2How has your study of Slumdog Millionaire provided you with insight into the lives of people
who live elsewhere?
Slumdog millionaire by Danny Boyle, is a confronting film that allows a global audience to
develop a deeper, more complex understanding of life in india. The visual medium represents
viewers with a narrative, and scenes that remind us that many millions of people experience
terrible poverty, and that they are desperate and often disempowered. Yet, it also celebrates the
life and decisions of those in poverty, ultimately presenting an uplifting story about overcoming
trauma and deprivation.
Living in such absolute poverty is dehumanizing. There is no freedom or ability to determine
action for people for themselves. Extreme poverty and high levels of wealth side by side. In the
film it shows viewers that there is a sustained conflict over land use, housing and the classes in
Mumbai, india. The scene where the kids are running away from the police, shows us the
conditions of people that live in India. The kids are shown playing cricket on an airport runway,
while the police arrive on motorbikes with batons to beat the kids. In this scene a close up of
their bodies running was shown which highlights the chase scene showing the kids of Jamal's
class like him are used to this kind of treatment they are vulnerable to which shows that
everyday is hard for them. The fast cuts, unsteady camera and close up shots showed the
desperate situation they are in. Another scene of this idea was the birds eye view shot of the
slums in which people lived in. It demonstrates the rates of how cramped their housing is, the
patches of corrugated iron, in different colors and with very little space between them suggests
that we are reviewing poverty from the outside world, that we are drenched from. While India
has a large and growing middle class, their desire for better accommodation displaces slum
dwellers who have a little opportunity in life to make a living daily.
The flashbacks in the film show the confronting tantrum experienced by very young children.
Slumdog millionaire shows viewers the difficulties for people to escape poverty in India. Boyle
uses a scene where Jamal gets the final question right. The facial expressions show his relief in
answering the final question, smiling and chuckling to himself through a variety of cuts showing
audiences clapping and cheering. The sequence of shots showing the audience celebrating
suggests a collective joy at Jamal overcoming poverty. The scene where Jamal and Latika
reunite shows a rapid flashback of Jamal's life being used to show the difficult traumatic things
that he has experienced, but also shows the things that have shaped him throughout his life.
They have allowed him to become this young man on the very fame of the riches. Salim and
Jamal were able to escape as the violence displays around them dashing through the meele,
but their mother wsnt to lucky becasue the muslim people killed her. Therefore, Danny Boyle's
direction here is intense and chaotic, utilizing points through hand held camera shots and slow
motion sequences.
During the film Jamal affirms the knowledge of poor people and communities. The repetition of
the flashback where Jamal's mother is beaten on the head, shows the hatred and violence
experienced by muslims at times within India. The Hindu majority in India condores violence
against muslims in particular. Jamal joins the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,
showing stimulus diffusion in an American show crossing international borders and changing to
fit the culture of India. Many of the first questions show Jamal back to his slum in Mumbai where
he grew up. In the film it shows the camera shots over the slums, a very clear boundary is
shown between the poor and rich sections of the city. The settlements that Jamal grew up in
shows extreme poverty, where he has learned many answers, and the flashbacks that show
Jamal and his brother Malik, ran to the gangster who controlled their slums. This scene aresses
how the informal economy, such as drugs and other illegal things that take over the slums, is
due to a gangster controlling it rather than the government. From my perspective the life I live in
is very different to what Jamal goes through. He faces more difficult solutions yet he knows how
to cope with them. We all face hardships yet Jamal overcomes this by using his knowledge and
showing us the people and the communities going through hardships in his country.
Slumdog millionaire positions viewers to feel empathy for people like Jamal, who are poor and
looked down as ‘slumdogs’ by showing viers the extreme poverty and description, as well as
how people try to live normal lives, views more beyond the sterotypes.