge factor in the perpetuation of the violent cycle in the slums. Later on in the movie, the hoods and armed citizens outgun the police, who often run for their lives when rounding a corner and seeing a group of 30 armed hoods running down the street. Police themselves are fairly corrupted as well, and oftentimes accepted weekly payoffs from drug dealers and criminals in exchange for letting them go unbothered. Even sick, twisted killers were allowed to run free for a price. For this reason, nothing ever changes in the slums, and this underlying theme of hopelessness is one of the main points the movie seems to drive home.
I'd appreciate it if a few of you could tell me what you think so far.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A subculture could be defined as “an ethnic, regional, economic, or social group exhibiting characteristic patterns of behavior sufficient to distinguish it from others within an embracing culture or society”. In the movie City of God, director Fernando Meirelles brutally depicts the unthinkably horrible cycle of violence which has now continued on for decades in the criminal, violent subculture of the Rio de Janeiro slums. To give a brief background on the story, it is told through the eyes and voice of Rocket, a young poor boy of color, living with mother, father, and older brother – “Goose”. Being 2 years younger and a great deal smarter, Rocket has not joined a gang like his brother. People who join gangs in the slums are commonly referred to by the slang term “hoodlums” or “hoods” – many of which are under the age of 8. This aspect of the culture is the focus of the movie. The story begins when Rocket is about 5 years old. As he grows older, he witnesses countless acts of violence, drug dealing, and even suffers the loss of many people who are very close to him – even his own brother, Goose.
City of God is probably the single most undesirable place in the world to live. Perhaps the two most startling and shocking elements of their subculture are their norms, and values – most of which fall distinctively under the category of explicit. In general, the richest people in the slums are drug dealers and criminals. The majority of the common citizens who work for their living and provide for their family are incredibly poor, and just manage to scrape by most of the time. Homelessness is very common. In the beginning of the movie, a chicken escapes from a market and is immediately chased after by at least 2 dozen young children, many of which pull out revolvers and fire at the chicken during their pursuit. In other words, money is very scarce. As a result of the severe poverty in the slums, things such as theft, robbery and drug trade are all daily occurrences. Even honest, working people will run out of their homes and grab tanks of gas off the trucks which are routinely held up while driving through the streets. A sense of pity and empathy washed over me as I saw this happen, as it is clear that it’s done simply in order to survive. Virtually all the residents in the slums own guns. Not because they are all killers, but in the slums a gun is a necessity to protect your own life. Many of the good-hearted characters own guns, but they mainly use them to commit robbery, but don’t have the heart to commit murder. There is also no electricity, paved streets, or public transportation in the slums. Marijuana and cocaine use are widely accepted as okay, and in many scenes the young, pre-adolescant hoods sit around on crates discussing plans to rob a house while casually smoking a joint. For the hoods, their way of life has been chosen.
The culture, values, and occurrences in the slums have a dramatic effect on toddlers who are growing up, and they often lose hope of living a better life in the early stages of childhood, Sadly, this has been the case for many of the main characters. As a result, many of them simply become hoods in an effort to feel as if they are a part of something. There is a strong sense of intimidation and fear present between the people of the slums. During one incident after a robbery, 3 young hoods are escaping in a car and crash straight into the outside terrace of a local restaurant. After they quickly run off to the nearby forest to hide, the owner emerges and questions everyone outside what they had seen. No one talked, for fear of receiving an unwanted visit from a hood. This value of keeping your mouth shut was a huge implicit “more” in the slums. Many folkways are present in the movie as well. If someone wrongs someone else in the slums, 99% of the time a violent and sometimes deadly revenge will ensue. Marital values were also treated very seriously – if a husband caught his wife cheating on him, it wasn’t uncommon for her to be killed, as Fernando illustrates in a very disturbing scene of the movie. We later on see the husband crying while digging his wife’s grave. Violence in the slums was more or less unavoidable, and for a surprisingly large amount of people, it was a way of life. This is especially true for drug dealers and criminals – oftentimes a friend or business partner would be killed for merely being a few days late in paying money that was owed.
Although there were laws in the slums like any other place, law enforcement was few and far between. This is a huge factor in the perpetuation of the violent cycle in the slums. Later on in the movie, the hoods and armed citizens outgun the police, who often run for their lives when rounding a corner and seeing a group of 30 armed hoods running down the street. Police themselves are fairly corrupted as well, and oftentimes accepted weekly payoffs from drug dealers and criminals in exchange for letting them go unbothered. Even sick, twisted killers were allowed to run free for a price. For this reason, nothing ever changes in the slums, and this underlying theme of hopelessness is one of the main points the movie seems to drive home.
