City of God (Cidade de Deus) An Analysis Essay Example

City of God (Cidade de Deus): An Analysis Paper Thesis: Powerful and gripping it may be, but ultimately Cidade de Deus is a film of despair, offering a one-dimensional view of urban culture in a Brazil where social divisions appear too wide to bridge, and where millions are too brutalized by violence and poverty to contribute to any process of change. City of God (Cidade de Deus) is a brilliant piece of film making. The reality with which brutality and violence is presented to the audience alongside the circumstances of their happening is of highest artistic merit. Yet, in spite of all its cinematic accomplishments, the movie’s utility as an agent of social change is very limited indeed. It is this assertion that would serve as the thesis for this paper. The authenticity for the film and its narrative comes from the fact that it was based on a real shanty town in a corner of Rio de Janeiro. It captures the lives of its inhabitants across three generations in one of the most dangerous places that the civilized world had seen. Consistent with its gangster theme, the movie depicts â€Å"rise and fall of petty empires, the brief supernova of gangster superstardom, the overturning of an older order by a yet meaner, more ruthless younger one; these events are lit up, here and there, by little spurts of recognizable behaviour, even love†. In other words, it is a movie targeted to a young male audience. In doing so, the movie loses its appeal to a larger audience, thereby reducing a widespread social impact that is expected of all social documentaries (fictitious, re-enacted or conjured) (Corliss, 2003). We will write a custom essay sample on City of God (Cidade de Deus): An Analysis specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on City of God (Cidade de Deus): An Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on City of God (Cidade de Deus): An Analysis specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer That is not so say that the movie is an endorsement of nihilism. Beneath the surface of violence and distress is the finer expression of tragedy, which anchors disparate parts of the narrative. City of God is not just another run-of-mill gangster movie. The gangsters of Rio de Janeiro are unique. The director pays attention to detail in showing the idiosyncrasies of these gangsters. The portrayal of these youngsters comes across as genuine. For example they are shown to be â€Å"scruffy, dirty, scampering around on the dusty play-fields and squalid alleys, their body language expressing the weightlessness of their thin bones and scrawny chests, their clothes just any old rags, their feet bare or sporting flip-flops† (Corliss, 2003). This description will suit the young inhabitants of any urban slum, but what sets the youngsters of City of God apart is the fact that they carry guns. In a society where force is the only way of life and where â€Å"might is right† , a gun acts as a symbol of social status. The more sophisticated the machine, the more fear and awe that it elicits from the society (Corliss, 2003). The central character in the movie is that of Alexandre Rodrigues, who plays the role of â€Å"Rocket†, someone who does not fit into the gangster setup as he explores possible options for livelihood. The word â€Å"livelihood† may seem irrelevant to the lives of teenagers in civil societies but not quite in the City of God. The narrative essentially revolves around how Rocket grows up in the hostile environment of his slum and how he finally manages to break away (if only superficially) from the volatile conditions to a more organized one in the form of a professional photographer. Rocket might be the central character in the film, but to call him the protagonist would be inappropriate. In fact, the different contexts of his life were the real focal points of the story. Right from his early days with his brother (who was part of the notorious Tender Trio) to his acquaintance with the diabolical Li’l Dice, Rocket’s life is full of uncertainties and ri sks. Once again, while the film invokes disgust and outrage as a result of the inhuman behaviour of its characters, it fails to propose an alternative way of life. It is as if, violence and death are the â€Å"only† order of things in the impoverished and oppressed communities living in the City of God (The Economist, 2003). The evolution of Li’l Dice, from an aspiring gangster 10 years of age to the cold-blooded, ruthless and ambitious leader of the pack is shown with cinematic excellence. But, the qualities mentioned above were not acquired by Li’l Dice as a result of his experiences. Instead, a taste of what to come in the future was to be seen during his very first participation in a Tender Trio operation. After the Tender Trio leave the looted motel with the money, the young Li’l Dice satiates his sinister longing to kill human beings by shooting the staff and clientele of the motel. This merciless and unnecessary killing of innocent people sets the theme for his subsequent adventures. But, as many critics have pointed out, it is difficult to fathom what the moral lessons from all these sequence of events. In defence of the director of the film, it is not his obligation to preach to his audience about what is right and wrong. On the other hand, making sense of the carnage induced by Li’l Dice and his accomplices remains a challenge to the audience. In this regard, it is difficult to conceive the movie’s contribution to positive social change (Publishers Weekly, 2006). As noted critic Wesley Morris points out, â€Å"there’s something distasteful in the rote way this film introduces us to two dozen hapless, heartless kids and doesn’t care enough to make us feel for them. It would rather doll up the slum and memorialize the trigger-happy thugs infesting it†. But its roots lie in the evolution of Fernando Meirelles as a director of feature films from his humble origins as an ad-filmmaker in his native Brazil(Schwarz, 2001). The characterization of Li’l Dice must have been the most challenging to director Meirelles. From his first victim in the form of Rocket’s brother to the later drug-dealing, megalomaniacal gang leader to his ruthless control of the place’s cartel a consistent and coherent picture of Li’l Dice emerges. Meirelles must be credited for his stellar role in bringing this challenging narrative to screen. All through Li’l Dice’s different adventures, the narrative alternates between the innocuous to the diabolical. For example, for every horrifying scene of Li’l dice’s atrocities, there’s a â€Å"touristic splendour† usually involving Rocket. Yet, if feature films have anything to do with inclusiveness, this â€Å"sweat and adrenaline infested machismo cocktail† has nothing to offer women audiences. Excluding nearly one half of potential audience makes City of God a niche movie, targeted to the young adult mal e age group. To this extent, the film does nothing to bridge existing inequalities between the genders in what is a male-dominated Brazilian society. The movie’s ineffectiveness in serving as an agent of changing social policies in Brazil is captured accurately in the following passage: â€Å"If there’s an indictment here, it never surfaces. Taken from a Paulo Lins novel and based on a true story (as the film is happy to boast at its conclusion), the film sensualizes the violence cycle and makes a fetish of poverty. What ought to be devastating and tragic about †City of God† is discomfiting in its offhandedness. This isn’t a movie; it’s a soulless pictorial.† (Schwarz, 2001) Another unusual aspect of the film is the way it demystifies the darker realities of Rio de Janeiro. For example, movies such as That Night in Rio that have achieved critical acclaim focus on the genteel aspects of life in the city as opposed to City of God that concentrates on the city’s underworld through out. There’s no equivalent film in the post Second World War period that depicts the lives of drug kingpins and their counterparts in such a electrifying way. In fact, the tempo for it is set right at the beginning scene and is maintained throughout. Director Meirelles employs subtlety as well as he shows examples of â€Å"young people managing to carve out successful careers†. But disappointingly, most of the rest of the film concerns â€Å"unbroken cycles of squalor†, making the social class divisions all the starker (Schwarz, 2001). Alongside the co-director Katia Lund, Meirelles goes to great lengths to keep the audience engrossed in the story. The narrator of the story, Rocket, appears in periodic interludes to inform the audience about the sequence to come later. The directors also employ the technique of repeating some important scenes that were left incomplete earlier. Hence, the sequences are not chronologically arranged but interwoven based on the context. By employing this device, the filmmakers take away the strain of watching a two hour long movie that has generous displays of violence. Also, by using this technique, the directors are able to show how â€Å"a perceived hero becomes a villain, and characters we assume are going to be around at the end suddenly exit the City of God† (Kavanagh, 2002). So much for the film’s technical merits, but in terms of its emphasis on providing a solution to the chaotic life of the City of God, it fails. For example, â€Å"If one of the moral responsibilities of the movies is to put you in places where you’d never go and live lives you’d never live, then â€Å"City of God† is great moviemaking. This one admits no other moral responsibilities. It merely gazes pitilessly at the real, and maybe that reality is too hard to take. It offers scant optimism to policymakers of any stripe. It advises liberals that social programs are pointless when applied to the violent vitality of the streets, and it advises conservatives that stern bromides about responsibility are as ineffective against the will to violence as a fistful of feathers. It says man is dark and doomed and stupid. But it also says he’s alive and kicking and magnificent.† (Kavanagh, 2002)

Alternative Sources of Energy as a Replacement of Oil

Alternative Sources of Energy as a Replacement of Oil Alternative Sources of Energy as a Replacement of Oil Modern society depends on electricity, which is the main type of available energy. Most of the electricity is generated using nonrenewable resources. Accessible oil and gas reserves are slightly higher than their current annual extraction. However, when comparing the figures related to the assessment of known reserves of most available fuels with the numbers of their current consumption, humanity can estimate the maximum time, for which these reserves may be sufficient. For oil, time is 65 years; for gas, it is 44 years; for coal, it is 320 years. In order to solve the energy problems by technical means, specialists offer two contrasting scenarios: the development of new techniques of energy production and the development of technology for energy efficiency. Thus, the development of new techniques of energy production using alternative sources of energy and the ability to replace oil and gas by them should be considered. Solar Energy Today, for the conversion of solar radiation into electrical energy, people have two possibilities: to use solar energy as a heat source to generate electricity by conventional means (for instance, using turbo) or directly convert solar energy into electricity in solar cells. The implementation of both options is still undeveloped. Solar energy is used for melting substances, heating, distillation of water, as well as heating after concentration by mirrors. As solar energy is distributed over a large area (in other words, has a low density), any system for the direct use of solar energy should have a collecting device (collector) with a sufficient surface. The simplest device of this kind is the flat-plate collector, a black stove, well insulated from the bottom. It is covered with glass or plastic that transmits light, but does not allow the infrared heat radiation. In the space, between the plate and black glass tube, through which water, oil, mercury, air, sulfur dioxide flow, are placed. Solar radiation penetrating through glass or plastic in the collector pipe is absorbed by the black stove and heat the working medium in the tubes. Thermal radiation cannot escape from the reservoir; therefore, the temperature in it is much higher (200-500 C pa) than the ambient air temperature. This reflects the so-called greenhouse effect. Ordinary garden greenhouses, in fact, are simple solar collectors. However, the farther away the equipment is from the tropics, the less effective the horizontal collector is, since turning it after the sun is too difficult and expensive. Therefore, these collectors are usually set at a certain optimum angle to the south. More difficult and expensive collector is a concave mirror, which focuses the incident radiation in a small volume around a certain geometric point - focus. The reflective surface of the mirror is made of metallized plastic or made up of many small plane mirrors attached to a large parabolic base. Due to the special mechanisms, this type of collector is constantly turned to the sun; thus, it can collect the largest possible amount of solar radiation. The temperature in the working space of mirror reaches 3000 C (Orloff, 2008). Arguments against the Use of Solar Energy Solar energy refers to the type of energy, which consumes a lot of material resources for production. Large-scale use of solar energy results in a substantial increase of demand of materials and, consequently, the labor force for the production of raw materials, enrichment, obtaining materials, manufacturing heliostats, collectors, other equipment, transportation. Calculations show that the production of 1 MWh of electricity per year would cost between 10 000 and 40 000 hours of human labor, comparing with the figure 200-500 000 hours in traditional energy sphere. Electricity produced by of the solar rays is much more expensive than the energy obtained by conventional methods. Biofuels Bioethanol is, in fact, a normal ethanol, which is produced by hydrolysis or fermentation of sugar-containing plants or straw and husks with subsequent distillation or purification. Biodiesel is a type of biofuel on the basis of vegetable or animal fats (oils), as well as the products of esterification, which are used in pure form or as various blends with diesel fuel. Any type of vegetable oil can be used for the production of biodiesel, but, as a rule, for these purposes specific oils are used such as canola (84%), sunflower (13%) and soybean (2%) oils. The main advantages of biodiesel are: Renewable energy sources; Preservation of natural resources; Can be used in conventional, unmodified diesel engines; Storage conditions are similar to conventional diesel fuel; The possibility of extending the life of diesel engines is higher than of fuel oil; The production and use of biodiesel have about 80% less carbon dioxide emissions, and almost 100% - sulfur dioxide (reducing pollution) (Brown, 2007). Moreover, the use of 5% bioethanol results in reduced carbon emissions by 3.5% and E85 (85% alcohol fuel) by 50%. In the biofuels, the presence of 15% ethanol reduces CO2 in the exhaust gas by 25%, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides - by 5-15%. In addition to the environmental benefits, the use of biofuels makes a considerable commercial value; General Motors, Ford and Daimler-Chrysler created hundreds of thousands vehicles, operating on a conventional gasoline, as well as on a gasoline mixed with ethanol. Oil companies are also looking for an alternative and increasingly conceive projects for the production of biofuels. Thus, this year known oil company Shell will produce ethanol with Brazil's Cosan, the largest exporter of sugar cane, and will invest in the project hundreds of millions of dollars (Brown, 2007). Wind Energy Resources of wind energy are more than a hundred times higher than the water energy of all the rivers of the world. Total wind energy potential of the Earth is 1200 TW. The average wind speed at a height of 20-30 m above the surface of the Earth should be large enough that the power of the air flow, passing through the properly oriented vertical section, reaches a value that is acceptable for conversion. Wind power stations are built mostly DC. Fantail drives the dynamo-electric generator, which also charges the parallel connected batteries. The battery pack is automatically connected to the generator at a time, when the voltage at its output terminals is greater than on the battery terminals and is also automatically turned off. Theoretically, coefficient of the efficiency of energy use of the air flow can be equal to 59.3%. In practice, the maximum coefficient of beneficial use of wind energy in the real wind turbine is about 50%. In addition, some of the energy of the air flow is lost in the conversion of mechanical energy into electrical energy, which is carried out with an efficiency of typically 75-95%. Taking into account all these factors, the specific electric power supplied by real wind power units, apparently, is 30-40% of the capacity of the air flow (Melis, 2001). The most crucial argument against this type of alternative energy is the high cost of a wind machine. Geothermal Energy Energy land or geothermal energy is based on the use of the natural heat of the earth. The upper part of the earth's crust is the thermal gradient, equal to 20-30 C per 1 km depth, and, according to White (1965), the amount of heat contained in the earth's crust to a depth of 10 km (excluding the surface temperature), is about 12,6*10 26 J. These resources are equivalent to the heat content of 4,6 1016 tons of coal, which is more than 70 thousand times greater than the heat content of technically and economically recoverable coal resources of the world. For electricity production in the fields of hot water, a method based on the use of the vapor formed by evaporation of hot liquid on the surface is used. This method uses the phenomenon that when the hot water under high pressure in wells goes from the pool to the surface, its pressure falls, and about 20% of the liquid boils and turns to steam. This vapor is separated from the water and sent to the turbine. Water coming out of the separator can be subjected to further processing, depending on its mineral composition. This water can be pumped back into the rocks at once, or if it is economically justified, with a preliminary extraction of its minerals (Orloff, 2008). Arguments against the Use of Geothermal Energy High prime cost, high cost of facilities for producing energy from geysers are the principal arguments against this type of alternative energy. Furthermore, obtaining geothermal energy directly from magma is not technically feasible. However, geothermal heat in the upper part of the crust (to a depth of 10 km) is too scattered to solve world's energy problems. Resources suitable for industrial use are separate fields of geothermal energy, focusing on accessible depth. They have a certain amount of heat, sufficient for their use for the production of electricity or heat. Technologies, needed to use energy of the hot dry rock, just begin to develop. Ocean Thermal Energy Last decade is characterized by certain success in the use of ocean thermal energy. Thus, stations for mini-OTEC (Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion) are created. For the first time in the history of technology, mini-OTEC system could give the external load utility power, at the same time covering its own needs. Experience gained in the operation of mini-OTEC, will faster enable to build a more powerful OTEC-1 and begin to design more powerful systems of this type. Arguments against are the technological complexity of implementing and high cost of the construction of such a facility (Horton, 2008). The Energy of the Tides For centuries, people have speculated on the cause of tides. Today, it is reliably known that this powerful natural phenomenon, a rhythmic movement of sea water, is caused by gravity of the Moon and the Sun. The maximum possible power from one tide to another can be expressed by the equation W=p*g*S*R2,where p is the density of water, g is the acceleration due to gravity, S is the area of the Tidal Basin, R is the difference in level at high tide. As it can be seen from the formula for tidal energy, some places are the most suitable on the coast, where the tides have large amplitude, while contour and coastal features can make a big closed "basins". Capacity of plants in some areas can reach 2-20 MW. First maritime tidal power station with capacity of 635 kW was built in 1913 in the Bay of Dee near Liverpool. In 1935, the building of a tidal power plant in the U.S. was begun. Americans dammed part of Passamakvodi Bay on the East Coast, spent $ 7 million, but the work was stopped. Argentine experts offered to use substantially high tidal waves in the Strait of Magellan, but the government did not approve the expensive project. Since 1967, at the mouth of the Rance River in France, at high tide of 13 meters, a tidal power station with the capacity of 240 thousand kW with an annual return 540 thousand kW has been working. Soviet engineer Bernstein developed a convenient way of blocks building on TPS, hauled afloat to the right places, and calculated the cost-effective procedure for the inclusion of TPS in the grid in the hours of their peak load by consumers (Horton, 2008). Arguments against this kind of alternative energy are inconvenience for the construction due to the lack of conditions (mismatch in seabed, etc.) and high cost of installation. The Energy of Sea Currents Inexhaustible supplies of the kinetic energy of ocean currents, accumulated in the oceans and seas, can be converted into the mechanical energy and electricity using turbines, immersed in water (like windmills, "immersed" in the atmosphere). One of the projects of waves using is based on the principle of an oscillating water column. In the gigantic "boxes" without a bottom and with holes at the top, water level rises and falls down under the influence of waves. The water column in the box acts like a piston: sucks air and forces it into the turbine blades. Currently, in some countries, and especially in England, an intensive work in terms of using of waves energy is being carried out. The British Isles have a very long coastline; in many places, the sea is stormy for a long time. Scientists estimate that 120 GW can be obtained up by the energy of the waves of the British territorial waters, which is twice more than the capacity of all power plants owned by the British Central Electri city Authority. Argument against this type of alternative energy is its low efficiency. One can expect to use only about 10% of the energy flow. There are also the technical difficulties of tools development: harmonization of inertia of turbine wheels with the amount of air in ducts in such a way that inertia keeps constant speed of turbine shafts in a wide range of conditions on the sea surface. Different types of alternative energy sources, their description "for" and arguments "against" their replacement of oil were considered. Nonetheless, it is also necessary to consider the reality (Zehner, 2012). The thing is that the current global financial system is totally dependent on the ever-increasing supply of oil and natural gas. Global financial and economic systems are built on the aspiration of the sustainable economic "growth". This growth of economic activity increases the amount of spent energy. At the moment, the global economy is able to perceive only fossil fuels (primarily oil and natural gas) as the form of energy, reserves of which are rapidly running out. A barrel of oil contains the energy equivalent of almost 25 thousand hours of human labor. Moreover, just one gallon of gasoline is the equivalent of 200-500 hours of human labor. Almost all of the work done in the world economy, such as all manufacturing, construction and transport, is done with energy, which is derived from fuel. In 2012, the production of one calorie of food, consumed in the United States, required ten calories of fossil fuel. 20% of the use of fuel resources in the U.S. is in the food chain, which means that their consumption of the food industry can compete with cars. Modern medicine, water and maintenance of the army are entirely based on oil and its chemical derivatives. In the U.S., the infrastructure of Internet supporting takes 10% of the produced energy. The dynamics of oil production is described by a Gaussian curve. An ever-increasing abundance of oil is on the upward slope of the curve; its increasing scarcity and high cost are on the downward. Conclusion Summarizing the above, alternative energy sources are a great option for development. However, the reality is that any source of alternative energy is able to cover the world's energy needs as it is 31 billion barrels a year, and it continues to grow. No source of alternative energy can produce energy without the cost of oil and gas for its production. None of them is cheap enough, clean (do not pollute the environment) and available in quantities of at least close to the immense volume of everyday consumption of oil and natural gas in the world. Discovering and extracting raw materials, such as silver, copper, platinum, uranium, which is necessary for the construction of solar panels and wind turbines, requires a huge amount of oil and other scarce resources. Oil is also needed for the development of alternative energy installations, distribution, support and their adaptation to the currently existing infrastructure. The reality is that it is preferred to invest world financial capi tal in military technology instead of investments in alternative energy sources, foreseeing future energy conflicts, namely the war for the remaining resources. The current system of market economy, the main purpose of which is to make more money and use more energy, will not allow the implementation of alternative energy sources, until reserves of oil and gas will end. As the exhaustion of oil and gas in the world's current economic model is inevitable, reserves of other forms of energy are not enough for a full-scale commercial operation, humanity is constrained to await for several depressive decades as long as the energy deficit will not be filled, and the world economic system will not be radically restructured.