In the Jose Padilha’s (2002) Bus 174, a symptom of a greater social problem is depicted. This is a documentary with real footage of a bus hijacking in Rio de Janeiro in 2000.
Bus 174 is told from a retrospective point of view. It starts with the bus hijacking but then goes back into Sandro’s life and Brazil’s social context to explain not only what led to the event, but also Brazil’s situation and why this is a symptom of a more important problem. The film gives the story of Sandro do Nascimento and explains how he holds a bus hostage on June 12, 2000 ending in the loss of his life and one hostage, Geisa. As a boy Sandro witnesses the violent murder of his mother and runs away to become a street kid. This is something extremely common in Brazil. He grows up in the streets and makes a living by steeling. He is caught and sent to jail multiple times. Along with the police reports depicted in the film, there is also mention of his psychological profile. He is said to be angry with society, though not particularly aggressive and always mentions the death of his mother. Another major event takes place in Rio de Janeiro, affecting Sandro directly. In 1993 the Church of La Candelaria would allow street children to seek refuge and sleep outside its doors. The nuns supplied blankets and pillows for the children. After a run-in with police, some of the children were followed back to the church. After dusk these police officers seek revenge on the children by opening fire on them. This event is known as the massacre of La Candelaria; no police investigation, no one found guilty. Some people didn’t care.
Homeless children in Brazil often sniff glue and consume cocaine not only for recreational purposes, but also to suppress hunger pains. They would often be assaulted by strangers as they slept on the streets. In the film a boy says that he always made sure to cover his head while sleeping because often people would drop heavy rocks on the unsuspecting victims, scattering the brains all over the pavement.
As Sandro grows up he continues to commit small crimes, consume cocaine, glue and other drugs and finds refuge with an older woman who treats him like a son. The jails he goes to, and eventually escapes out of, are those of a horror film. These jails house underage offenders and are shown as primitive holding cells and violent guards. He finds himself on a bus in morning rush hour in front of the Jardim Botanico in Rio and holds it hostage. The reasons are unknown and the film goes into his background to find a reason. From the testimony given by the hostages and previous acquaintances of Sandro his motive was not to kill, it was an act out of desperation and drug consumption. He uses the overwhelming media coverage to voice the complaints of his life, including the Candelaria massacre as well as the pitfalls of being a street kid in Rio de Janeiro. He forms a strange relationship with the women he held hostage and asked them to act scared as to help him save himself. As he shot one of the hostages to continue threatening police, he asked her to scream out because the bullet would not hit her. This in fact was what happened. As he tries to get off the bus, he uses on of his hostages Geisa as a shield. This results in her death. We find out at the end of the film that as an officer attempts to shoot Sandro, he misses and shoots Geisa in the face, this is followed by three shots by Sandro in her back. He is then captured, taken into custody in a police vehicle and suffocated to death by the arresting officers. The officers were charged with murder but found not guilty by a jury of their peers.
As we can only cringe at the story major themes of social problems are tackled by the narrative. They not only talk about Sandro’s life but also mention how Brazil views its street kids. Street children are ignored in the streets of Rio de Janeiro and are seen as the trash of society. They are hungry for recognition and social existence. Sandro becomes an outcry from the kids on the street living in a world of violence, racism that have become a stigma and are viewed as the garbage of society. Another theme tackled by the narrative is the lack of preparedness of the police. The film mentions all of the mistakes the police made in this case. They cordon off the area and the media was as close as could be to the bus, they do not take many opportunities the shoot the hijacker with a sniper, and they do not neutralize the situation. Not to mention they shot and killed a hostage and suffocated the perpetrator while in custody. This is contrasted with the opinions of the Rio SWAT team’s opinion. They speak of lack of police training as well as that they see their duty is to kill and arrest criminals. They also mention that to be a policeman is seen as the last option one has for a job and is not socially desired. One of the interviewees says that policemen are just as filled with hatred and violence as the street kids, except they have power and weapons.
Here are some statistics and details on social context.
Brazil started slave trade in 1550 and lasted until 1888, bringing in more than 4 million slaves to Brazil. This totaled 35.4% of the slaves traded in the Atlantic slave trade. To put this in perspective the United States lasted from 1619 to 1860 and comprised 4.4% of the Atlantic slave trade totaling at around 500,000 slaves. (http://africanhistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa080601a.htm).
Brazil ranks among the world’s highest nations in the Gini coefficient index of inequality assessment. Poverty in Brazil is most visually represented by the various favelas, slums in the country’s metropolitan areas and remote upcountry regions that suffer with economic underdevelopment and below-par standards of living. These are some of the current social issues:
- Low minimum wage
- Inefficient pension system
- Poor health services
- Poor social security services
- High level of violent crimes
- Income inequality
- High illiteracy rate
- Difference on life expectancy
The reason why these statistics are relevant is because the prevalence of racism and violence in Brazil seems higher than in the US and therefore social problems seem much more severe. What do you think are some of the symptoms of racism and social displacement of the US? Do you think these problems are decreasing or increasing?
- by Ikira
