Movie Analysis of Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 drama film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Simon Beaufoy. It stars Dev Patel as Jamal Malik, a young boy raised in poverty from the Mumbai slums, Freida Pinto as Latika, and Madhur Mittal as Salim K. Malik, Jamal’s older brother. In this film, 18-year-old Jamal Malik answers trivia questions on the Indian version of the show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”. During the show, the audience sees flashbacks on how he got on the show.

These movie has many complexing themes. One theme in this movie is prejudice. Prejudice is a preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or interaction. Jamal comes from one of the poorest areas in Mumbai India. In this area, poverty is very apparent. Jamal has not education, no family, and no way to eve support himself financially. When he first comes on the show, the host and the audience underestimate him because he has no education so they assume that there’s no way Jamal would be able to answer all the trivia questions correctly. The host flat out even called him a slumdog in front of everyone and on live TV. Because Jamal is from the slums, everyone thinks he is not important and his life doesn’t really have any value. Jamal was able to prove them all wrong when he answers all the questions correctly with events that occurred at different points in his lifetime. Of course, people begin to suspect that Jamal is cheating when he answers the questions right because how could a person with no education answer all these questions correctly? This common misconception that people who are poor are not smart and cannot make it for in life as rich and well-education and more fortunate people.

One symbol in Slumdog Millionaire is the color yellow. Yellow is probably the brightest color and can be seen from anywhere. It stands out very easily amongst crowds and can also represent caution as we see with traffic lights and road signs. It’s a very happy and can brighten any mood. When we relate the color yellow to Slumdog Millionaire almost everyone remembers that iconic scene of Latika standing at the train station and her golden yellow clothing shining through in the crowd of people. In India the color yellow has more symbolic associations than in the United States. Yellow is associated with healing, holiness, and just overall joy. When we see young Latika, she wears dull shades of yellow and she grew older her clothing becomes a brighter shade of yellow. Latika can be referred to as a ray of light that brings joy and happiness to Jamal’s life. She is easy to spot whenever Jamal wants to find her. Having Latika wear yellow clothing in the film is eye-catching when we spot Latika in a massive group of people.

The visuals of Slumdog Millionaire are filled with bursting colors, sounds, and culture. This film includes comedy, melodrama, drama, romance, and also explores issues from poverty to prejudice to social status and destiny. The film does not shy away from the harsh realities of the poverty in India by showing visuals of children begging on the streets and corrupt cops.

Overall, I thought Slumdog Millionaire was a really good film. Some parts were super annoying like that the way the movie ended after the beautiful love son of Jamal and Latika but i thought it was a good movie. I would definitely recommend to a friend who hasn’t seen it but who really has never seen Slumdog Millionaire. It’s an iconic movie with many complex layers. I give this film an 8/10.

Did you like this example?

684

36