Anthropological Analysis: City Of God

Anthropology 120
Extra Credit: City of God Anthropological Analysis Understanding what being human means can be an infeasible concept to grasp. Through the vast diversity of ways that humans live, cultural anthropology attempts to apply its theories in order to achieve a better understanding of this notion. It is important to note that anthropology has established the fundamental belief that culture must be viewed under the terms of its own regulations. That is, anthropologists conducting research for the holistic comprehension of the human condition, within a sociocultural institution, use cultural relativism. Yet, even social institutions are complex because they are a product of multiple parts functioning together with the intent of
Cultural anthropologists can use theories such as functionalism, structural violence, sociology, gift exchange, and substantive economy to further understand these communities and suggest ideas for their improvement. For example, City of God depicts the structural violence that inhabits the slums because it is obviously a lower-class society, separate from urban Brazil. The fact that City of God is a town without many resources, such as paved roads or electricity, shows how political and economic forces have caused the poor people to relocate to a neglected area. This affects the population because they are divided from the rest and are forced to find other means for basic needs, such as food and money. A cultural anthropologist could suggest what is appropriate to do in order to eliminate the unnecessary structural violence that causes these marginalized groups to suffer from hunger, disease, and neglect. Additionally, the theory of gift exchange in the story of City of God, is one that may be observed by an anthropologist through the many interactions between the characters. One interaction is when both gangs supply the community’s volunteers with guns. Gift exchange theory would denote that people within cultures always give things based on self-interest. In this case, both gangs are trying to attain more defense in order to defeat the enemy. Even though it may seem Carrot and Lil Z are carelessly bestowing guns to random people, their true intentions are to expect that those receiving the guns will weaken the opposition’s power. Alternatively, this theory also claims that when a gift is refused, unsuccessful gift exchange is created. The consequences of the unacceptance of a gift divides people and aggravates conflict. This concept is portrayed when Lil Z offers to leave Carrot alone, only if he