The film genre of urban stories by nature features very unfortunate
characters and shines a light on the darker underbelly of certain
countries. In La Haine, Prinsessas and City of God the characters are situated in
poor rural areas which are infested with crime which results in the
characters being forced in to many situations which involve taking part
in crime. This could mean that they are victims of dominant social and
political means.
In La Haine there are many political issues that are apparent throughout the film some of these issues are shown in the opening scene of La Haine, the movie opens with real footage of Paris riots which set a negative violent tone for the rest of the movie. The movie is set inside the banlieues of Paris which have been built twenty miles out of paris and they almost seem as they were designed to keep the poorer population of paris out of the middle-class centre of the city. The banlieues are stereotyped in the media as places of urban deprivation, crime and drug use. In the banlieues slang French is used which is called verlan or 'back slang' it began in paris in the 1980's. In La Haine the majority of the characters do not have a single farther figure, this is a prominent theme for the urban stories sub genre and for many of the films we study. Said has a older brother which does count for a farther figure and you can notice how many of his actions and choices are very different to those of Hubert and Vinz's. Said is more moral than both of them and controlled which could be because he has a farther figure in the movie. This could mean that Vinz and Hubert may be victims to a social ideology.
In Princessas the ideology that Caye lives in a poor rural area is harder to identify this is because for the majority of the scenes of the film Caye is not at home. Although Caye does live in a set of building flats but in conflict of this Caye is saving up for plastic surgery as she states to Zulema in the movie. This could mean that Caye isn't that bad off with money and is only working as a prostitute for a limited time, as she also says in the movie that its just a 'temporary' job. A criticism of this being that typically in Urban stories the ideology is that most characters are never able to escape the harsh surroundings they are situated in. Furthermore a social issue which can be identified in Princessas is that of an ethnic conflict. In the hair salon scene you see the group of prostitutes inside the salon getting their hair styled whilst they all discuss the street walkers they can see outside the salon. The majority of the escorts outside the salon are illegal immigrants and come from African backgrounds. The girls inside the salon all criticise the immigrants stating that they are putting them out of work because they pay a lot cheaper for sex. The ethnic conflict between the two groups of women can say that the immigrants are victims of racism which is a social ideology, Additionally the idea that all characters in Urban stories are viewed as victims may not apply to all characters in Princessas, Caye is not necessarily a victim of political or social means - she has chosen to become a prostitute to help fund for her boob job and in scenes like the opening scene of the film in the hospital she is shown to be very much in control of her surroundings and in control of what happens in terms of how she works. This can be seen as she is very straight to the point with the young men in the beginning of the film and sets her own rules for them that they have to follow if she is to 'work' with them. This can also be countered that later in the film during the bathroom scene in the restaurant. A man forces her on her knees in the toilets after she refuses to have sex for money and states that she is no longer a 'whore'. Caye does give in to the man and gets paid for oral sex which shows she is a victim but this can also be linked to the ideology that no one can ever escape from their circumstances in an urban legend.
In City of God the film takes place in the favelas - the slums of Brazil this is noticeably very similar to the banlieues in La Haine as the favelas are placed on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro which like La Haine can be the idea that the favelas are placed on the outskirts of the city to keep them distanced from the middle-class city centre. In City of God a running theme throughout the movie is that romance never works out. This can be seen through many couples in the film examples being Benny and Angelica. The first couple we see in the film is Shaggy and Berenice, as we see them come up with the idea of escaping the slums by hijacking a mans car and forcing him to take them out with him the car breaks down and Shaggy is forced to push the car whilst the police end up shooting him dead in the process. You then see the car turn back into the favelas showing that Berenice was unable to escape aswell, this proves that Shaggy was indeed a victim in these circumstances. Later in the film another coupling forms between Benny and Angelica, just like Shaggy and Berenice they mirror the couple and try to leave the slums in search and a new life. But under the same circumstances Benny is shot dead at his leaving party. Prior to this scene Angelica makes a statement that is "This violence sucks" the contextual meaning of this can be that the violence in City of God constantly sucks the characters back in, there is no escape.
In conclusion to this all three movies Princessas, La Haine and City of God all have themes in common with each other. The idea that no one can ever leave an urban story and the ideology that they always take place in a poor rural areas - they show the underbelly of society. Although in Princessas Zulema was able to escape Spain she did so whilst contracting an illness from unprotected sex which means she may not have really escaped after all. In City of God only one character is actually able to escape the violent vortex and that is Clipper after his vision in the jungle of the bigger fish eating the smaller fish which contextually means that there is always someone bigger than you that will take your place, this can be proved from the last shot of City of God where the Runts walk away after killing Lil Ze.
