In India, this is both a game and reality.
Yet India is also
home to 61
billionaires!
If income in India were distributed
completely equally, the entire nation
would still be living on less than half
the UK poverty line. That’s because
according to the Indian government,
anyone living on less than $0.53 a day
is considered to be living ‘under the
poverty line’. That’s 43% of the
population.
43% of Indian children are still
malnourished, and that is also a third
of the world’s total. Over 35% of
Indians are illiterate, and more than
20 million children are out of school.
One billion people or one third of the
world’s population is estimated to be
living in either slum or squatter
settlements
Squatter and slum settlements have
formed mainly because of the inability
of city governments to plan and
provide affordable housing for the
low-income segments of the urban
population.
In Mumbai, the Dharavi slum contains over a million people. As
many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre (0.4 hectares).
This is the setting for the film, Slumdog Millionaire.
It has been suggested that Dharavi is a
slum with a difference, it is a slum that is
hopeful.
Whether this is tru or not, the setting of
the slum does provide opportunity for
those who are willing to take advantage
of the conditions. A slum is an informal
settlement, meaning that it is not
officially recognised, meaning that the
usual rules and laws do not always apply.
In Slumdog Millionaire, which characters
use the slum as a place of opportunity?
1. Maman exploits the slum children and uses their hunger and
desperation to make money for himself.
2. Jahvid and Maman exploit Salim’s desire for wealth
3. Salim and Jamal steal and cheat tourists , confused by the
chaos in Mumbai, out of their money
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Capitalism is an economic system whereby there is a ‘free
market’ and anyone who has the means to create a business
to sell goods/services may do so and keep their profits. The
owners of these businesses are known as capitalists.
This then means that people who do not have the means to
have their own business, can earn money from the owner of
the business by selling their labour (their physical work) to the
owner for a wage. These people are known as the workers.
However the problem with this system is that quite often the
workers can never earn enough money to become a
capitalist themselves and remain dependent on the
capitalist.
Many theorists (such as Karl Marx)argue then, that the workers
are exploited by the more powerful capitalists.
On the other hand, a capitalist society allows there to be an
opportunity for anyone to become wealthy so long as they
can raise the money and are willing to take the risk in
creating their own business.
Wealthy nations such as the US, the UK
and Australia exploit the poorer nations
by buying their land or resources to
make money for themselves. E.g.
Wealthy Australian mining companies
setting up mines in Africa and using the
resources in Africa to make money.
 Or by setting up businesses in third world
nations to make use of the cheap
labour. E.g. ‘sweatshops’ or call centres.

Maman is a wealthy slum gangster who uses the desperation of slum
dwellers to his advantage. He offers slum children food and shelter in
exchange for their labour. (Much like the way capitalism works). The
children act as professional beggars and give the profits of their begging
to Maman.
Maman exploits their youth, innocence and desperation for food and
shelter. When Salim, Latika and Jamal arrive at the camp where Maman
keeps the children they are delighted and believe Maman to be a good
person, ‘The way he’s taking care of us, he must be a good man.’
Maman also gives Salim the idea
that he has to be cruel and
exploit others in order to be
successful, ‘You want the life of a
slumdog or the life of a man,
huh?’
When Maman offers Salim and Jamal the Coke
to entice them into following him it is symbolic
of the way Western Culture (lead by America)
has become the marker of success. Coca Cola
is an international symbol of American
capitalism.
One interpretation of this scene, is that Maman,
dressed in western style clothes, represents the
western world. Maman’s exploitation of the
slum children, then represents the way the
western world exploits third world countries
using them as a cheap source of labour.
Both Maman and Jahvid exploit Salim and use
Salim’s desire for wealth to make him their
subordinates.
As Jahvid's and Maman’s subordinate, Salim
terrorizes and intimidates others to make
money for Maman and Jahvid. Maman
recognises this potential in Salim and says to
his associate, ‘Punoose, I think you found your
dog.’ Salim acts likes Maman’s and Jahvid’s
dog by doing their every bidding, even if it
means betraying his own brother. Salim argues
he had to work for Jahvid after he killed
Maman, ‘Who else do you think would save us
from Maman’s guys?’ Salim is a slave to the
slum gangsters and a slave to his own greed.
Salim is
representative
of the way a
worker becomes
a slave in the
capitalist
economy.

In this scene, Salim and Jamal are seated on a building site
overlooking the industry taking place in Dharavi. The scene is
shot at a high angle and is a wide shot, emphasizing the
amount of industry in the scene below. The light source in this
scene comes from the streets below, which causes the figures
of Salim and Jamal to be shadowed outlines.
The light source coming from the streets below reflects
how the developing industry symbolises hope for the
end of poverty in India.
 Yet the fact that Jamal and Salim, two ‘slum boys’ are
in the shadows suggests that all this industry by the
Indian government will not change the lives of the
people living in the slums. It is a false hope/promise from
the wealthy government organisations.

In India, the call centre’s
allow big businesses to get
cheap labour to handle
customer enquiries.
Although the Indian
workers are being
exploited by the capitalist
system, it does provide
hope for many Indians.
1. In Slumdog Millionaire,
what role does the call
centre playin giving hope
to the characters in
Slumdog Millionaire?
Leads Jamal to find Latika and Salim.
Allows Jamal to become a contestant on
‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’.
 The knowledge Jamal picks up in the call
centre assists him in answering one of the
questions on the game show.
 The call centre leads him to reconnect with
his brother, Salim, which gives Salim the
opportunity to finally make a moral decision
and right his past wrongs. (Salim gives Latika
her freedom and Jamal his only love, by
sacrificing his own life.)
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In India, and in the film, everyone ‘wants to be a millionaire’. The
game is symbolic of how greed drives a society and divides a
society:
Mamman and Jahvid have turned to a life of crime in order to
become rich.
Salim is so desperate to be rich; he betrays his own brother. His
desire to ‘become a millionaire’ eventually leads to his death. The
final scene of him laying in a bath full of money symbolises how
greed can lead to immorality.
Ironically, Jamal is only character does not to be a millionaire; he is
only motivated by his love for Latika. Yet it is his desire for Latika that
allows him to become a millionaire.
Salim dies in a bathful of money. His greed and
desire to ‘become a millionaire’ ultimately leads
to his death. This represents how greed corrupts.
A bath is symbolic of cleanliness. Up until this
point in the film, Salim has been drivin by
greed (sin) to commit more sins. His final act of
murder cleanses his past sins. He kills Jahvid,
the cruel Dharavi gangster, and sacrifices his
own life, so that Jamal and Latika can be free.
Cultural Hegemony/Mass Culture
According to Karl Mark cultural hegemony describes a situation
where the ruling class’s values and attitudes dominate and are
accepted and adopted by the other classes as the ‘cultural
norm’. The ruling class’s values and attitudes are seen as the
most desirable.
Due to mass communication, such as film, the internet, music
and TV American culture is the most dominant culture in the
world. American values and attitudes have become the most
desirable and have been adopted by other nations.
In the film, Coke, the $100 bill and the gameshow represent the way American values and
attitudes have permeated Indian culture and
divided the society.
Many of the characters value wealth, power and
economic success through exploiting those
weaker than they (Javed, Salim and Maman)
Many of these same characters express greedy,
domineering and selfish attitudes.
These characters have developed these values
and attitudes due to the American cultural
hegemony that has been instilled in Indian
society through mass culture.
The soundtrack of Slumdog Millionaire features a song by MIA
called ‘Paper Planes’. The chorus of the song includes a gun and
cash register sound effect while the following words are sung:
‘All I wanna do is (BANG BANG BANG BANG!)
And (KKKAAAA CHING!)
And take your money’
The song is about the way people in the third world turn to a
gangster lifestyle to satisfy their desire to achieve the ‘American
Dream’. A dream that is set as the ideal through mass culture.