In his film Slumdog Millionaire, director Danny Boyle presents the themes of destiny overcoming difficulty and love being unstoppable through the fictional story of Jamal Malik. After making it further in India’s version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?” than might be expected of someone with his humble background, Jamal is brutally tortured and interrogated by the police. In explaining how he knew the answers, the movie flashes back to important events in his childhood (such as the death of his mother) that engraved the correct answers into his memory. As we see his childhood, we become acquainted with his gangster brother Salim and the love of his life, Latika. Even though the three of them were separated, Jamal continues to look for Latika. By the end of the film, Jamal is able to overcome extremely difficult circumstances (torture, separation, gangsters…) and be re-united with Latika. At the end of the film, the idea of destiny is re-enforced by the answer “D) It is written” being given as the answer to how a slumdog could be so successful on a show like “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”
The universality of this film is present in both the themes of destiny overcoming difficulty and love being unstoppable. The idea of destiny, Fate, or Chance, is something that has been present in all cultures, even Judeo-Christian ones. Love is also a common topic of works that are considered literature. This film’s portrayal of these themes is exceptional. The use of flashbacks allows for a depth of story-telling beyond that of a typical two hour movie. While being fairly fast-paced, Slumdog Millionaire has the character depth of a miniseries. This effect fulfills the effective realization qualification for inclusion in my personal literary canon.
Police Inspector: Doctors...Lawyers...never get past 60 thousand rupees.He's won 10 million. What the h--- can a slumdog possibly know?
Jamal: The answers. I knew the answers.
Slumdog Millionaire fulfills the critical thinking, global perspectives, and Christian elements of the general education requirements. As we watch Jamal’s life unfold, we become acutely aware of the difficulties faced by the residents of India’s slums. This broadening of our perspectives requires us to think critically about matters such as social justice on an international level. The discussion of destiny in this movie is an interesting subject matter to approach from a Christian perspective. It leads us to consider matters such as free will and predestination. In requiring us to continue to think after viewing it, this film demonstrates its superior merit.
I chose this film for inclusion in my personal literary canon because of the impact it had on me when I first viewed it. When I watched it, the only frame of reference that I had for it was Hotel Rwanda (my standard for emotionally-affecting drama). However, its impact differed from that film because of while the genocide has ended in Rwanda, slums are an all-too common feature of major cities in developing nations. When I saw the slums of Slumdog Millionaire, I thought back to some of the major slums in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. When I saw a group of gangsters blinding children to increase their earnings while begging, I thought back to some horrible practices in West Africa. I recognized the contemporary realities depicted in this film in my own experiences and had a much stronger emotional response as a result.
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