Slumdog Millionaire (2008) directed by Danny Boyle, and City of God (2002) directed by Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund are both critically acclaimed films that have won multiple awards and changed the scope of the cinematic world. These films are similar in that they follow storylines set in incredibly poor areas of the world-the Juhu slums in Mumbai, and the housing projects outside Rio de Janeiro- and follow the protagonist’s escape from their desolate communities. However, while both films have garnered glowing reviews from audiences, they have also been criticized for the way the represent poverty, and the social problems which surround it. Though both protagonists are able to escape, neither of the films offer any real solutions to the problems their stories live in, and
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Jamal took a low paying job in an office making and delivering tea (10.35) to support himself, but was saved from absolute poverty by winning one million rupees on a gameshow. While Jamal spent the majority of his life on the run with no possessions working odd jobs to earn money for food, the story ultimately focuses on how he knew the answers to the game show that made him rich, and the love story between him and Latika. By shifting the focus of the story, and shooting the moments of poverty so beautifully, it romanticizes the idea of actually being poor, and creates a separation between the audience and the people who do live in difficult situations. This separation, and misrepresentation is dangerous, because to a western audience, the target audience for Slumdog Millionaire, it reinforces notions of orientalism and exocitices not only Indian culture, but poverty in itself. Without a real picture of what life looks like for the poor population in India, it is impossible for the people who have never seen this poverty first hand to relate, or
Jamal took a low paying job in an office making and delivering tea (10.35) to support himself, but was saved from absolute poverty by winning one million rupees on a gameshow. While Jamal spent the majority of his life on the run with no possessions working odd jobs to earn money for food, the story ultimately focuses on how he knew the answers to the game show that made him rich, and the love story between him and Latika. By shifting the focus of the story, and shooting the moments of poverty so beautifully, it romanticizes the idea of actually being poor, and creates a separation between the audience and the people who do live in difficult situations. This separation, and misrepresentation is dangerous, because to a western audience, the target audience for Slumdog Millionaire, it reinforces notions of orientalism and exocitices not only Indian culture, but poverty in itself. Without a real picture of what life looks like for the poor population in India, it is impossible for the people who have never seen this poverty first hand to relate, or