How is the chicken used as a metaphor in the opening of City of God?

The opening of the City of God the genre is instantly established as an action crime drama. An extreme close up of someone sharpening a butchers knife against a flat surface of a rock which is a signifier of danger, along with the diegetic sound of the knifes impact against the rock which is alarming. We are then shown a quick shot of a chickens throat being cut instantly. Many cut ins have been edited in of the chickens being plucked and prepared to be cooked. This allows the audience to understand exactly what is happening. Large quantities of shots have been added to give a fast paced and busy atmosphere, which makes me, feel wary. We establish the movies genre when the fast paced chase scene begins. This chase scene includes most of the conventions associated with a high adrenalin chase scene in an action movie. However its not a person being chased, it is a chicken, which brings a humorous approach to the scene. The chicken is used as a metaphor to describe mainly the position the boy is in but also the general way of living in the Brazilian slums including the high rate of gang crime. The chicken has escaped from being slaughtered for food however is spotted by a group of boys and men who hunt it down. When the boy is standing face to face with the chicken that the group have been chasing the police turn up and the narrative starts. If you run away, they will get you. And if you stay, theyll get you

We come to understanding that the boy cant run or stay, because either way theyll find him and this is exactly what position the chicken is in. The chicken who escaped was chased and shot at but if it didnt escape it would also been killed. Both are trapped within the slums. The directors Fernando Meirelles and Ktia Lund decided to purposely use the chicken as a metaphor in this scene to foreshadow how the chicken fits into the story. Metaphors are used to suggest a resemblance or to represent something.
The chicken eventually realises its trapped again once the gang catch up. He is faced with the boy, Rocket. This shot is much like a comparison between the two but we come to realise that the Rocket can never be more dominant; the chicken and himself are equal.

Tracking for a camera shot has been used to follow the chicken when its escaping to give the audience a sense of rush as the camera follows the chicken but it is clear a tripod hasnt been used. This gives the scene a natural and gritty effect. We feel start to feel sympathetic for the chicken because the camera is at the chicken level of perspective so we begin to understand its running for its life. Close ups have been specifically used to outline characters expressions or emotions in great detail. For example a close up has been used in the shot of the leader of the gang. He has spotted the chicken escaping and orders the others to go after it. He starts laughing and we get a clear view of his horrible overbite teeth and we instantly have a bad feeling about this character because his laugh is almost evil. We get given various glimpses of the stages the chicken had to go through to free its foot from the string to escape. This shots illustrate how much the chicken resembles the desperation of a human being. A birds eye view/close up shot has been used in the chase scene of the chicken frantically running from the gang. A birds eye view shot is mostly used to observe or in this case to classify the dominant character and the subservient character who is the chicken in this case. This illustrates the gangs power and authority compared to the chicken. Panning to the left is used once the gang appear down another alleyway in the slums. A gang and the demanding ringleader ambush the alleyway that was once quiet. This illustrates the chaos of the chickens escape, which has caused other residents in the slums to be pushed and threatened. This tells the audience how the gang members treat the other people living in the slums. A long shot is used when the boy and his friend are walking before the gang arrives; this is used to establish the location. The main extreme close ups of people dancing, preparing food and playing drums and other various instruments are exceptionally fast and we are only given glimpses of each shot. This creates uncertainty and confusion. Sound has been used precisely within the opening sequence. The first image we see is of a butchers knife being sharpened, but a black screen also dominates the screen constantly, which creates suspense at this early stage. However we still hear chilling sound of the knife making contact with that rock which is diegetic. The non-diegetic music stops once the chicken has escaped from the crowded groups of people and cuts to a close up of a pool of blood on a plate.

Representation of Women in Horror Films

Traditionally women are represented in horror films as the damsel in distress and are often being attacked by the killer because they have committed as a sinful act. Being a victim is the most popular role of a female as they were and still to this day are seen as the weaker sex. Not being able to voice their own opinions is how females were treated before they had any equal rights to men and this obviously reflected into such media as film. They ofte n show familiarities such as being naive, dumb, weak and gullible which tends to lead them into falling into traps and dying before the film has even entered the climax. The most common stereotype is that the females, specifically blondes die first as they are represented as dumb, weak and unable to protect themselves without a man. This has slightly changed in modern filmmaking and Directors are starting to bend the rules and change the way the audience see all women in horrors, including the blondes. Women are the victims and only the heroin or killer if they show masculine attributes, which are associated with men. This is supported in Scream by having Gail Weathers a strong female whom when is not a damsel in distress is out fighting to bring down the killer knowing she could end up in danger. Being strong is not a characteristic that belongs to women as they are labelled as weak. In the horror Scream, Gale rescues Sidney. She is wearing a masculine looking leather trench coat and is positioned very dominantly. This is a clear example of a woman in a mans role. When a female character is the hero and survives the killer and sets off on a mission to either kill or capture the killer herself. This demonstrates the characteristics of a strong and powerful woman that is presented as superior to the killer, which states the modern woman have empowerment over men; which is a feminist ideology. To add to this point, Directors are breaking the general stereotype of women in horror films. However, now with the influence of feminism and modern ideologies, women in reality are much more successful and independent therefore the representation of has slightly changed in horror films where they have become intelligent and strong. Feminism changed popular culture to think of women in dominant roles to illustrate how women and men that are both capable of different things are actually equal.

Jennifers Body focuses on the power females hold against males in horror films. Women are still commonly seen as victims but tend to surprise us by being strong minded and smart heroes and even killers because women are proven to have more power in society in reality, which is the fear of traditional anti-feminists. Jennifers Body demonstrates how modern culture has changed the genre from men being the one to save the day or murdering vic tims to women adopting their dominant roles. Breaking the stereotype of women in horrors is exciting and new as we are so used to men in their dominant roles.
In the film The Cabin in the Woods the only two females characters are defined only by their sexuality - nothing else such as personality traits is relevant whereas then three males are put into the archetypes; fool, scholar and athlete based on their character traits. The whore always dies first so the virgin must die last. Their personalities are altered so they fit into their chosen archetypes to be sacrificed to save the ancient gods. There is Dana, the so-called virgin even though she slept with one of her professors, which is mentioned in her first scene of the film. In my perspective Danas past and choices would probably be seen whorish. Simply because of the way they are physically presented on the screen Jule s is still seen to fit the whore archetype and Dana the virgin, as she is quiet and humble. American society thinks of virgins as sweet hearted and the word whore sends signals that the female is loud and much more outgoing. To conclude, horror films have changed since women gained equal rights to men. This gave them the voice to stand up for themselves, rather than being told what to do and how to do it. Women have adopted masculine attributes in horror films, which gives them more dominance compared to men or as equal to them which is breaking the original representation of women in horror films as the modern woman is independent and strong minded.

Vampire Analysis of the Representation of gender and sexuality

In the majority of vampire films and series I've watched they display sexuality openly. I believe over the years the vampire genre has changed slightly but the sexuality in both males and females still remains. I am going to give an analysis on representation of gender and sexuality in two vampire series, True Blood and The Vampire Diaries. True Blood is a popular American vampire series, which displays sexual content throughout every episode. It has come to my attention that vampires are seen as sex icons because of the way they are represented on our TV screens. Things that create this representation that we visually see is the way they have been dressed such as tops that are low cut and show the bare chest. By dressing like this men seem to instantly fall at their presence. Use of colour wherever its used in make up or clothing is a big necessity when attempting to represent a specific type of character.

True Blood is a modern series so many modern characteristics have been taken and placed in the series to attract a young but mature audience. Mainly we see the vampires feeding on the humans and we can sense their pleasure they experience with blood. Blood is a convention within the vampire genre that has been labelled as what vampires lust over. Red is a very powerful colour, which symbolises danger; love and I would say sexuality too. Even though vampires are seen as a danger to the human species, the humans are still drawn to their superior characteristics.
In True Blood Fangtasia is a strip club run by vampires. This shows that they have their own civilization and even have their own entertainment for their species to socialize with their own kind.

Women vampires specifically are represented as powerful and attractive. For example, Katherine in The Vampire Diaries American series holds power over the as Salvatore brothers because of her knowledge and tends to find out secrets before them which allows her to take charge to get exactly what she seek. Adding to this, her physical appearance appears beautiful and pretty much perfect but combined with ugliness because of what vampires live for and the lengths they will go to get it. Homosexuality in True Blood has been touched upon at the end of series 5 between both female vampires, Pam and Tara when they shared a passionate kiss. Their relationship isnt at all romantic but physical. Eric (ex lover) and Pams bond could not be compared to hers and Taras because she had loyalty and respect for Eric. Tara has come from hard past and has faced hard times from the start of the series to do with her mother but she is a tough fighter and Pam is exactly the same. Tara has started to feel loyalty and respect towards her maker Pam and this must be a reason to why they are attracted towards each other. The character Lafayette Reynolds, a gay cook, prostitute and blood dealer does not shy away from being extravagant but this is combined with a signature strength and masculinity that illustrates that he isnt ashamed of who he is but is boldly defensive of the life he lives and the people he picks to love.

Children of Men Analysis

Mise en scene: The opening piece starts with a black blank screen accompanied by a English female news reporters voice for 6 seconds. A image of a crowd of people in a coffee shop looking up at a television appears straight away. The surrounding is very claustrophobic and makes us feel uneasy as we don't understand why a crowded group of people are looking terrified at what is being announced on the television. This has been intentionally planned for a particular effect. We as the audience can tell something serious has grabbed the characters attention judging by the depressing atmosphere combined with the distressed and tense emotions captured in this opening scene. When the man enters the shop we the audience understand that he must be a main character or one of them as he is centred in the middle of the shot. The colours used including the characters costumes are greys, blues and varied dark colours which creates a gloomy and chilling mood. The colours used gives us an idea what genre the film comes under. When the man leaves the coffee shop we can tell this film is set in the future because of the flying car in the air and the vehicles look very unusual and adapted and at 1:07 it says "London, 16th November 2027" on the screen but we can guess what city the film is based in because of the red buses on the road. Editing: Editing is used at the opening of the film from the blank screen when it cuts straight to the crowded coffee shop. The text "London, 16th November 2027" when the man exits the coffee shop has been put in after the scene being shot Sound: At the start of the film we are not given a image the screen is pitch black. A voice over of a female reporter's voice come in straight away which also us to concentrate on exactly what she is announcing as it's likely to be a piece of key information that has a lot to do with the rest of the film. The music played at 0:35 is sad and heart breaking when the camera focuses on the image of the baby's face on the television. When the man leaves the coffee shop we get a buzz of car horns, bus engines passing by, motorbikes roaring so we immediately know this scene is set in busy London. The blast is surely unexpected to us as only moments ago the street was full of people, cars and buses on route to their destinations which the camera focused on for a short while to give us the audience a understanding of the setting. Camera: In the coffee shop scene the shot used is called a high angle shot which gives us a birds eye view as the audience and a feeling of being superior unlike the characters. They would be seen as inferior and less powerful. I think this shot is a great way to capture the characters emotions because we can also see almost every character in the coffee shop. A panning movement is used to look up the right hand side of the street then back to the man who was walking in the opposite way from the camera. When the man is sorting out his coffee the camera goes behind him and stops at the other side of his face and this is how we can see his reaction to the blast along with the other pedestrians reactions and how much of an impact it made. When the blast occurs the camera run straight towards the smoke from the blast much like as if someone was recording what happened like a documentary.

Director Research

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