Slumdog millionaire is a British drama film released in 2008 and is adapted from the novel Q & A by Indian author Vikas Swarup exhibiting the story of Jamal Malik an 18 year old from the sprawling slums of Juhu in Mumbai. The movie’s main character is Jamal played by Dev Patel, it is filmed in India and directed by Danny Boyle. The film is written by Simon Beaufoy, produced by Christian Colson and Loveleen Tandan as the co-director. The film follow the story of Jamal Malik who is a contestant of the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ? The young Malik surprises the nation by being able to answer all the questions correctly. The contestant is accused of cheating on the show therefore he recounts his life story to the police to help them understand how he was able to answer all the questions correctly. The essay will analyze the film using a sociological perspective through the application of theoretical perspectives, sociological imagination and sociological concepts. I will endeavor to propose a research study based on the movie and also propose an alternative research method. I will conclude the essay by analyzing the social forces that were evident in shaping, guiding and influencing behavior in the film.
Section 1: Theoretical Perspective
Functionalism
The movie exhibits functionalism; this a theoretical perspective that explains the expectations of a society and the inabilities of the members of a particular society to stray away from expectations. The functionalist perspective is mainly credited to the works of Herbert Spencer and Auguste Comte who perceived the society as a kind of living organism that functions in the same way as an animal’s body (Henslin, 2018). The perspective theorizes that a society is a system of interlinked parts that collaborate in harmony to maintain balance and social equilibrium for the entire community. Emile Durkheim a sociologist also focused on the interconnectedness of society by emphasizing on how each branch of the society is influenced by others (Henslin, 2018). For instance, unequal distribution of resources in places like India might have resulted to the destitute conditions experienced by Jamal and his friends from the slums.
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Emile Durkheim a proponent of the functionalist theory believed that deviance is a crucial part of a successful society since it challenges the individuals’ existing views. Jamal and Salim the two brothers in the movie choose very different paths; while Jamal chooses the difficult path that eventually leads to distraction, Salim chooses the easier path and ended up battling with his demons. Deviance is evident in Salim’s behavior where he goes against the conventional expectations of the society. Sociologist Robert Merton, however differs from Durkheim’s idea in that he notes that access to socially accepted objectives takes on a key role in determining if a person conforms or deviated (Henslin, 2018). This conformity is evident when Jamal becomes a tea server instead of falling prey to the slums’ most sought after; although he has the socially acceptable goal of financial success he lacks the socially acceptable way of achieving that goal hence he ends up conforming to his situation. Javan and Maman become crime lords since they cannot achieve their goals through legitimate methods; instead they use criminal or deviant means (Colson & Boyle, 2008). Merton proposes that a function can either manifest or latent. An action that is meant to help some part of the system or society is a manifest function while on the other hand, people’s actions can have latent functions meaning that they have unintended consequences that help a system adjust (Henslin, 2018).
Symbolic interactionism
The main idea of symbolic interactionism is that the symbols to which meaning is attached to, are the main understanding to how we perceive the world and interact with one another. Symbolic interactionism mainly mirrors the micro sociological perspective while the other two perspectives are concerned with macro sociological perspective. The symbolic interactionism perspective was mainly influenced by the works of sociologists George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) and Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929) (Henslin, 2018) This perspective mainly emphasizes on the fact that human behavior is affected by definitions and meanings that are established and maintained through symbolic interaction with others. Symbolic interactionism is represented in the film Slumdog millionaire; it is especially evident when the policemen and producers view Jamal as a slum dog who is poor and uneducated and does not deserve to know all the answers to the questions (Colson & Boyle, 2008). Therefore they refused to accept that he had won the show, they only believed in his genuineness after the interrogation.
The symbolic interactionism perspective suggests that a sense of self is shaped by the social interactions in daily life. Human beings develop self-concept by observing how other interact with us and label us (Henslin, 2018). By observing how others perceive us, we see a reflection of ourselves. Jamal was perceived as a poor boy from the slum and that might have been the reason why he might have had a low opinion of himself, the external social and cultural forces negatively affected Jamal’s behavior leading to making the wrong decisions such as pickpocketing strangers and leading tourist vehicles to the dangerous parts of the city.
Section 2: Sociological Imagination
Sociological imagination is a concept in sociology that connects the personal and social lives of individuals. C. Wright Mills argues that individuals sometimes feel trapped by their problems or personal situations (Henslin, 2018). For instance, individuals have obligations to families, or work therefore actions are limited by the fear of other individuals’ perceptions. Individuals feel like they have to live lives in specific ways since the society imposes this upon us. Most societies have a tendency to perceive some lives in a negative manner such as being homeless, unemployed, addiction, incarceration or promiscuity- individuals often blame the individual for taking a path that deviates from normal. The Slumdog millionaire film depicts the life of Jamal Malik a young man who comes from the sprawling slums of Mumbai. The issues of wealth, poverty and social class are key to the narrative of the film, most of the characters in the film are tied to their social statuses. Jamal the poor boy from the slums is dismissed by the show’s producers and the hosts of the show as an individual from the lowest status in the society. The police inspector assumes that he is unintelligent and a liar due to his background. However it is quite evident throughout the film that his background does not define him, he is actually clever, resourceful and bears good intentions.
India is home to staggering poverty and excessive wealth. Through the story of Jamal, the viewer gets to see both sides of the coin, on one hand he embodies the vigor and grit of the nation’s poor who find a way to survive against all circumstances while on the other he represents the negative side of India where Jamal’s perception is tied to social status. In the face of incredible hardship, Jamal still has hope to dream big and attain greatness. The social and cultural presentations of women in the film shows that women are treated differently from men. Men and women are not equal in this society and they are inferior compared to men. Women are mostly objectified; this shows in the scenes where Jahved and Salim are sat and surrounded with women dancing (Colson & Boyle, 2008). In other instances, when the scenes are about Jamal and Salim mother’s murder the viewer’s only see seconds of the character and she is not even given a name. In this particular society portrayed in the film, women are objectified and inferior to men, this kind of treatment is evident throughout the film when Jamal is constantly trying to save her from danger like she is a vulnerable princess. Such scenes paint Latika as a damsel in distress and women need to be protected from the outside world.
Section 3: Sociological Concepts
The conflict theory is depicted in the film Slumdog millionaire. The conflict theory was suggested by Karl Max and suggests that the society is in a constant state of perpetual conflict due to the competition for limited resources (Henslin, 2018). The theory suggests that social order is maintained by domination and power instead of consensus and conformity. Max’s conflict theory emphasized on the conflict between two main classes. Each class includes a group of people bound by mutual interests and property ownership. The bourgeoisie represents the members of the society who hold a majority of wealth and the proletariat includes those considered to be working class or poor. The society in Slumdog Millionaire is divided into classes and one gets to see the world from a unique vantage point. Through Jamal’s point of view we get to see how stratified culture is in India. The film shows class conflict between the lower-class, upper-class with wealth and the underprivileged. In the particular society, having money might be the difference between living life in the slums and living in a high-rise apartment. A view from the slums in Slumdog Millionaire can show a foreground of high rise condos across the way. The protagonist Jamal and his brother Salim are orphaned by violent conflicts between Hindis and Muslims. In this particular scene, the two children ask for help from the police officers but they ignore them even with all the violence committed in front of them. That is just an example of how individuals of the lower class cannot rely on law enforcement. The producers and audiences of the show assume that Jamal is cheating since he is from the Slums; that incidence once again confirms that there is prejudice against individuals from a lower class since they had already formed an idea of how an individual from the slums should be.
The Feminist theory is a key concept within sociology that changes with assumptions, analytic perspectives and topical focus away from the male standpoint. Henslin (2018) examines gender stratification which is the female and males’ unequal access of resources, power and prestige. The main areas of focus in the feminist theory include discrimination and exclusion on the basis of gender, sex, objectification, economic inequality and gender stereotypes (Henslin, 2018). In Slumdog Millionaire the women are depicted as vulnerable victims who are objectified, degraded and forced to conform to conventional gender roles, limiting their abilities, strengths and most significantly saving them. On the other hand, the men are portrayed as strong, masculine and heroic. The feminist theory suggests that such actions towards women are mainly influenced by the patriarchy and Indian society. Latika the main female character in the film is depicted as weak and vulnerable, she always requires to be saved by the main character. Such scenes paint Latika as a damsel in distress and women need to be protected from the outside world. In other scenes, women are objectified where they are always dancing around seated men. This scene depicts women as items to be viewed rather than being heard.
The labelling theory stems out of the symbolic interactionism perspective, a school of thought based on the ideas of sociologists such as Charles Cooley and Howard Becker. Cooley suggested that the society makes us who we are. Our sense of self is established from the interaction with others. To explain this thought, Cooley coined the term looking-glass self (Henslin, 2018). The looking glass concept embodies the three concepts; how we appear to those around us, how we interpret other individuals’ reactions towards use and finally how we establish a sense of self-concept (Henslin, 2018). Most criminologists sought to answer the question of what makes some people deviant. The labelling theory recurs throughout the film when member of a higher social class created crime by labelling certain behaviors as inappropriate. This is evident in the scene where the producers and police officers label Jamal as a cheater since he comes from the slums. The theory focuses on the reactions of the members of the society to crime. As members of the society continue to treat certain individuals on the basis of labels the individual begins to accept this label. The negative labelling might have been the catalyst factor that pushed Salim to a life of crime, growing up in the slums most people considered them deviant therefore as he grew up he internalized and accepted this label. Individuals of a lower class were treated according to certain rules hence labelling them as outsiders.
Section 4: Research Methods
The society depicted in the film Slumdog Millionaire shows how social stratification can lead to dire consequences for the individual discriminated against. The social discrimination among different groups of people evident in this society led to grave consequences for the characters involved. My study is based around the hypothesis that there is a relationship between social class and crime and the reason for this is based on power and wealth. In this research study I will endeavor to understand how individuals subjected to social classification might be more likely to engage in crime. The method I will use to collect data is through questionnaires, this is a good choice because there are a number of questions to be answered. This method is also quite a cheap method to get information and it is to use for the participants. The second primary method of collecting data is interviews because it allows me to get in depth detailed answers from the respondents. I will ensure that the questions are neutral so that the respondents can express their own opinions. The questions will be open-ended meaning that the respondents can answer in their own words (Henslin, 2018). The sample for this study will be a random sample where everyone in the target population has a chance of being included in the study (Henslin, 2018). Secondary data sources utilized in the study will include textbooks and internet sources.
I will utilize the experimental research method in this research study. This method aims to measure concisely the effect which a variable has on another, aiming to establish cause and effect relationships between variables. I will perform a field experiment. After selecting a sample of subjects for the study I will identify and limit non experimental factors. The outcome of the research will be measured after analyzing the responses from the questionnaire and interviews. Some of the advantages of this method include the fact that the researcher has control over other variables, it can be combined with other research methods for concise results and can be used to determine what is best for the given population. Some of the disadvantages of this method is that it can be prone to bias and can produce artificial results. Some these disadvantages could be minimized if the researcher chooses to remain objective during the research process. I could also use social survey to conduct this research; that are typically structured questionnaires designed to collect information from a large number of people. This method will involve the researcher surveys that might take the form of a self-completion or structured interview. This method of research is cheap, convenient and has high representation. Some of the disadvantages of this method include inflexibility of design and it is not ideal for controversial issues. This method is quite similar to the one I chose therefore it would produce the results I had expected from the previous method.
Conclusion
Poverty is one of the social forces that influence the behaviors of characters in the film. The film depict how the rich and the poor live side by side and the extremity between the social classes. The bad choices made by characters like Salim, Jamal and Latika are evidence of what poverty can make people do. Salim joined the gang and actually rose to high ranks, while Latika became a prostitute all due to poverty and societal labelling. Social stratification is another social force that influenced and shaped the behaviors of certain individuals in the film. The fact that Jamal felt isolated from the other members of the society due to social stratification positively influenced his life to strive for more; that was probably the reason why Jamal felt determined enough to answer all the question on the show right. On the other hand, this social stratification might have negatively influenced the life of Salim where he felt like had to prove to others that he was tough by joining the gang. Learning sociological concepts/ theories and perspectives in class was fascinating but applying the knowledge to a movie review was very insightful, furthering my understanding.
References
Colson, C. (Producer) & Boyle, D. (Director). (2008). Slumdog Millionaire (Motion Picture). India & United States: Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Henslin, J.M. (2018). Essentials of Sociology: A down-to-Earth Approach. PEARSON.
