Compare the attitudes to poverty conveyed in the films you have studied for this topic. La Haine and City Of God. (35)
Within the film,"La Haine", directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, poverty is conveyed through the mise-en-scene in the sequence when hubert arrives back home in The Projects around 35 minutes into the film. This sequence deals with the social and economic insignificance that surrounds therein characters in the projects. Through the static camera of Hubert walking through the door, we can see that he lives in an area similar to a council estate, which implies the fact that he and his family is poor and unable to afford a developed place to live. From the circular panning of the camera, i get the implication that the small apartment is actually quite crowded and confined, which is then reinforced by the later minimal camera movement in the kitchen; this mirrors the little space they have and acts as microcosm of everyone who lives in poverty, everyone who lives in The Projects. This can be reinforced by the fact that in the centre of Paris, where there is no poverty, the apartments are represented as very spacious and modern, unlike the current setting we are being shown. As Hubert enters the main room of the apartment, his sister asks for help with homework, however his inability to respond and give her an answer portrays the idea that he has had a lack of education, due to the economic situation everyone in the community has. The fact that his sister is focusing on education proves the fact that her environment is full of poverty and she is using this as a way of escaping it, unlike Hubert. Hubert's lack of knowledge is due to his male bravado that he uses as a front. This may even be due to the influence of friends, who have also been abused by the poverty.
As the camera pans into the kitchen, we are introduced to Hubert's mum, who is portrayed as a typical stay at home mum; her performance informed us that she is unable to afford textbooks for her other son's education, which strengthens the idea that their money situation is a result of extreme poverty. Despite the fact that Hubert lives in this poverty struck area, we can still see that his morals have not been affected and that he still stays positive as he contributes towards paying the gas bill, by placing money down on top of the fridge. As Hubert is referring to his brother, who is in prison, we are told that he has never passed an exam in his life, which indicates the idea that poverty has caused the majority of his family to have a lack of education. As Hubert moves into the living room, the mid-long shot that is used shows us the mies-en-scene of the sewing machine, which is later referred to as "cracked up". The fact that she has been unable to afford a new machine reflects the idea that they have been affected by poverty in a way that puts a barrier from being able to buy new household necessities. This idea can be reinforced by the black line that is directly centred within the shot, which separates the old household items from the empty area on the left hand side of the shot.
The mies-en-scene throughout this sequence is so realistic that the verisimilitude of the setting and degree of poverty has been dramatically enhanced, informing us on the issues that are actually taking place in both the time the film was set , which was the 1990's and modern day.
In a similar way, within "City Of God", directed by Fernando Meirelles, the attitudes to poverty can be shown through the use of mise-en-scene. As the film is spread over the space of approximately 3 decades, from the 60's to the late 80's, we can see how things have changed for the worse over time. At the beginning of the film, when we introduced to the characters in the 60's, the Mise-en-scene of the location depicts that the area is quite spacious and the fact that the characters are making the most out of the large area of land indicates the idea that they are happy with their environment. Even when it comes to the mise-en-scene of the clothing, we can see that although poverty runs throughout the City of God, they don't care about the lack of money to provide them with a better lifestyle.
As the film progresses, we are shown the same area of the City of God approximately 10 years later and how life has changed leading to a dramatic increase in poverty. The mise-en-scene of a horse on the streets has ben used to show how mistreated the City has become and how over time it has been abused by the economy as there are no places for animals to be placed, like a farm. The establishing shot showing the environment allows us to see how times have changed and how even though some areas have been developed, the city has become more compact, when compared to the establishing shot in the 60's. This shot from the 70's is similar to the way that favelas in Brazil look today and symbolises how nothing has changed. Additionally, the fact that we see many people walking about, not doing anything to better themselves and society is similar to the attitudes presented in La Haine as the characters in that film are also not doing anything. Whilst this shows the peoples lack of effort to get jobs, it also indicates the lack of opportunity for people and how the bad economy stops people from earning an adequate wage. Moreover, the difference in colour palette between the two time settings, from a golden tint to a more natural colour scheme, illustrates the fact that life has become more bleak due to lack of money, experiences and opportunities. This is similar to the bleak monochrome tonal palette in La Haine as the more natural colour palette enhances the verisimilitude of the situation.
Furthermore, there is one particular scene in which we are shown the three main characters sitting around with a younger person being unproductive through an establishing shot; this lack of activities to do reflects the minimal development of The Projects and the poverty which has caused this. For example, in particular, the boy that is talking to Vinz is wasting his time when he could be working on improving his education. This causes repetition within generations as the young boy is more likely going to follow in Vinz's and even Hubert's footsteps. The use of time jumps in this scene further strengthens the fact that they pass time by being unproductive and talking about aspects inline that won't benefit them in the future. An example of this is shown through the use of mise-en-scene of Said throwing pebbles and rocks at his friends, which portrays them as childish as these actions are something a child would do, despite their mature ages.
Directly after the jump cut, an establishing shot is used to show the mies-en-scene of the location, which is a council estate that resembles a prison like location. The fact that they are stuck in this environment indicates the idea that they are unable to escape this poverty as they don't have a steady financial income, unlike the people who live in Paris. Shortly after Said runs off to the oncoming car, we are shown a close up of Hubert's feet and the mies-en-scene of needles, which are used for heroin. Heroin is a fairly cheap drug that is used to escape problems; the main problem that people in that neighbourhood want to escape from is the fact that there is nothing to do as The Projects have not been developed enough due to the amount of poverty in the area. The fact that the amount of poverty and limited opportunities lead to people using drugs creates a circular narrative as the more the drugs get used, the less likely The Projects are going to be developed. The idea of this circular motion is a common motif throughout the film, implying that everything that happens, will always occur again due to certain circumstances; in this case, poverty.
Meanwhile, the use of the monochrome colour palette helps to evoke the bleakness and mundaneness of The Projects and like the mise-en-scene mentioned in the first paragraph, the verisimilitude of the situation has been heightened and therefore appears more realistic.
As the camera pans into the kitchen, we are introduced to Hubert's mum, who is portrayed as a typical stay at home mum; her performance informed us that she is unable to afford textbooks for her other son's education, which strengthens the idea that their money situation is a result of extreme poverty. Despite the fact that Hubert lives in this poverty struck area, we can still see that his morals have not been affected and that he still stays positive as he contributes towards paying the gas bill, by placing money down on top of the fridge. As Hubert is referring to his brother, who is in prison, we are told that he has never passed an exam in his life, which indicates the idea that poverty has caused the majority of his family to have a lack of education. As Hubert moves into the living room, the mid-long shot that is used shows us the mies-en-scene of the sewing machine, which is later referred to as "cracked up". The fact that she has been unable to afford a new machine reflects the idea that they have been affected by poverty in a way that puts a barrier from being able to buy new household necessities. This idea can be reinforced by the black line that is directly centred within the shot, which separates the old household items from the empty area on the left hand side of the shot.
In a similar way, within "City Of God", directed by Fernando Meirelles, the attitudes to poverty can be shown through the use of mise-en-scene. As the film is spread over the space of approximately 3 decades, from the 60's to the late 80's, we can see how things have changed for the worse over time. At the beginning of the film, when we introduced to the characters in the 60's, the Mise-en-scene of the location depicts that the area is quite spacious and the fact that the characters are making the most out of the large area of land indicates the idea that they are happy with their environment. Even when it comes to the mise-en-scene of the clothing, we can see that although poverty runs throughout the City of God, they don't care about the lack of money to provide them with a better lifestyle.
As the film progresses, we are shown the same area of the City of God approximately 10 years later and how life has changed leading to a dramatic increase in poverty. The mise-en-scene of a horse on the streets has ben used to show how mistreated the City has become and how over time it has been abused by the economy as there are no places for animals to be placed, like a farm. The establishing shot showing the environment allows us to see how times have changed and how even though some areas have been developed, the city has become more compact, when compared to the establishing shot in the 60's. This shot from the 70's is similar to the way that favelas in Brazil look today and symbolises how nothing has changed. Additionally, the fact that we see many people walking about, not doing anything to better themselves and society is similar to the attitudes presented in La Haine as the characters in that film are also not doing anything. Whilst this shows the peoples lack of effort to get jobs, it also indicates the lack of opportunity for people and how the bad economy stops people from earning an adequate wage. Moreover, the difference in colour palette between the two time settings, from a golden tint to a more natural colour scheme, illustrates the fact that life has become more bleak due to lack of money, experiences and opportunities. This is similar to the bleak monochrome tonal palette in La Haine as the more natural colour palette enhances the verisimilitude of the situation.Furthermore, there is one particular scene in which we are shown the three main characters sitting around with a younger person being unproductive through an establishing shot; this lack of activities to do reflects the minimal development of The Projects and the poverty which has caused this. For example, in particular, the boy that is talking to Vinz is wasting his time when he could be working on improving his education. This causes repetition within generations as the young boy is more likely going to follow in Vinz's and even Hubert's footsteps. The use of time jumps in this scene further strengthens the fact that they pass time by being unproductive and talking about aspects inline that won't benefit them in the future. An example of this is shown through the use of mise-en-scene of Said throwing pebbles and rocks at his friends, which portrays them as childish as these actions are something a child would do, despite their mature ages.
Directly after the jump cut, an establishing shot is used to show the mies-en-scene of the location, which is a council estate that resembles a prison like location. The fact that they are stuck in this environment indicates the idea that they are unable to escape this poverty as they don't have a steady financial income, unlike the people who live in Paris. Shortly after Said runs off to the oncoming car, we are shown a close up of Hubert's feet and the mies-en-scene of needles, which are used for heroin. Heroin is a fairly cheap drug that is used to escape problems; the main problem that people in that neighbourhood want to escape from is the fact that there is nothing to do as The Projects have not been developed enough due to the amount of poverty in the area. The fact that the amount of poverty and limited opportunities lead to people using drugs creates a circular narrative as the more the drugs get used, the less likely The Projects are going to be developed. The idea of this circular motion is a common motif throughout the film, implying that everything that happens, will always occur again due to certain circumstances; in this case, poverty.
