City of God: Difference between revisions

{{work|wppage=City of God (2002 film)}}

* [[All Girls Want Bad Boys]]: Subverted. Angélica *does* go for gangster Bené over nice guy Buscapé, but not because she wants a bad boy - as gangsters in the film go, Bené's a relatively benign one, and Angélica asks him to give up the gangster lifestyle soon after they've gotten together. The same is true of Cabeleira's (Shaggy) girlfriend in the opening section. Zé, meanwhile, is unable to get sex without paying for it or forcing himself on a woman, despite being as bad as bad boys get (and getting plenty of respect for it from other gangsters).

* [[Anti-Villain]]: Mané Galinha (Knockout Ned), arguably to the point of scarcely being a villain at all.

* [[Beauty Equals Goodness]]: Deconstructed. As Buscapé puts: Zé is ugly and Mané Galinha (Knockout Ned) is handsome. However, as the latter becomes more and more [[He Who Fights Monsters]], the line between Good and Evil becomes a little blurred.

* [[Bittersweet Ending]]: {{spoiler|There is a variation of this. Zé is dead. Buscapé is alive, well and manages to become a photographer. However, most of the people who also deserve some sort of punishment are left on the run, Cidade de Deus is still a wretched hive that it will be the field of another even more terrible gang war. Oh, and Mané Galinha and Bené, the only sympathetic gangsters, are dead as well.}}.

* [[Break the Cutie]]: Happens to Mané Galinha (Knockout Ned).

* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: Zé {{spoiler|received a necklace when he "became a man". He was told not to wear it when having sex, or he would die. Much later, it is his rape of Mané Galinha (Knockout Ned)'s girlfriend, while he wore the necklace, that put him in the situation that led to his death.}}.

* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: Mané Galinha (Knockout Ned) first appears as a very friendly guy who works on a bus and reveals through conversation that he was a former member of the Brazilian Special Operations Brigade, and ridiculously overqualified to kick the ass of anyone who tries to screw with him. {{spoiler|He later becomes one of the movie's focal characters and a main villain.}}. Buscapé does state that Mané's story will come later, but then he says that about everything in the film, so it still fits the trope.

** Also {{spoiler|KnockoutMané NedGalinha's killer, a young boy whose father was shot by Knockout NedMané during a robbery.}}.

* [[Children Are Innocent]]: Brutally averted all the way to hell. Lil' Zé (called Dadinho at the time) goes on a senseless killing spree in a [[Love Hotels|whorehouse/motel]] when he is only 12 years old. At the very end of the film, Lil' Zé {{spoiler|gets his well-deserved [[Karmic Death]] at the hands of The Runts (''Caixa Baixa''), a group of even younger kids whom he bullied}}.

* [[Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!]]: Subverted/deconstructed in the case of Zé Pequeno and his gang, who become (relatively) rich and respected via their lifestyle, but between trying to extend their power and fighting off would-be rivals don't have time to enjoy it. Averted in the case of Bené and Cabeleira (Shaggy), who realize the lifestyle is brutal and dangerous and try to get out as soon as they have a chance.

* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: The reason why Mané Galinha (Knockout Ned) becomes a [[Fallen Hero]]. Look above at the [[Complete Monster]] entry.

* [[Everything's Better with Chickens]]: The chicken chased around in the film's opening /{{spoiler|/ending}} even got in [http://nohaybanda.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/cidade.jpg the poster].

* [[Fallen Hero]]: Mané Galinha (Knockout Ned), to the point of becoming an antagonist.

* [[He Who Fights Monsters]]: Mané Galinha (Knockout Ned)'s campaign of guerrilla justice against the street gang responsible for the rape and murder of his girlfriend slowly turns him into exactly the type of person he had been hunting.

* [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope]]: As above, Mané Galinha (Knockout Ned) originally insists on a [[Thou Shalt Not Kill]] rule during robberies, but after Carrot (Cenoura) saves his life by shooting a guard, the exception becomes the rule.

* [[Karmic Death]]: {{spoiler|Mané Galinha (Knockout Ned), Neguinho (Blacky), and Zé.}}.

* [[Pet the Dog]]: The only good thing about Li'l Zé is that he actually gives a rat's ass about his friend Bené. He gives Buscapé the camera because Bené would have wanted it. And he leaves Carrot (Cenoura) alone because he's friends with Bené. Doesn't make him any less of a monster.

* [[Retirony]]: Bené is {{spoiler|shot dead at his going-away party just before he gets out of the gangster life. And the shooter wasn't even trying to shoot him.}}.

* [[Sean Connery Is About to Shoot You]]: [http://spa.fotolog.com/photo/10/40/65/dadinho/1220786320653_f.jpg Lil' DiceDadinho]{{Dead link}} in the poster. [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/10/CidadedeDeus.jpg His entire gang] in this one.

* [[Sex as Rite-Ofof-Passage]]: Buscapé .

** Buscapé (Firecracker) to Rocket.

*** Zé Pequeno ("Little José") to Lil' Zé.

*** Dadinho ("Eddie") to Lil' Dice (which is also a direct translation).

** Bené to Benny (direct translation).

** Cenoura to Carrot (direct translation).

** Mané Galinha ("Chicken Manny") to Knockout Ned (Aa [[Pragmatic Adaptation]], since "chicken" means "coward" in English.).

** Cabeleira ("Hairy") to Shaggy (also [[Pragmatic Adaptation]], retaining the original sexual overtones).

** Marreco ("Duck") to Goose.

** Alicate ("Pliers") to Clipper.

** Barbantinho ("Beardy") to Stringy.

** Filé-com-Fritas to Steak-With-Fries (direct translation).

** Neguinho to Blacky (direct translation).

** Tio Sam to Uncle Sam (direct translation).

* [[Troubling Unchildlike Behavior]]: Dadinho (Lil' Dice) is merely the most extreme example.

* [[Villainous BSOD]]: Mané (Ned) experiences this when he encounters the child of a man he murdered in Little Ze's gang. Which makes his death kind of tragic.

* [[What Measure Is a Mook?]]: Subverted, since the mook's son {{spoiler|avenges his father, killing Mané Galinha (Knockout Ned)}}.