Katabasis in Myth and Film

Here is the video for Kevin, Donni and Ricky’s group:

One of the many comparisons the micro-dialogues made last class was that between Circe’s turning of Odysseus’s men into pigs, and the seduction of the people of the slums to gang life. Circe is, in many ways, a seductress. She woos men into her house, feeds them and gives them wine, and then as they revel in the glories she bestows, she turns them into pigs and keeps them as pig-chattel. In much the same way, the gangs in the movie city of god seduce the children of the slums. The glory of the top-guns the gangs can achieve – money, fame, and women – are the wine and food Circe offers to Odysseus’s men. And, in much the same way that the wine and food are elements used to lull the men into a stasis so that Circe can turn the men to pigs, the money, fame, and women all hide the horrible underbelly of gang crime. It was, in my opinion, a brilliant analogy, one I had not even considered until it was addressed. And it was true – after joining the gang, the men became more animal and less human. A brilliant connection, I felt.

In the scene where Lil Zé orders his gang to seach throught the newspaper to find a picture of him there is first a lot of commotion.  The first thing we see is a fast zoom in on Lil Zé taking drugs as he looks at a picture of Knockout Ned in the News.  We know that it is Lil Zé looking at the picture because we get is perspective. While he is talking we can see a hazed reflection of ourselves (Lil Zé) in the mirror that contains the drugs.  There is only a slight glimpse on knockout Ned to symbolize that it is not what Lil Zé wants to see.  The camera then opens to view around the room as Lil Zé asks if he is anywhere in the paper.  There is several people in the room although because of the shading it is hard to see their faces to know exactly who they are.  There is newspaper everywhere and the only time when the camera is truely steady is when it is focused on Lil Zé, this is because he is the only one that is not hecktically seaching to find his own picture or name in the paper.

When Lil Zé picks up the camera in the midst of all the commotion here is a flashback which is noted by the director of the film by quick flashes of black spots to Benny, his new looks, and the night when he was murdered.  Lil Zé contemplaited using the camera but then decides to get his picture taken. When Tiago tries to get the camera to take a picture the frame is tight on him to concentrate that he cannot get it to work.  Many times the primary focus is blurred and its seen through other objects to give the scene more of a drug state feel, with filming some parts upside down.

I did not think about the Odyssey compared to the City of God, and I think that it is very interesting that the two fit so well together.  Book ten starts out with the opening of the bag of wind. The crew did this to benefit themselves and ended up only causing their journey to last longer and be more difficult. This action is similar to cases in the City of God where the characters act impulsively, killing one another.  Especially in Benny’s case,  Blacky did not mean to shoot benny the shot was intended to kill lil Zé.

Circe turns half of Odysseus’ men into swine after a large banquet, which shows the animals inside the men.  In the city of God, the hoods all act like animals.  When followers join a specific gang, weather it be lil Zé’s, Carrot’s or with the runts, the hoods have to do rediculous things to be considered part of the gang. For expample when Steak has to kill a child his own age to prove that he is man enough to be a part of Lil Zé’s gang. The fortunate part in the Odyssey is that the men are changed back to their former appearance and are let free, the hoods in the City of God are not so lucky, they stay in crime until their death.

The clip from the City of God that I will be analyzing is the one in which the small boy’s foot was shot and the other boy was killed by Little Ze and his gang.

The first thing I noticed while watching the scene is the part when Little Ze first throws the little boy up against the wall.  At this time, the camera is at an angel angle where the gun (which was hanging by Little Ze’s side) is front and center.  The small boy and Little Ze are both clearly visible in the scene, but they are both sort of blurred out.  The gun is the most predominant image, alluding to the idea that the gun is the most important aspect of the scene.  The gun is the item which holds all the power:  the power to physically kill, the power to scare people enough to be able to steal and rob from them, and the power to have the most power (as Little Ze did) in the City of God.  This scene isn’t about the shooting of the boys, nor is it about Little Ze being the dominant figure, because both of those things occured occurred throughout the entire film.  The scene is more about the power that this gun holds and illuminating this power in the best light possible.

The second thing I noticed about this clip is that when the smaller boy is chosen by Little Ze to kill one of the boys, the camera angle is from the ground.  This gives the audience the perspective of where the two boys are sitting.  It is as if we are looking at Little Ze’s gang through the eyes of the two children.  This is a scene in which the audience feels great tension, sadness, and almost a sick feeling in the stomach.  It is interesting then that the angle would be shot from where the boys are sitting because those are probably the emotions those boys were feeling at that time.  It provides the audience with the point of view of the average innocent civilian that was targeted by Little Ze and his gang.

The third thing I noticed was that while the little boy was holding the gun, he was often the most visible person in the scene.  Either the camera was zoomed into his face so far that he was literally the only thing in the scene, or the camera was being shot from right behind his head (facing the two helpless children) so that the back of his head was front and center.  This shows that in this part of the clip, this boy doing the shooting was the most important character.  Just like I talked about in my dialogue, this boy represents all of the boys that Little Ze has turned into inhuman beings.  It is obvious that they would not be killing machines without the influence of Little Ze because as the boy kills the child, he has tears in his eyes and clearly does not want to do it.  By making the camera focus on him, the audience can focus on the fact that this boy, like all the other gang members, really do not want to be killing people at all.  They more or less have to because Little Ze has become such a dominant creature.

The scene from City of God that I chose to analyze began when Lil Ze was having his gang of “hoods” look for his picture or name in the paper and ended when Rocket was brought to take their pictures. How the scene was set up and portrayed on camera adds to the overall atmosphere and emotions that the audience could sense in the room. The dominant elements in the scene seemed to be Lil Ze and the newspapers. Lil Ze was centered in the middle of the room looking at the pictures of Knockout Ned that appeared in the paper. The proxemics, or distance between the view and object is a very short distance. The camera focuses in on the newspapers and then on Lil Ze. The other boys are shown by the camera in a tight or close frame as well. This draws your attention to all of the newspapers that Lil Ze is forcing his “followers” to look through. If Lil Ze is shown in the same frame as another boy, then he is always closest to the camera adding to the image of him as the powerful character who is in command. The density of the room seems to be fairly low. It is kind of bare except for the people and the papers. This makes that room seem even more rundown. The entire place is very dark and dull and often shadows cover the walls, the people, and their faces. You can only tell that this scene takes place during the day because of the bright streams of light that come in through the windows and contrast the shadowy appearance of the room. The whole room, however, is rarely showed. The best ideas of the room we get from the very diverse camera angles that show the room and characters from the front, side, and even from above or below. Sometimes the viewer sees what Lil Ze is thinking by the way the camera shoots objects, such as the camera or papers, he is looking at. To show the passage of time, or mélange, the boy who leaves to get Rocket walks into the shadows, then the camera simply scans a wall and then appears at the door as he comes back.

My favorite group discussion from yesterday was Mary Cait and Valerie’s.  I thought it was interesting how they compared the use of art in the two works (City of God and the myth of Odysseus).  In both stories, art was the way in which the characters could achieve their goals.  In the City of God, Rocket used his photography skills to take a picture of Little Ze and his gang.  When he was able to get the pictures developed in the paper, not only did the newspaper pay him for his work but they offered him a job of taking pictures in the City of God.  They also offered him a house, a warm shower, and fresh food because he could not live in the city anymore if he was going to be a reporter.  This was the way in which Rocket made his anabasis from “hell”.  In the myth of Odysseus, Orpheus used his musical skills in order to persuade the Gods to allow Eurydice to be released.  Eurydice is his one true love and the thing he desires most in life.  Both Rocket and Orpheus use their talents to the best of their ability.  Also, Mary Cait and Valerie presented their dialogue in a very entertaining way.  It was the discussion that held my attention the best and I often found myself giggling at Mary Cait’s hilarity.

Although I really enjoyed all of the discussions today that were not my own, I thought I would focus on the first one for this post. I thought it was really interesting that the first group compared the use of art in the myth of Odysseus to the use of art in The City of God. Orpheus was able to use his skills on the lyre to charm the Gods to let his love come out of the underworld, while Rocket was able to charm little Ze and his gang by getting their picture in the paper. I remember that scene where little Ze is having all of his gang buddies search through the paper for mention of his name or a picture of him. When they can’t find one Little Ze gets upset about the fact that he is not being talked about. Rocket is able to use his ability to infiltrate the city slum and get pictures that no one else could get. These pictures later become his saving grace as they start a career for him at the newspaper. Orpheus is also able to get something he wants using his own type of art form, music. The Gods give up Eurydice after Orpheus moves them with his music. I thought that this comparison fit really well into our discussions about the movie and Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

One comparison that was developed in a micro-dialogue was that of subservient humans under gods to rocket obeying little Ze. I thought that the idea that Lil Ze had a power and force such as the gods that allowed him to be obeyed was similar but not necessarily the same as the power of the gods. An enormous amount, if not all of the amount of power, that Lil Ze held came from fear. Of all the characters, Benny was the only one who did not seem completely threatened and uneasy with him at times. Even the people that considered themselves to be “hoods” and followed Lil Ze were terrified of him and quick to obey him. Not one of them ever stood up to or questioned him. They were afraid of being killed. In the Odyssey and Metamorphoses, the humans were clearly at the mercy of the gods and goddesses; however, they were not always fearful of them. The humans made sacrifices to, prayed to, and obeyed the will of the gods. At times they might be terrified of the wrath of the gods, but at other times they requested and sought help from the gods. They did not always cower and fear them. They often praised and felt not only thankful but positive feelings towards the gods and goddesses.

The scene I chose to analyze was the scene posted under ” Knockout Ned’s Tragedy”.  This scene was particularly interesting because it showed both Ned’s personal hell and how Lil Ze’s gang fit into it.

The scene opens with dim lighting, in a room where slits of light are casted on the wall and bright lighting bounces off the character’s sweaty faces, leaving the rest in shadow.  This creates a ghostly, eerie effect fitting in with the idea that Ned is now in his own personal hell.  Further, when the camera does zoom in on Ned’s face, he seems to be dead and lifeless, with glassy, empty eyes as he just sits there.

We then see a flash to Lil ze’s gang, (a technique that continues throughout this scene and the rest of the movie to convey the passage of time), also envelopped in darkness.  Lil Ze turns around and tells the rest of his gang that they are dgoing to go back and kill knockout ned, as he is not sure why he didn’t kill him in the first place.  His gang members seem to appear from shadow and they all follow him, like mindless souls that bring back memories of the Underworld in the Odyssey.

With another flash, we are suddenly back at knockout Ned’s house, and he states he wants to go out and the others that are with him try to restrain him, and the camera becomes very jerky and alot of times out of focus, which creates the mood of chaos, which forshadows the chaotic actions that are coming in the film with the war between the two gangs.

As the gang waits out side Ned’s house the lighting is still very dark and most things are in shadow.  Then after Neds younger brother or friend stabs Lil Ze in the arm, Lil Ze’s gang shoots out Neds house.  Between the smoke and chaos, we see bullets destroying everything within the house, from plates and cups to more personal things such as family photos, and even a loved one.  This seems to symbolize that the last shred of Ned’s humanity and love of peace (contrasting with the gangs inhumane ways of killing and violence) seems to be destroyed as this inanimate objects are destroyed as well.  After this last “outpost” of neds desire for non violence and humanity is destroyed, it seems that the war has truly begun.