‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is a 2008 British drama film centring on the journey of an 18-year-old Indian boy from the Juhu slums (located in Mumbai, India), called Jamal Malik. This film focuses on his success in winning 20 million rupees as a contestant on the Indian version of “Who wants to be a Millionaire? ” and the obstacles he faces throughout his journey growing up and whilst he is also a contestant on the famous show. A journey is a mental or physical trip that an individual embarks on, facing obstacles that may teach them new discovers, create new memories and even help with journeys that they may have in the nearby future.
Contrary to ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, this film tells a tale about the journey that the protagonist (Jamal Malik) faces alone, as a contestant on “Who wants to be a Millionaire? ” and also with his life growing up in the slums. It is a journey that leaves a profound effect on Jamal, both physically and mentally. The physical fragment of the journey includes his adventure in escaping the Juhu slums alongside his older brother, Selim after the Hindus attack his home and kill his mother, leaving him an orphan. This scene shows the audience of the cruel reality that ‘slumdogs’, especially children, have to face growing up.
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The news which comes in the national news paper that elderly parents are being harassed, neglected, and even thrown out of the home, makes a citizen of India shameful and sad. This country was renowned for its good treatment to elderly as well as to the young since ages. The reason was the profound ethical and religious teaching which was prevalent in this country from ages. India being a land of ...
The inner journey that the protagonist faces is the need to survive the show and the obstacles he is faces along with it. As the audience are introduced to the film in the first scene, they are asked how the protagonist is one question away from winning 20 million rupees and asking “How did he do it? ”, leaving answers such as “he cheated”, “he’s lucky” and “he’s a genius” in the same outline as it is on the famous game show. This shows the suspicion that is raised amongst the crowd and also the game show host, Prem Kumar, after he answers all the questions he is asked, correctly.
Since he is a ‘slumdog’, it was believed that he is an illiterate who had no sense of knowledge in answering any of the questions that were asked. Similarly to ‘The Journey’, the film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ shows the audience a set destination for the protagonist to portray the end of the journey. In this case, the set destination was the winning of the 20 millions rupees from the show as well as rescuing the love of his life, Latika, who is held hostage by a dangerous gangster boss. Danny Boyle’s film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ shows a wide range of techniques that help convey the idea of ‘The Journey’ throughout the entire film.
Most of these techniques help the audience understand the conflict between the protagonist (Jamal Malik) and the antagonist (Prem Kumar) that is ongoing in the film. Since Prem was the only slumdog in the history of the show to win the title of the prestigious game, he finds Jamal a threat and attempts to sabotage his winning streak by giving him the wrong answer of a question in the bathroom during the break. The techniques used to help the audience understand this ongoing conflict between the two characters includes cinematography, flashbacks, and music.
Cinematography helped the film leave a more cultural appeal and a better understanding of what growing up in the slums as an orphan was really like. The cinema shots that are used emphasise the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist. One example of this is the mid-shot shown in the scene where Jamal and Prem are focussing on one another as they sat on the seats with the consoles separating them. This depicts the rivalry between the two characters showing off two equal forces battling it out, one for love and the other for his reputation.
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The poem 'Telephone conversation' is staged by a black man who is looking for a flat but ends up phoning to a landlady who is racist but tries to be polite in finding out whether he is he is a dark or light one. When he first speaks to her he feels awkward as he feels he has to confess that he is African. Also I think he feels as though he has been in the same position before somewhere else and he ...
Another example of the shot Danny Boyle used in the film is the bird’s eye-view during the scene where both Jamal and Prem are about to enter the game show set, where the audience are able to see the seating arrangement for the crowd in the film incredibly similar to those we find the fighting stadium in coliseums. Contrary to cinematography, another technique used to outline the conflict is flashbacks; Boyle uses this specific technique throughout the film, to emphasise the back story of Jamal’s journey to get onto the famous game show in the first place.
This technique also appears every time a question is asked by the game show host, helping him achieve the correct answer. One example of this is when Jamal is asked who is on the American one hundred dollar bill; in this scene, Jamal meets his blind friend – who was with him during his time in an orphanage that he escaped from and was owned by an evil gangster boss – whilst searching for Latika. This particular flashback gives the audience an indication of Jamal’s determination in overcoming each and every one of the obstacles he faces as fate throws them in his path.
Music is emphasised a number of times in the film, helping create emotions and moods. One example of this, is the constant “tick, tocks” that are shown whenever the theme song of the game show is about to start, when Jamal answers a question correctly and even when he is thinking about the answer. The sound leaves tension hanging in the air, making the scene more dramatic then it appears and hence, making it seem more action-packed than usual.
The soundtrack that is played in the different flashbacks shown in the film emphasises the Indian culture and has a mix of the more westernised India. Contrary to ‘Highways to a War’, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ shows similar generalisations and characteristics of the characters that readers are able to see both in the film and in the text. One example of this is the profound effect that the journey Jamal embarks on, leaves him with and the effect that is left with Ken, Mike Langford’s brother, after his time in Vietnam as a soldier.
In a scene in the film where Jamal witnesses Selim murdering the gangster boss of the orphanage they escape from, we are able to relate that back to when Ken is ordered to kill the unarmed Japanese during the war, traumatising them both forever. The physical fragment of the journey in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ as told above, relates to Ken’s time in Vietnam as it involves the traumatisation of both characters after watching life-altering events unfold right before their eyes.
Seven Pounds Journey Essay
Introduction Before I begin, I just want to let you all know that I’m about to ruin an amazing film for you all. What is a journey? Journey serves as an effective metaphor because it can accurately portray many concepts from all walks of life without becoming vague. A metaphor of journey manifests both as a process that the protagonists experience, and as an objective that they strive to ...
In the film, the audience watches Jamal grow up, raising himself and teaching himself new skills; this can relate to Mike Langford, though not an orphan like Jamal in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, in the text it proclaims that his parents were far too busy to watch and help him grow into a young man as they had to work in order to survive but instead helped achieve a surrogate brother he could grow up with – in this case, Ray. Similarly in the film, Selim is the brother that helps him grow up and become independent in the ‘real’ world.
Later onwards, both characters Jamal and Mike Langford have to fend for themselves as they both lose contact with their brothers. The inner journey that the protagonist in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ has to face is the urge to survive and conquer all obstacles he faces in his journey. Contrary to ‘Highways to a War’, Mike Langford has to survive different cities and their cultures and conquer all obstacles that face him in his journey including getting wounded and becoming sick in a different country with little money to get help.
