Slumdog Millionaire

Danny Boyle, the director of Slumdog Millionaire movie, is captivating his movie as a riddle. The movie is centered on an Indian teen, Jamal Malik, he is uneducated and grows in the slums of Mumbai. Jamal participates in “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?” in its Indian version, and he is close to get the 20 Million rupee. He gets the attention from the police on suspicion of cheating. How does the little slum with low education know all the answers? Is he lucky? Genius? Or does he cheat?

In the movie, it shows Jamal flashbacks the events that happened in his life that had all the answers for the program’s questions. The movie focuses on the background scenes of Jamal that help him to be a Millionaire. This movie is so interesting; it has some drama and hilarious scenes and a bit of romance.

Nonetheless, Slumdog Millionaire clearly shows social class and class division. It is not only about the great music it has or the incredible views, but it indicates important sociological concepts about the class system. The American Dream ideology has a different meaning of what happens in the movie, the American dream ideology believes in the personal effort that achieves upward mobility. However, Jamal achieves social mobility but without any effort, he becomes a millionaire and moves up the social system because of the famous show.

The movie implies the moral consequences of poverty, as shown the police takes Jamal and is surrounded by questioners to admit his cheating. Jamal faces hard times due to the social and economic exclusion because he is born in the Lowbrow culture that associated with lower and working class. The movie shows a dialogue between the police inspectors who discuss the impossibility of what Jamal knows, they are certain that he cheats and can’t know the answers. The title of the movie itself  ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ contains a contrast within it, which provides a symbolic meaning of the content of the movie. Although he becomes a millionaire, he is still seen as on of the Mumbai’s slums, and one of the scenes in the movie shows how the upper class rejects the idea of a slum to be one of the Highbrow culture and to move up the class system, for example the broadcaster is in the wash room with Jamal, writes in the mirror the wrong answer for the 20 Million rupee question, he wants Jamal to lose the contest and go back from where he is, but Jamal chooses the other answer and he becomes a millionaire.

The film’s message is clear that everyone has a chance to be a ‘millionaire’ or to be in the elite class, even Indian slum can do it. But there is always social inequality in real life, as people don’t start from the same starting point to achieve social mobility.