Slumdog millionaire has been called poverty porn, derided for using the word dog in the title (a slur in Indian society) or apparently referring to slum dwellers as dogs. Court cases have been filed to try and force the film to be banned or to have its title changed. Social activist groups and political parties have organized protests and demonstrations for portraying the seedy underbelly of Asian society.
Slumdog has also received about a billion Oscars and at the least given two impoverished “slumdogs” a fighting chance for a meaningful life. Ironically, one of the central protests against the movie is that its storyline of a Slumdog winning a million Rupees and winning the heart of the woman he loves is too fantastical and demeans the struggle of the real slum dwellers. What part of sending the two real life Slumdog child actors to school and giving them a trust fund did you not understand? Hollywood made reality thus proving that the movie is not fantastical, just improbable.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately (depends on your point of view), all that is irrelevant. As in countless epic stories before it, Slumdog is not about places and events, it is not about Indian slums or jealous game show hosts, it’s about people.
Slumdog is about good people, bad people, selfish people, victimized people, compassionate people and people who hate. It is also about how people are born and how they change through life, about how they make decisions and how those choices affect themselves and those around them. At the end of the day Slumdog is about the power of hope, endurance and the triumph of compassion over cruelty.
So yes, to a leather couch sitting donut munching western audience, Slumdog is a kick in the ego that shocks you out of your privileged life and just for a few days makes you realize how lucky you are to live in a rich western society. And yes, to an India society that protects its pride and honor above and beyond reason, Slumdog is an insult, a deliberate slur against the nation of India. But both of these reactions just demonstrate that people would rather react to the most superficial and immediate content of the movie rather than see the underlying and somewhat deeper meaning.
So which Slumdog are you? Are you Jamal, who gives of himself without expecting anything in return, is compassionate and willing to follow his heart and his love? To have endurance and who is not willing to give up or compromise his values for personal gains? Who values friendships and relationships and the wellbeing of others? Or are you Jamal’s older brother who is self centered, willing to use others for his own gains. Willing to commit random violence without respect or conscience? Are you the blinded child singer who despite the violence committed against him is not bitter, who accepts without self pity what has been done to him and what he must do to survive? Are you the game show host who jealously and selfishly guards his reputation as the first and only Slumdog Millionaire, willing to cause others to fail to protect his pride and position? Are you the girl who is destined by her beauty and poverty to be one of life’s victims, used and controlled by those with power?
The characters in Slumdog represent the spectrum of behavior and emotion that is humanity. They are no different from thousands of similar movie characters in countless movies. Jamal could easily be Oliver Twist, Luke Skywalker or Frodo Baggins. Jamal’s brother is the Artful Dodger, Darth Vader or Sméagol, take your pick. Sadly almost everyone misses the point of these characters and how they relate to themselves. No one protested over the Star Wars movies because they happen in a galaxy “far far away”. But the underlying characters, the interplay of characters and the cataclysmic fight and victory of compassion over hatred is almost identical. Jamal’s brother gives in to hatred, lets aggression and anger make him strong, but in the end the unwavering example of compassion that Jamal represents brings him home and he is able to redeem himself at the cost of his own life. Close your eyes, listen to the final 15 minutes of The Return of the Jedi and you won’t be able to tell the difference between Slumdog and Star Wars.
So what’s all the fuss about? The fuss is because a Mumbai police officer who last week beat the crap out of a kid in jail doesn’t like looking at himself on the big screen. The fuss is about the businessman who tossed a coin at a blind singer and convinced himself that he had just done some charity. The fuss is about thousands of slum dwellers who feel hopeless, disenfranchised and forgotten while middle class India buys Toyotas. The fuss is about politicians who are more interested in nepotism than in working to improve the lives of those less fortunate than themselves. The fuss is because most of us realize that we fall far short of the character that Jamal portrays. The fuss is because we see an orphaned child, with no education, no guidance and no chance in life portray more selflessness, kindness and compassion that we ever have despite our privileged upbringing.
The fuss is because the movie embarrasses us!
But it’s easier to react with ego and pride. To call it poverty porn or an insult to Indian society than to look at ourselves with any sort of honesty. Isn’t it?
well said. we’re very lucky to be in malaysia!
thats just it everyone loves the underdog…its about the little guy..is why it apeals to everyone.
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