Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog millionaire was released in 2009 and is about the tv show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” the film is based in India and is about how one character who came from poverty manages to win the show however is accused of cheating, throughout this film there numerous representations of Indians shown.

The first representation shown is of India itself, India is shown to be very westernised by the fact that they have modernised and have programmes such as who wants to be a millionaire which was a hit show in the united kingdom. The role of some characters can be said to westernised, in the film there is a sense of gang culture when the main characters brother joins the gang and calls himself “ Gun Master G” this is typical of teenagers in the western culture by making nicknames for themselves and following gang culture.

Another clear representation is to with the Indian people themselves, in the film the Indians are portrayed to be second class under the British, in the film there is a scene where a female character asks her friends about “East enders” a hit British show showing that their lives are orientated by the British as they wish to follow their television. This idea is also reconfirmed when it shows the main character Jamal working as a customer service salesman selling phones to people in England. In one scene it shows a conversation between Jamal and a women in England and the way she asks so where are you from then, and how he lies by saying just down the road from you shows how the character is lying because he also believes that Indians and English are not on the same level. Another scene which also infers this ideology is when an American mans car had been vandalised and an Indian man beat up Jamal as he was the American couples tour and then the American couple say this is how we do in America shows that they are placing the Indians under the Americans.

Some of the stereotypes that British have are shown in the film, one stereotype of the Indians is that they are spiritual, this spiritual side of India is shown when they talk about the different Gods and religions in India. Another stereotype is to do with sex, Indians have often been associated with sex due the book of karma sutra and other factors but this side is also shown as there are scenes in which show prostitution which is allow showing this modern westernised culture.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/24/oscars-india-slumdog-millionaire-ian-jack

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/jan/18/slumdog-millionaire-british-asian-reaction