Who Wants to be a Slumdog?

Although India is highly populated, the country has not been known as a country with a lot of technological advances. But as globalization is starting to take over the country, they are quickly becoming known as a country with a high economic rate. But through Danny Boyle’s film Slumdog Millionaire, India has been shown in a way that many people are not too happy about. Some are stating that even the film’s title shows little consideration for the country stating that the words, “slum” and “dog” are in the title. But people are praising the film for showing their beautiful landmarks in the film. Although the film Slumdog Millionaire expresses how globalization can have positive and negative impacts, the film illustrates how globalization has a negative impact in India and how westernization contributes to the exploitation of the country. 

            The use of the American brand Coke is portrayed in a negative way in the film. Maman lures the Salim, Jamal, and Latika using Coke and takes them to his orphanage type place. He turns the children into beggars and the man profits off the children. The American brand Coke is used as a way to grab the children, using something they love, and providing them with a place and then using them to profit off of.

            The whole film which revolves around the show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” also shows how globalization has a negative impact. While the show has been on air, everyone wants to be on the show. Everyone wants a chance at a million dollars and wants to have their 15 minutes of fame. An American show has a big impact on the people of India. While Jamal is working at a call center, he is asked to take over for a friend at an operation call desk so his friend can go watch “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” Everyone working there were all excited that the show was on and focused on the show more than their jobs. Also, on the show, they asked questions about American history and facts. One of the questions Jamal had to answer was, “Who is on the American $100 bill.” We can see that America has taken over and that globalization has impacted India. The film focuses on money, being successful, and ultimately winning the pretty girl which is technically the “American dream.” 

             The movie title has caused many to believe that it is an exploitation of the country. An article titled, “The Real Roots of the ‘Slumdog’ Protests” states, “Some Indians find the word ‘slumdog’ . . . to be insulting to slum-dwellers. More generally, the rags-to-riches romance has been called ‘poverty porn’ for the way it casts a glowing light on a very poor section of Mumbai society and promotes ‘slum tourism’” (Divakaruni). The title casts down upon the culture of India and how the film exhibits the slums of the country and exploits the poverty level that is currently inhibited by the people. Many who live in India have expressed strongly over the title “Slumdog” stating, that "Referring to people living in slums as dogs is a violation of human rights" (Weaver). Many feel strongly against just the title. They feel the title of the film is wrong and inhumane. Just the title has cause a backlash against the film, not for the movie itself but the title also.

 There is one scene in the film that really exploits the people of India. When Jamal takes an American couple on a “real” tour of India, showing the slums, the Americans’ Mercedes Benz gets taken apart by other children. When Jamal brings them back to the car, an Indian man that was with them and looks at the scene of the crime, quickly assumes the tour was a scam and starts beating Jamal. The Americans quickly stop the man from beating Jamal. Jamal says to them somewhere along the lines of “You are getting the real taste of India” which implies that in the slums, many children are getting beat by older adults. This exploits the country and their culture. The film implies that this is what the children do in India, scam Americans for money. But in that same scene, the woman says, “Here is a bit of America” and mouths the word “money” to her husband and hands Jamal American money.

Slumdog Millionaire is just a film directed by Danny Boyle, but the film also came with a few backlashes. The portrayal of the real slums of India, the word “slumdog” in the title, and the use of American products within the film all produced some sort of reaction from people. While globalization has been improving the economy for India, many are concerned that it is taking away from India’s culture and establishing something new. Many are not happy with the change of a new culture and are upset with the direction their country is headed.

Divakaruni, Chitra, Amresh Sinha, and Sadia Shepard. "The Real Roots of the 'Slumdog' Protests -        NYTimes.com." Room for Debate - NYTimes.com. 20 Feb. 2009. Web. 10 Dec. 2010. <http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/the-real-roots-of-the-slumdog-protests/>.

Weaver, Matthew. "Protests at Indian Cinemas over Slumdog Millionaire | World News |     Guardian.co.uk."
Latest News, Comment and Reviews from the Guardian | Guardian.co.uk. 27 Web. 10 Dec. 2010. 
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/27/riots-india-slumdog-millionaire>.

Final Blog!

So as the semester comes to an end, this is the last blog of the class! This class was very enjoyable. I loved the group projections, the presentations by groups, the Youtube clips and overall the dynamic of the class. I was introduced to more mythology which I was not introduced to before and I even created my own poetry. I'm sad to see this class end but I will walk away from this class having learned so much.

I loved all the world mythology presentations by all the groups. It was interesting to see how all the groups presented the myths with an activity. Probably the most memorable presentation came from the Jokester group. I meant some great people in my female divine group and my media literacy group also.

Media LIteracy

I think media literacy should be taught to all teachers. We live in an age where media technology has taken over and year after year, pen and paper, magazines, and newspapers are disappearing. Teaching media to teachers and students will benefit everyone. Teachers will benefit in a way that they can improve their lesson plans to revolve around media in order to grab the attention of students. We live in an era of facebook, google, youtube, and other social networks, that incorporating these types of media will allow students to be more focused and more interested in the topic. Students will benefit in a way that media technology can help them prepare for more social interaction and stay more communicative with others alike. Our group presentation was teaching teachers on how to film a video with the students describing their likes. It was an icebreaker video that will help the students to introduce themselves to the class. This will provide a closer bond among the students and will help the students open up to their classmates.

facebook? youtube? YES!

Social networking have made a BIG impact on our generation and society for the past couple of years. With the use of Facebook and Youtube, many have stopped the use printing networks such as newspapers and magazines. But the use of these social networks can help get in contact with old friends, stay in contact with new friends, or just meet new friends. I know Facebook helped me keep in contact with my friends that went away to college. Youtube (used in our class) is beneficial in that it provides supplementary material to our lesson. Youtube can be a great way to show information in video/picture form and providing a concise example of something you need to understand. Although media technology is taking over, we cannot forget about books. With technologies such as the iPad, or the Nook, paperbacked books are becoming less and less desirable. But for me, holding a book in my hand is more accessible because then I don't have to worry about charging my Nook or all the technological aspects to the device. 

Female Divine?

Our modern day female divine would be singers like Lady GaGa, Beyonce, Madonna, or political figures like Hilary Clinton. But my section of the presentation focused on the case for and case against female divine. Many people believe that there was no female divine and that people just confused the artifacts for men.  
Archaeologists ask, "Do large bellies and breasts symbolize pregnancy and lacation? and how can people who lived 20,000 years ago know what motherhood meant?" While these questions do seem sufficient, I do not agree. I believe that female divines were alive and that there is such a thing as a female divine. We see goddess such as Athena and Aphrodite who were powerful goddess. Powered with powerful men, they were also possessed with powers just as strong as the men were. When looking at figurines from the past, the possess woman-like body shapes and embody the female form. There will probably always be a debate on whether or not female divines existed but I believe they did.

Myth & Knowing

I actually wasn't exposed to myths until I entered college. I knew who Poseidon, Athena, Zeus, Aphrodite, and other popular mythical gods and goddess' were but I didn't really study or expose myself to mythology. But taking a Humanities course in college, I was exposed to Allegory of the Cave by Plato and that myth quickly became my favorite. It is an allegory of how humans are only subjected to what they perceive by sight which blinds us and holds us back sometimes. We don't really expose ourselves to the greater presence, only by what in shown in front of us. But the allegory also presents a scenario of what it would be like if humans were able to see beyond what is in front of them and explore the reality of the outside world. Myths are not my greatest forte along with poems but I will make an exception for Allegory of the Cave.

Poetry? No thank you

Poetry is not my work of choice. Shakespeare? Wordsworth? Whitman? no thank you. I prefer works of fiction where I can be sucked into a world full of imagination and excitement. Poetry has never been my forte and I definitely would not go out of my way to read poetry for fun. Writing two poems were hard especially since poetry is not something I like to read or write. Maybe I do not give poetry much credit but we all have our weaknesses and poetry is it. The only type of poetry I do enjoy is watching slam poetry especially Def Jam Poetry. But reading or writing poetry, I try to stay away from.