How is the chicken used as a metaphor in the opening of City of God?

The opening of the City of God the genre is instantly established as an action crime drama. An extreme close up of someone sharpening a butchers knife against a flat surface of a rock which is a signifier of danger, along with the diegetic sound of the knifes impact against the rock which is alarming. We are then shown a quick shot of a chicken’s throat being cut instantly. Many cut in’s have been edited in of the chickens being plucked and prepared to be cooked. This allows the audience to understand exactly what is happening. Large quantities of shots have been added to give a fast paced and busy atmosphere, which makes me, feel wary.

We establish the movies genre when the fast paced chase scene begins. This chase scene includes most of the conventions associated with a high adrenalin chase scene in an action movie. However it’s not a person being chased, it is a chicken, which brings a humorous approach to the scene.

The chicken is used as a metaphor to describe mainly the position the boy is in but also the general way of living in the Brazilian slums including the high rate of gang crime. The chicken has escaped from being slaughtered for food however is spotted by a group of boys and men who hunt it down.

When the boy is standing face to face with the chicken that the group have been chasing the police turn up and the narrative starts.

“If you run away, they will get you. And if you stay, they’ll get you”

We come to understand that the boy can’t run or stay, because either way they’ll find him and this is exactly what position the chicken is in. The chicken who escaped was chased and shot at but if it didn’t escape it would also been killed. Both are trapped within the slums. The directors Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund decided to purposely use the chicken as a metaphor in this scene to foreshadow how what will happen later i the film. Metaphors are used to suggest a resemblance or to represent something.

Tracking for a camera shot has been used to follow the chicken when it’s escaping to give the audience a sense of rush as the camera follows the chicken but it is clear a tripod hasn’t been used. This gives the scene a natural and gritty effect. We feel start to feel sympathetic for the chicken because the camera is at the chicken level of perspective so we begin to understand it’s running for it’s life.

Close ups have been specifically used to outline characters expressions or emotions in great detail. For example a close up has been used in the shot of the leader of the gang. He has spotted the chicken escaping and orders the others to go after it. He starts laughing and we get a clear view of his horrible overbite teeth and we instantly have a bad feeling about this character because his laugh is almost evil. We get given various glimpses of the stages the chicken had to go through to free it’s foot from the string to escape. This shots illustrate how much the chicken resembles the desperation of a human being.

A bird’s eye view/close up shot has been used in the chase scene of the chicken frantically running from the gang. A bird’s eye view shot is mostly used to observe or in this case to classify the dominant character and the subservient character who is the chicken in this case. This illustrates the gang’s power and authority compared to the chicken.

Panning to the left is used once the gang appear down another alleyway in the slums. A gang and the demanding ringleader ambush the alleyway that was once quiet. This illustrates the chaos of the chicken’s escape, which has caused other residents in the slums to be pushed and threatened. This tells the audience how the gang members treat the other people living in the slums.

A long shot is used when the boy and his friend are walking before the gang arrives; this is used to establish the location.

The main extreme close ups of people dancing, preparing food and playing drums and other various instruments are exceptionally fast and we are only given glimpses of each shot. This creates uncertainty and confusion.

Sound has been used precisely within the opening sequence. The first image we see is of a butcher’s knife being sharpened, but a black screen also dominates the screen constantly, which creates suspense at this early stage. However we still hear chilling sound of the knife making contact with the rock which is diegetic.

The non-diegetic music stops once the chicken has escaped from the crowded groups of people and cuts to a close up of a pool of blood on a plate.

The chicken eventually realises it’s trapped again once the gang catch up. He is faced with the boy, Rocket. This shot is much like a comparison between the two but we come to realise that the Rocket can never be more dominant; the chicken and himself are equal.