Themes of Slumdog Millionairre
What are the Major Story Theme(s) of Slumdog Millionaire?
The major themes of Slumdog Millionaire that can be seen through-out the movie was Prejudice, Poverty and Determination. According to Schaefer prejudice can be defined as “ a negative attitude toward and entire category of people, often an ethnic or racial minority group”. (Schaefer, 2008, p. 237). Prejudice happens when people have a false pre-conception about an individual or a group. It is seen throughout this movie and even in the title of the movie Slumdog. Jamal comes from a one of the poorest areas in India Mumbai. He has no education, no family and no means to support himself. His whole life he is categorized as a Slumdog because of his where he raised as a child. Coming from the Slums of Mumbai other Indians categorized Jamal as someone of no importance. As Jamal is being interrogated by the police inspector they wonder to themselves how can a Slumdog answer all those questions correctly. It seems that people of higher society such as doctors and lawyers have never gotten this far. The viewer is told in flask back sequences how through Jamal’s life experiences how he got the answer. Jamal because of his social-economic standing was thought to have cheated when he answered the questions correctly. It was believed that this lower class Indian (A Chia-wallah Slumdog”) should not have been able to answer such questions because they were not relevant to his world. He was from the streets of Mumbai. These questions were thought to only be able to correctly be answered by a better educated middle or upper class Indian. This was obvious by the way the game show host would talk down to Jamal and even refer to him as a Slumdog on national television. The game show host has an air of superiority and a condescending manor to Jamal. The theme of poverty is seen throughout this movie as the viewer is given a glimpse of the life that Jamal and his brother had to endure. The movie viewer
The major themes of Slumdog Millionaire that can be seen through-out the movie was Prejudice, Poverty and Determination. According to Schaefer prejudice can be defined as “ a negative attitude toward and entire category of people, often an ethnic or racial minority group”. (Schaefer, 2008, p. 237). Prejudice happens when people have a false pre-conception about an individual or a group. It is seen throughout this movie and even in the title of the movie Slumdog. Jamal comes from a one of the poorest areas in India Mumbai. He has no education, no family and no means to support himself. His whole life he is categorized as a Slumdog because of his where he raised as a child. Coming from the Slums of Mumbai other Indians categorized Jamal as someone of no importance. As Jamal is being interrogated by the police inspector they wonder to themselves how can a Slumdog answer all those questions correctly. It seems that people of higher society such as doctors and lawyers have never gotten this far. The viewer is told in flask back sequences how through Jamal’s life experiences how he got the answer. Jamal because of his social-economic standing was thought to have cheated when he answered the questions correctly. It was believed that this lower class Indian (A Chia-wallah Slumdog”) should not have been able to answer such questions because they were not relevant to his world. He was from the streets of Mumbai. These questions were thought to only be able to correctly be answered by a better educated middle or upper class Indian. This was obvious by the way the game show host would talk down to Jamal and even refer to him as a Slumdog on national television. The game show host has an air of superiority and a condescending manor to Jamal. The theme of poverty is seen throughout this movie as the viewer is given a glimpse of the life that Jamal and his brother had to endure. The movie viewer