la haine question (not finished)

6. explore how the stylistic choices contribute to the representation of the urban experience in the films you have studied for this topic

La Haine is a French film based in the location of a 'project', which is an estate where the working and underclass primarily live. The particular setting chosen helps to represent urban experience as rough, dirty and unkempt. This is because the mise-en-scene of the flat's interiors is very basic and hosts no luxuries. The audience are able to see the contrast between the urban settings to the more middle-class locations, particularly when Saiid goes to visit  his friend Asterix in a luxury flat in Paris. The audience are shown flats from the project, which have very plain furniture and are covered in posters of western idols, whereas Asterix's flat in Paris is far more minimalist and luxurious (minimalist interior design was the trend at the time).
Having the film predominantly based in a project provides a more truthful representation and a middle-class audience would be positioned in the setting. However, a project is quite a run-down and unappealing place to live, providing a truthful but negative representation. The purpose of the film is to show a real, raw image of what life is like for these men in the projects.
La Haine is, throughout the entire film, in black and white. This stylistic choice could have been used to represent a number of things: the divide between ethnicities, the divide between classes, to symbolise how similar people actually are when colour is removed, etc. Personally, I think that the film is in black and white to symbolise the differences between both classes and ethnicities as the group of protagonists are all minorities in ethnic or religious ways and are also the underclass, fighting against a predominantly white (though there are a few officers of different ethnicities) and middle class police force.
The choice of costumes within the film represent the urban experience significantly. Those who live in the projects are wearing very typical 90s streetwear, with brands from all over the world like Champion and Adidas. It could be argued that this fashion derives from western influences, however Adidas is German and Champion is French. Also, the style of tracksuits, with Vinz in particular, are quite eastern-european style, thus furthering the argument that it is not due to western influence. The choice of costumes represent urban style and experience by uniting the characters and making them all look similar. Dressing them in a particular way gives them a sort of uniform and allows the audience to indicate who is from the estate and who isn't. An example of this can be seen in the scene where they are all on the rooftop of the council building. There are a variety of brands, such as Saiid's brother wearing a Lacoste polo shirt and cardigan. Throughout the film, Vinz wears an Adidas jacket. The choice of costumes provide a typical and expected representation. The audience won't have been expecting the characters to be wearing suits or dressing middle-class. However, they are represented as united and together, considering how similarly they all dress.
In the film City of God, urban experiences are also represented in many different ways. The lighting of the setting is quite orange and similar to the golden hour photography style. This could perhaps simply be due to the fact that in Brazil it is constantly sunny, though it is not sunny and glowy as the film appears. Personally, I think the colour scheme of the film is similar to golden hour photography because it fits in with the 70s aesthetic. This stylistic choice could be done to