City of God - Characters

Characters in City of God

1. The Characters

2. Lil dice/ lil ze Lil Ze /Lil Dice since a young age was always tempted by the power and thrill of firing a gun and the excitement of drugs and gangs. Lil Ze is shown as starting from the bottom and making his way up to the top of the drug trade to seek ultimate power. He does this by having no mercy for people standing in his way to gain wealth and power. The first key event we see this character in is the hotel scene where he has a gun and kills many innocent people then goes missing. This is the start of Lil Ze. We see this character die towards the end of the film as he is shot by ‘the next generation’ of little runts who he had originally gave guns too.

3. Lil DICE/Lil ZE Throughout, this character has always seen to be loyal to Bennie his childhood friend as Lil Ze’s overall plan is to seek power with him. He also is involved with the tender trio who almost take him under their wing to show him the ropes of crime and hold ups. A key scene that Lil Ze is involved in is the mass shooting scene at the end of the film. He is shown to be the leader of the gang as he faces of to the police and a rival gang. He shows no mercy throughout as he is finally arrested by the police after a long battle then killed by hoodlums after being released. This character connects to the central themes of poverty as he has grown up with nothing and has always had a real hunger to gain wealth and this has come through drugs. Also is he is connected to the themes of power and conflict as he is a leader of the top gang in the city of god and whenever he is also shown to be at the heart of violence whether it be him committed it or ordering someone else too.

4. Rocket Rockets story is very different to other characters as he does his best to avoid trouble to try and get out of the cycle of the gangs and drugs. He is shown from an early age as not following the pack as he does not want to turn out like his brother ‘Goose’ as he sees beyond the favela as he tries to seek a good life, with money, a career and safety. He does this as he is given a camera by his good friend Bennie and ends up working for a local newspaper taking vital shots of gangs in the favela.

5. Rocket This character has positive relationships with most characters as he is seen as the most likeable in the film. In particularly he is shown to have a strong relationship with Bennie who provides him with his first camera and the opportunity for him to do something positive with his life. He has a up and down relationship with Lil Ze as Lil Ze is jealous of the attention Bennie gives him but still gets him to take pictures of him and his gang to show to the media, so therefore helps to gain the gangs trust. A key scene for the character of Rocket is where he is trapped inbetween Lil Ze’s gang and the police in what turns out to be a shootout. He takes shelter and shows a lot of bravery to capture the scenes that are prevailed in front of him. He connects with central themes of poverty as he is shown to have nothing but grasps the opportunity to take up his dream of becoming a photographer when he is given a old camera.

6. Benny Benny is a well liked character throughout the film. He is a gang leader and top drug dealer but passes it down to Lil Ze as he intends to leave. He is well liked by Lil Ze so has the respect from most social groups in the favela. He is a very intelligent character as he falls in love with a character called Angelica who he tries to leave the city of god with but at his leaving party is unfortunately shot and killed. He helps to provide Rocket with a camera and see’s beyond life in the favela.

7. Benny He has good relationships with Lil Ze, Rocket and numerous other characters as he has grown up with them and has gained a lot of respect. The key scene that he is involved in is his leaving party which ends in him being shot. He is shown to bring together different social groups in celebrating him moving on which shows how much he is liked. He is killed accidently by a character called ‘ B lacky’ who was supposed to kill Lil Ze. This scene is important as it sparks the rage of Lil Ze against his rival gang. This character connects with central themes of power as he is a well respected gang leader and drug dealer. Also he connects with the theme of poverty as he comes from having nothing to gaining wealth through drugs to help provide for himself but also sees beyond the favela and strives to have a better life for himself and his girlfriend.

8. The tender trio The tender trio consist of the characters: Shaggy, Chipper and Goose. They are an untouchable trio who performed hold ups and crime in the earlier days. Each characters have different paths when the trio splits: Chipper is the lucky one as he turns to religion and we see no more of him in the film, Goose is killed by Lil Dice after trying to escape and Shaggy the gangs leader is killed by the Police as he tries to escape the city of god with his girlfriend as they tried to strive for a better life. The tender trio were a well known and respected gang in the community as their were no real rival gangs.

9. The tender trio They have a very close relationship with each other and take Lil Dice and Bennie under their wing to learn the trade of crime so that one day they can lead their own gang. A key scene within the film is when the gang hold up a gas truck and tell the local community to take the free gas for themselves. This shows that the tender trio mean well despite committing these type of crimes as they always think about their local community. This scene is important as it shows the difference between why gangs in the old days (for the community) commit crimes and why gangs do it now in the modern days (for power and wealth for themselves). This group of characters connect with the central themes of conflict as they are shown as having guns and using them in hold ups. Also another theme they connect with is power as at this time they were the most powerful people in the community and were very well respected by others.