Culture Assignment 3

Favelas in Brazil

The favela is an incredible thing. It is a microcosm. It is a mechanism that some might call parasitic, but in its own way is self-sustaining, at the same. 

The favela is in a constant battle for equilibrium, on that is unreachable. As in the article and in the movie City of God, there is always another contender trying to take the throne, always another drug trafficker trying to expand what he already controls. It is this violence, this unquenchable thirst which exists by the drug traffickers in the City of God, which continues to perpetuate the nature of the favela itself.

As in the case of the film, drug traffickers, gang leaders, or other positions of power within a favela start with early recruitment. this early recruitment creates a visage for the children who are born and raised in these favelas, setting primarily one goal in their mind, "how can I be like them?". "I want to have power just like them". It is this allurement that creates a continuation, so that when it seems when some major change has occurred, when a key player in the favela has died, the change is not so major. There is another person ready to assume the role, and to continue pushing drugs and try to grow or expand their own empire. This dance is not disconnected from the role that these drug traffickers in the favelas have with local law enforcement.

Local law enforcement plays a dance with these drug traffickers that has continued just as long as these favelas have existed. The police attack, trying to create what they perceive as "order", or change from the outside, while the traffickers are prepared for any attack that the police might throw at them, with a whole network of sentries ready to sound their alarm should they see the police. In the article as well as in the movie, the idea of having police come in to change the behavior of the favelas is seen as positive by those outside of it, but rather it is merely bringing to light an ongoing dance that continues to exist between these two parties.

Although there might be by large chaos between the favelas and the state, in the city of God something rather interesting can be observed. In the film as well as in an interview by a man who calls a favela home, there is actually a sense of order. People help each other out and are mostly friendly with each other. The article and the film dabble in the idea that the favela works to protect its business interests, and this is axiomatically true. The favela wants to keep pushing its drugs and other illegal paraphernalia in order to keep money flowing through it.

I believe where this violence that occurs, this media coverage, the horror that people outside of the favela view the favela is merely an example of ideology that is lost in translation. The law enforcement wants to disrupt the ecosystem of the favela in order to get rid of the drugs with the belief that they can restore order if they eliminate the right people. The drug traffickers, those whose run the favela, want to push drugs so that they can have relative tranquility within their favela and so their society can continue happily. The means of what is "right" is definitely the focal point in terms of the ongoing battle that occurs between the two forces attempting to eradicate each other. 

Unsurprisingly in both the film as well as in the article, the idea of media coverage is very strong. Surprisingly, the traffickers of the favela though want this media coverage. They want the world to see them as a threat, to see that there is a struggle going on between the favela and the state. Not only does this help the gang leaders gain notoriety and establish control in their territory, but it helps to further preserve the divide that exists between the favela and the state. If the outside world sees the favela as a society of evil, nobody would want to go there, and by keeping people out, the favela can continue to operate as it does. This notion is how the favelas have survived.