And it happens right here.

I have a few research ideas.

I could research the actors. Their lives have probably been drastically changed since the movie's release. I saw a youtube video of the main actors at the Oscars a few weeks ago- what an experience for them!

I could try to compare the movie to real life. What is real life like for the people living in the slums of India? Is it as terrible as the movie portrays? What is being done about it?

One of the scenes that stood out to me was when several kids were tricked into following a "nice" man where they become subject to him and forced to beg in the streets. The man in charge took out their eyes or handed them sickly babies to hold so that they would earn more money for him. I wonder if this type of slavery happens frequently.  I could research forced begging, or the begging business in third world countries.

Another scene is after Latika grows up a few years. She has moved on from begging to belly dancing and is headed towards prostitution. I have learned recently of the huge sex industry in the United States. Just the other day, I read an article about a 14-year-old who was kidnapped right from her drive way and beaten and tortured, gang raped and forced to be with over 50 men within her 40 days in captivity. She is one of at least 100,000 women and girls in the sex business in the United States. Numbers could be up to 300,000. I have chosen to research this because of its surprising magnitude in a country that is seemingly "put-together." Girls- sometimes willingly, though often forced- are available online and several places around the country to buy for a night of sex. Before reading in more detail, I knew there was some underground prostitution in the U.S., but I never realized its enormity. Rather than always focusing on the poor, third-world countries that struggle with such things, I will look at a shameful issue that is right here, in the U.S. dealing with people of my own age and situation. I hope through my project to at least raise some awareness. Many Americans have no idea it is even happening.

It is good to be broken sometimes.

I loved it. I loved Slumdog Millionaire.

I got the happy ending I was looking for. Jamal and Latika reunite after my near-anxiety attack when the last question appeared and dramatic irony took over. There are tears and a kiss and a dance party, and my happy ending is complete.

I am an easy acceptor of any story with a happy ending, no matter the storyline. Nonetheless, I was impressed by the set up of Slumdog Millionaire. A large portion (the majority?) of the movie is a series of flashbacks. Jamal  is not a genius- he doesn't know the answer to some of the simplest questions that any Indian should know. As fate has it though, Jamal has some horrible life experience to go with just about every question, offering him answers that many others could never have guessed. At one point, Jamal is asked "Who invented the revolver?" Jamal knows without hesitation that it is Samuel Colt. Just before the game ends, Jamal is accused of being a cheat. His torturers question how he, a slumdog, could possibly know an answer like that. Before he responds, we go back in time to a climax in his life, where his older brother kicks him out of his apartment, threatening him with his "Samuel Colt revolver" and, probably, raping his best friend. Jamal explains how he knew each answer and we see each terrifying incident in his life, returning to the present reality of the game in between them. The shifts back and forth in time are intriguing, and not confusing. The story flows very easily from beginning to end.

Although bringing me to tears is not an enormous feat, it is worth noting that I felt emotionally connected throughout the entire movie. I wasn't counting, but my hand probably went to my heart at least twenty times and I found myself gnashing my teeth in anger, holding my head in fear, and squealing and clapping with joy. Even several days later, thinking about the situation of so many like them in India and much of the world disturbs me. I realize I cannot solve every world problem. I may not be able to do anything for the millions (billions?) of individuals with horrific lives like Jamal's. But. I think it is good to be broken sometimes. I think we need to act; we need to work towards ending the hurt in the world. But it is good to feel a little even when you cannot solve. Right now, it's good to be broken.

There better be a happy ending...

I am halfway through Slumdog Millionaire, and the poverty and torture Jamal and his brother have experienced is as bad, if not worse, than I expected. I am absolutely disgusted at how easily the general community accepts such abuse.

One of my favorite parts is seeing Jamal’s “sassy” remarks to his torturers. At one point, Jamal backs up his lucky answers with “It doesn’t take a genius to know the answers.” When one of the men in charge tries to agree saying “Yes, I knew the answer to that one,” Jamal responds, “Like I said, it doesn’t take a genius to know the answers.” I laugh at parts like this.

Other parts were heart-wrenching. After all the suffering, all the terrors, all the fighting, all the hopeless running from enemies…Jamal has seen his father burn alive, his mother beaten to death, his brother shoot another man and rape his best friend. At the eventual reunion with his brother, Jamal screams, “I will never forgive you!” I can’t blame him for a second. I ache at parts like this.

I have watched torture after torture, fight after fight. I can’t wait to see some hope- some joy in all of the terror. Things must get better from here. 

I am about to watch Slumdog Millionaire.

I am afraid to watch this movie.

From what I hear, I am going to cringe, cry, and ache as I watch the experiences of Jamal in the slums of India. Even reading the reviews, I was a bit disgusted at some of the incredible violence and evil people that exist in his life.

Despite my fear, I am watching this movie in hopes of opening my inexperienced eyes to the destitution of others. I do not want to be immune. I do not want the struggles of others to pass through my thoughts as if they are just more events, just more hardships. I want to see the pain from a real perspective and experience just a slice of the hurt.

I am curious to know if the pain I am about to see is realistic. After I finish, I hope to research the slums of India, or perhaps poverty in general. I want to know what is being done about it, what the most difficult parts are, and how I can bring some of my hope to their world.

Here we go…