Representation of Women in Slumdog Millionaire

The initial point of Latika in Slumdog millionaire is for the pleasure of men. She is constantly shot in POV through Jamals eyes which reinforce her role as props ‘Princess’ of the movie. As well as being shot in POV we tend to only ever be looking at her face (she is shot in close ups) forcing the audience to view her how Jamal does; like a goddess. In the beginning of the film when Jamal, salim and latika are still adolescents Latika is trained to become a prostitute and is raped by Salim however the audience is forced by the director to overlook this which could be seen as a commentary a women’s place in society in India.  An example of when Latika is treated as submissive is when jamal tracks Salim down and follows him to Javeds house in order to be reunited with latika. When Jamal first arrives at Javeds home there is a Long over shoulder shot whereby Latika is stood behind large Iron gates looking off into the distance, this can be seen as an intertextual reference to fairy tales such as Repunzile and snow white. She is never in our reach or Jamals reinforcing her as a reward to men, Latika clearly depends on men to save her. In this scene, when in the presence of Javed, Latika shrinks her body into itself and makes herself physically smaller, this is a visual signifier to how Latika views herself and is viewed as inferior to Javed who is superior. She adopts the characteristics of a stereotypical housewife whereby she is forced to cook/prepare food for Javed who believes she should conform to the ideology that a woman within Indian society should be to look after her husband. Say this when Jamal arrives at Javeds  Latika continuously asks him to leave to save himself which challenges this perception That she is a weak passive character because this shows bravery, potentially sacrificing herself for the safety of Jamal. This brave side of her is also shown when she meets Jamal at the train station escaping Javeds Home causing a role reversal which doesn’t last long when she is seized by her ‘owners’ minions and taken back as a prisoner to their marriage.

Genre: Romantic Drama

Although slumdog millionaire has many other scenes that depict more of a Dramatic side i(i.e the scenes of crime, violence etc) the over ridding genre is Romantic Drama which is portrayed through the iconography. Boyle uses a parallel narrative at the end of the film when Latika is running in order to be reunited with Jamal. This is mainly used in romantic films in order to raise the action codes of whether the couple will be together although the audience can probably guess the outcome. The second piece of iconography is how both times Jamal and Latika decide to be together they meet at a Train stations. A train station is a visual signifier that the two protagonists will be embarking on journeys together leading on to the next piece of iconography; the big kiss. The majority of romantic comedies romantic dramas and just aromatic film ends with this to signify to the audience that this is a happily ever after. The last piece of iconography used in the movie is the actual setting of Mumbai. Romantic films are usually set in big cities to empathise on the theme of destiny; this is the idea that if two people can find each other in such a large place and continue meeting it must be fate that they have met. At the beginning of the movie there is shot of Jamal and Salim running through the slums followed with an establishing birds eye view shot of the roofs. These two shots when combined make Jamal and Salim seem like ants in this huge city and the fact he finds his first love within the city shows that they are meant to be together, they are soul mates. The way in which Boyle directs the film also tells us it is a romantic comedy. At the beginning of the movie when the two brothers first meet Latika Boyle shoot Latika and Jamal in medium close ups and as they fall in love the space between them becomes more enclosed to signify their relationship and empathises that they are falling in love.

Narrative in Slumdog Millionaire

The way in which Slumdog Millionaire is structured is important to the story that unfolds in front of our eyes, at first it appears challenging as this is a non-linear film. Applying Todorov’s five stages of narrative to Slumdog millionaire we see that we begin with the attempt to repair the disruption. This is then followed by a flashback to the Equilibrium and from there the story carries out normally intervened with flash forwards to the presents then finally when the narrative meets the present the film carries out in chronological order. This format keeps the audience engaged through the enigma codes as well as making them feel like active participants because they have to piece the movie out in their mind, the audience having to understand how narrative works in order to do this. However this knowledge is pretty basic and is very easy to get to grips with because of how conventional the film actually is, this therefore leads the audience to quickly understand the films pattern and create expectations on how it will end, because it is a romantic drama we know that it will end with Jamal and Latika reuniting and sharing the iconic ‘Big Kiss’. Although the film tries to be smarter than it is the use of editing is crucial for the plot of this movie because we are restricted to Jamals memories. If the movie was to be depicted in chronological order from the beginning right the wat through our view of Jamal would probably be different, instead of him being Latikas hero and the ‘good guy’ we would see him more as Lakitas stalker.  The characters in this film also seem to be 2 dimensional, lacking any development, they can easily fit into props character types, Jamal undeniably the ‘hero’, Latika ‘princess’ and the rest villains. This being said Salim is seemingly more interesting as he can fall into many of the stereotypical character roles i.e the villain who prevents latika and jamal being together, The donor to Jamal as his brother who saves him multiple times and the hero who kills the villain and saves the day, however these traits can arguably fit into the anti-hero category.

Appeals of Slumdog Millionaire

There are many appeals to this film, one being genre. Through the trailers and the film posters it is signified to the audience that the genre of the film is a Romantic Drama where by two lovers face need to face obstacles in order to be together ending were they overcome these obstacle and are together, which is capped off by 'The Kiss' scene. This creates a perception for the audience because they are used to this genre as most if not all films include romantic relationships. This serves as an appeal to casual movie-goers because they are guaranteed to enjoy a seemingly straightforward conventional narrative without their expectations being challenged too much. This being said whilst watching the film the audience with conclude that through the gritty violence and 'reality' of the criminality of the slums of Mumbai that this film differs from the usual conventions of this genre. A more inquisitive movie-goer, who enjoys having their genre/narrative expectations challenged by films (the explorer’s audience), would see this as an appeal because it adds to the complexity the genre, the director uses many influences from Bollywood with its reserved representation of loved and through the theme of karma ( all villains are killed). Other appeals of the film are the star appeal i.e. the director Danny Boyle. Boyle is a well-respected British film maker known for creating unorthodox films such as Trainspotting and Shallow Grave. Slumdog Millionaire is extremely different from Boyles past work as this film is extremely conventional appose to his other movies, however Boyle uses similar themes in Slumdog millionaire such as money and the protagonist finding their selves. Boyle uses an all Indian even recruiting people from the slums to star in the movie which is appealing as it allows a sense of discovery of culture to the audience.

Slumdog Millionaire Success

Slumdog millionaire was benefited hugely the total gross from the domestic box office was £141,319,928 clearly making it extremely successful. The film was nominated for some of the best awards winning eight academy awards  (it was nominated for 10) including best picture and director, it won four golden globes and  seven out of eight Baftas. After the film came out the central protagonist Dev Patal stared in two huge upcoming films ‘Chappie’ and’ The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’.

Slumdog millionaire Marketing, Disruption& Promotion  

The American Slumdog millionaire poster clearly shows that the Genre is a Romantic Drama; we can see this through the image and the way in which the poster has been laid out. The poster shows the words lost love and destiny signify to the audience these are the themes of the movie, it is about finding your soul mate. Also the image of the two people facing opposite ways from each other shows the conflict and struggles they may face together and raises the enigma code on whether they will end up together or parting ways. The darkness visual signifies the unknown which adds pressure to the image clearly connoting that this film isn’t a simple love story, their lives are complicated and they are always apart. The top quote from times magazine adds light to the dark love story that is being represented and has connotations of a feel good movie juxtaposing the visual vibe signifying to the audience that the characters experience emotional roll coasters. The cracked font on the movie poster is a visual signifier of the enigmatic elements to the film and connotes an unconventional approach; it is depicting something that is similar to what the audience is used to but different. The fact that is shows that the film has received an award from Toronto film festival shows that this film tackles serious issues as films awarded from this film festival are usually films for expert film fans, by the award being 'The People's Choice' suggests a universality about the movie. The trailer to Slumdog millionaire is rather ambiguous leaving the audience with unanswered enigma codes like “what stops Jamal and Latika from being together”. There is an empathises on the characters names throughout the trailer as they are mentioned several times throughout making the audience aware of who they are routing for as well as making the story feel less like a story and more like reality.