Similarities Between The City Of God And Slum Dog Millionaire
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This paper will discuss poverty and social problems as displayed in the two contrasting films City of God, set in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and Slum dog Millionaire set in Mumbai, India. It will look at how poverty has an impact on social problems, as well as the cultural issues and solutions that the films provide for such problems. The paper will look at the two films individually and then compare and contrast them. The City of God is based on a true story and is set in the area of Favela, which is considered the slums in Rio De Janeiro. The “shanty towns” were created by the Brazilian government to remove “undesirable” people from the coast which are heavy tourist areas. The problems within Favela included drugs, guns, corrupt police, extreme…show more content… Beginning in the 1960s with petty crimes it later escalates to more serious offenses through the decades through the murder, rape and the exchange from “weed” to cocaine. By the 1980s there was a full blown gang war. The film is hard and cruel to watch; the police are corrupt and the government does not intervene. The Favela poverty produces areas of out casted individuals who are merely trying to survive. To those that live there it seems very difficult to escape. For most of slum dwellers crime has become the normality, with gun shootings and employment with drug barons. The film is a good example of how without good education and government intervention a bad situation can become much…show more content… As someone who is from the slums the police and even the host of the show are convinced that he is cheating, which he is not. The reason that Jamal knows the answers is because of the situations he has faced throughout his life and the experience of living in the slums. There are two major aspects which relate to the film. This relates to the children within Mumbai who are born into poverty and the likelihood of them getting out is slim to none. Versus the people who live in the slums because of the circumstances they face. Jamal being born into poverty wanted to get out and do something better with his life. People who have the same drive as Jamal to leave would do anything to get to a “better world” rather than the world they live in now, by any means necessary. At the beginning of Slum Dog Millionaire it depicts Jamal being electrocuted by the police in Mumbai. This display of authority shows how the force is corrupt by working for the television program in belief that Jamal is cheating to win the game. Another incident occurs during a break of ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ when the presenter gives Jamal the answer to a question he does not know, however the answer is incorrect. Instead Jamal sticks to his gut feeling and chooses the opposite answer, which