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OCCIDENTAL OR ACCIDENTAL: The Westernisation of Slumdog Millionaire
By Malakai Hayes
Hailed as a cinematic triumph by the New York Film Academy, director Danny Boyle’s adaptation of novel Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup has been praised since its initial release in 2008. However, behind the cinematic shots and award-winning tracklist is a troubling portrayal of India. Boyle’s western-centric perspective allowed him to gloss over the importance of Indian language, the stereotypes of poverty, and perpetuate the tired rags-to-riches and American Dream tropes. Slumdog Millionaire is a subpar political statement when compared to other media centralising India, such as The God of Small Things. So, when all is said and done, is it still ethical to uphold this film as an Oscar-worthy masterpiece?
TAKING THE ‘AMERICAN DREAM’ TO INDIA
Boyle’s film is a feel-good flick which won eight Academy Awards and launched the career of star Dev Patel. However, the movie has been heavily criticised for portraying money as Jamal’s only lifeboat in an attempt to ‘Americanise’ India’s poverty. At the heart of this film is a reliance on the tired “rags to riches” narrative - the idea that someone can transcend the socioeconomic barriers by sheer individual effort. Jamal, who experiences flashbacks to remember the answers to each question on gameshow Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, is romanticised as India’s version of pursuing the American Dream. Jamal’s endless search for Latika as well as his troubling past establish the grounds for his success. The aspiration of the American Dream, however, has been debunked, even in the context of America itself. When this trope persists in the context of films such as Slumdog Millionaire, this unrealistic goal is exported to settings in which the act of moving ‘up the ladder’ financially is less likely than in the UK or America.
Picture Perfect: Jamal (left) and Prem (right) are pictured with Jamal’s winning cheque. He is positioned as an iconic representation of someone who has successfully moved through poverty.
“Films like Slumdog Millionaire offer immediate relief from the Western citizen’s anxiety of losing status, money and security”, says Dr Ellen Dengel-Janic (2009)
“Films like Slumdog Millionaire offer immediate relief from the Western citizen’s anxiety of losing status, money and security”, says Dr Ellen Dengel-Janic (2009)
Slumdog Millionaire’s troubling notion of social mobility through hard work is incorporated into the film’s entire premise. Even the conclusion of Latika and Jamal’s reunion isware due to Jamal’s unwavering commitment to escaping the slums for the greater good of their relationship. However, the issue with this plot point is exacerbated when compared to statistics on how Indian organisations feel a person’s background impacts their outcome. RTI International’s Indian Social Mobility Study showed that, out of 172 Social Sector Organisations, 88% felt that “where an individual lands up is dependent on his/her parents’ income levels”. This discrepancy in how Boyle’s film contextualises “Western neoliberal ideologies” as being true to a setting like India reveals a cultural dissonance which removes the nuance of historical, cultural and political factors within the Indian cycle of poverty.
ASSIMILATING LANGUAGE
English in Slumdog Millionaire dominates the screen significantly more of the screen time than any other language, despite the fact that India has around 22 different languages recognised in the Constitution of India. In a 2010 article on language awareness in film, Maya David and Caesar DeAlwis argue that traditionally, English has been used to associate a character with having “a better education and quality of life, given the economic opportunities that come with the ability to use language.” Some of the only times Hindi is used when Jamal is an adult is when he is being ridiculed by the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire with the term chaiwallah:
Prem: Chaiwallah! Well ladies and gentlemen, Jamal Malik garma garam chai dene walla from Mumbai, let’s play ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’
Prem: Chaiwallah! Well ladies and gentlemen, Jamal Malik garma garam chai dene walla from Mumbai, let’s play ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’
A phone which reads ‘unknown number calling’ in English at the story’s climax. While this appears only briefly, it is one of the more cinematic examples of English used in place of Hindi (1:41:06)
When Jamal is given the answer to his question by Prem on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire it is written in English, favouring the traditional ‘B.’ iconography over the Hindi letter बी (1:27:38). This choice is not needed, however, as captions could easily be utilised to signal to the reader what letter was drawn onto the mirror.
The action of using two types of language in dialogue, sometimes referred to as ‘code switching’, has been long critiqued for perpetuating the idea of assimilating cultures. This argument gives evidence towards David and DeAlwis’ idea of language being used to westernise Jamal’s character to make him more palatable for a non-Indian audience.
WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE… WHERE TO NEXT?
To truly understand how misleading Slumdog Millionaire is, contrast it with the older 1997 novel The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy: both have melodramatic qualities
and employ the denouncing of social injustices. Roy’s novel highlights the political qualities of India’s injustices and has been acclaimed for its portrayal of Naxalism, a quality unique to an entirely Indian perspective. When asked why she wrote such a political piece, Roy explained that she wanted to “stop [a story] being baby food, which can be easily consumed”.
So why did Boyle direct a film about India that seemed to misunderstand Indian culture, language and poverty? The answer to that question is simple: Boyle wanted to make India marketable to the west. Through occidentalising the lived experiences of the disadvantaged population in India, Boyle greatly misunderstands the cultural truths of India’s poverty line. However, Slumdog Millionaire is nearly 18 years old: the film has had predecessors which feature political themes, such as 2020’s Chhapaak, which features a similarly underprivileged protagonist overcoming hardship. The film was praised for its realism in covering a sensitive topic such as the Indian acid attacks and systemic injustices. As the new decade brings a reform in what a popular film looks like, realistic portrayals of complex ideas should become a trend that catches like wildfire.
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