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'Slumdog Millionaire'- directed by Danny Boyle (2008) (The…

- - - - "I recognise that globalisation has helped many people rise out of poverty, but it has also damned many others to starve to death. It is true that global wealth is growing in absolute terms, but inequalities have also grown and new poverty arisen". Pope Francis
    - - Thus the film pronounces President Bill Clinton as incorrect in deducing that globalisation can benefit all people; “No generation has had the opportunity, as we now have, to build a global economy that leaves no-one behind. It is a wonderful opportunity, but also a profound responsibility.”
      - "Across the world as the ‘free market’ brazenly protects Western markets and forces developing countries to lift their trade barriers, the poor are getting poorer and the rich richer.”
        Arundhati Roy
  - - - Globalisation enables the boys to economically prosper through guiding tourists on informal tours, taking their photo and stealing their shoes to sell on the streets. The close up shot of Salim's dirty feet slipping into the white (American) Converse shoes exemplifies the boy's exposure to Westernisation. Their knowledge of the English language is indicative of the infiltration of global languages into local communities. Further, the value of American products is exemplified when the boys advertise the stolen shoes; "Shoes! American brands! Shoes!"
      - The American tourist couple who want to "see a bit of the real India" are confronted when their car is wrecked by local slum-dwellers and Jamal is kicked and beaten by the guard; "You've got insurance don't you? Are you okay?... " The woman's confident statement "Well, here's a bit of the real America son," as she gestures to her husband to pay Jamal highlights the Western (and increasingly Indian) overriding value of money. Essentially, her actions reinforce the Western ideology stressing the importance of wealth, one of the greatest accomplishments one can make. The closeup shot of the juxtaposing costuming between Jamal's filthy face/costuming and the American couple's spotless costumes and clean skin highlights the disparity between local and global identities.
      - Notably, the boy's supposed benefiting from globalisation may still be viewed as unjust since they are 'exploited' (even though they are paid) by tourists as young children. Some theorists have argued that; "People’s perceptions of choice and enjoyment around the products of this industry...should be treated with scepticism since such perceptions ‘corresponds to the behaviour of the prisoner who loves his cell because he has been left nothing else to love.’ Theodore Adorno also suggests that ‘the culture industry is not the art of the consumer but rather the projection of the will of those in control onto their victims.' Thus, it may be concluded that the boys are filled with the illusion that they are prospering' through globalisation, when really it is endorsing exploitation of their human rights (as children). Contrastingly, it may be contended that globalisation is still a positive force in their lives since it has afforded them greater autonomy and reduced their vulnerability to 'slumlords' such as Maman and Javed.
- - - - "You really thought you could just walk in and take my prize away? Have you any idea how much this little virgin is worth?" (Maman)
        
        The rhetorical questions posed by Maman embody the objective, economic value of women. Therefore, globalisation in India has prolonged the existence of traditional patriarchal values, wherein women are viewed as pecuniary objects. Her virginity is prized since it is economically "valuable", and thus he uses these traditional values for his economic advantage.
      - Latika's repression and abuse due to her vulnerability as a woman is demonstrated through her bruised eye and cut face, symbolising her physical, emotional and economic repression as a subordinate woman. “...it's my hypothesis that the individual is not a pre-given entity which is seized on by the exercise of power. The individual, with his identity and characteristics, is the product of a relation of power exercised over bodies, multiplicities, movements, desires, forces.” (Michel Foucault). Through Foucault's theory of power it can be deduced that Latika has been socialised to be dis-empowered, she does not know how to escape those who posses power, and thus she is perpetually trapped and exploited. Her powerlessness is seen through Javed's abuse of Latika is portrayed through the confronting and denigratory language; "First you want a dishwasher, now you want a fucking cook huh? Shut up! The cricket is on."
        
        Here Latika is 'owned' by the millionaire Javed, who uses his economic power to abuse and exploit women as "at his desire." Thus, globalisation has failed to arouse alteration of traditional patriarchal values, causing a continuation of abuse and subordination.
        
        Javed's obsession with the "cricket" is identifiably "Western," indicating the infiltration of Western values and culture. Thus, India has adopted Western sport and entertainment through globalisation. Further, his acculturation of Western values is again depicted through his holding the symbolic glass of alcohol and cigarette.
      - Latika's economic, social and emotional isolation is demonstrated through the spotless mansion with reflective white tiles and mirrors surrounding her- symbolising her bleak and emotionally deficit existence in the constrictive globalised world. While globalisation has afforded her economic safety and minimal security, she is rendered lonely in the mansion of her wealthy 'captor.'
      - The traditional values that subordinate women as sexual objects -created to fulfil male desires- are seen through Salim's use of prostitutes and lack of consideration for Latika. This represents his rejection of traditional Indian religious/moral beliefs and values, and a continuation of the belief in women's inferiority to males.
        
        "I don't give a shit about her. Plenty of pussy in Bombay for Salim. You should come back to the Cages with us on Saturday nights."
  - - - Despite Salim's crimes, he continues to carry out traditional Hindu prayer rituals in order to quiet his guilty conscience. During his traditional Hindu prayer he chants "Oh Lord forgive me. I know that I have sinned." The closeup shot of his ritualistic movements on the prayer mat contrast with the Western soundtrack and costuming. The low shot of his towering 'Western' sky-rise apartment juxtaposes with his attempts to re-connect to tradition through prayer. The mid shot of him walking as he speaks on the mobile phone with dark glasses and 'Western' clothing re-affirms his overriding adoption of Western values for economic gain. Thus he continues to seek cultural/religious connections despite his identification with globalisation and western values.
        
        Nederveen Pieterse coined the term ‘accelerated mixing’ to describe the increasing 'impurity' of cultures and identities through globalisation, wherein individuals become involved in more than one culture, (Featherstone 1990). Applying this to Salim's characterisation elicits greater insights into how individuals' reactions to globalisation. In this case, Salim "mixes" his Indian religious culture and traditions (such as religion/belief systems) with new 'Western' values (including obtainment of money and women).
    - - Modern cultural globalisation is concerned with the impact of the growing volume of exchanges of cultural products, the rising power and visibility of the ‘cultural industries’, the apparent ubiquity of Western popular culture, and the consequences for identity that flow from these forces.” (Held et al, 1999)
      - Herbert Marcus “the irreversible output of the entertainment and informational industry carry with them prescribed attitudes and habits, certain intellectual and emotional reactions which bind consumers more or less pleasantly to the producers and, through the latter, to the whole. The products indoctrinate and manipulate; they promote a false consciousness which is immune against falsehood.”
    - - Jan Aart Scholte supports the idea that globalisation has heightened "systematic exclusion" by perpetuating the social, economic and political status quo, thus duplicating deeply embedded power relations which further disadvantage systematically excluded groups. He argues that globalisation has too often “perpetuated poverty, widened material inequalities, increased ecological degradation, sustained militarism, fragmented communities, marginalised subordinated groups, fed intolerance and deepened crises of democracy".
      - On viewing 'Slumdog Millionaire' author Balmurli Natrajan commented that the film conveys the negative impact of globalisation in India through its failure to convey the "richness" and diversity of Indian culture, depicting instead "what it means to be Indian through an American lens." He believes that the Western world is imposing its power over India through globalisation, thus reinforcing and perpetuating the rigid caste structure of India; "capitalist relations require caste relations to reproduce itself in a postcolonial setting" (230).
  - - - “Globalisation lies at the heart of modern culture; cultural practices lie at the heart of globalisation.” John Tomlinson (1999)
    - - “Globalization has shipped products at a faster rate than anything else; it’s moved English into schools all over the world so that now there is Dutch English and Filipino English and Japanese English. But the ideologies stay in their places."
        (John M. Keller)
- - - - This is exemplified through the boy's employment at the fast food restaurant. 'Fast-food' is associated with transient and unwholesome products that are eaten 'on the go.' Their engagement with 'global' fast-foods highlights the transient nature of modern Indian society; "Two chicken burgers, two fries, one mango rassi, one coke! One mineral water!"