Essay on Slumdog Millionaire
Question: Describe at least ONE important conflict.
Explain why the conflict helped you to understand an idea in the text (film).
In the film Slumdog Millionaire by Danny Boyle there is an important conflict which goes on between Jamal Malik and Prem Kumar who is the show host.
The conflict between Jamal and Prem is ongoing throughout the film. Prem refuses to believe that Jamal has got so far through in the game in a legitimate way. He decides that Jamal is cheating. Prem gets the police to question and torture Jamal to make him admit that he has been cheating. He even goes to the lengths of feeding Jamal the wrong answer to stop him from winning the money. His motivation and strong desire to stop Jamal from winning is also because he is the only person who has ever won twenty million rupees on the show.
A technique that helps to describe the conflict between Jamal and Prem is the visual technique of cinematography. An example of when this technique is used is during the game show when Jamal and Prem are in the hot seats. An over head shot is used and displays the two sitting opposite each other in the centre of the studio with the audience surrounding them. The shot makes the studio seem like an arena or a boxing ring with two people in the middle and a huge crowd circled around them. It gives the impression that Jamal and Prem are like two opposing boxers or fighters.
Another example of how the cinematography helps to describe the conflict between Jamal and Prem is when a mid shot is used to show the two sitting in the hot seats. The shot is framed so that it displays only Jamal and Prem. They are sitting opposite each other but face to face. Through this shot Boyle shows us the conflict between Jamal and Prem because they look like two opposing sides confronting one another.
When Jamal has stated the answer to the second to last question in the show a close up shot is used to display Prem’s reaction. Prem knows that the answer is correct and you can see the apprehension and unwillingness to lock in the answer. This shows us the conflict between Jamal and Prem because Prem doesn’t want to lock in the answer and award Jamal with the large sum of money.
In the film the acting style and the dialogue that Jamal and Prem use is very different. The contrast between the acting style and dialogue of Jamal to that of Prem’s is a technique that helps to describe the conflict between the two characters. An example of this huge contrast is when Prem is introducing Jamal to the audience on the game show. He says in a sarcastic voice, “So you’re an assistant phone basher.” Prem is purposefully mocking Jamal and desiring a reaction from the audience. He leans back in his chair and looks at the audience for approval of his joke. Jamal however does not react to Prem’s insults but stays quiet and continues being his courteous self. In this example it is clear that there is conflict going on between the two because of Prem’s antagonism.
The use of sound in the film is another technique that helps to describe the conflict between Jamal and Prem. An example of how the sound does this is when Jamal and Prem walk into the game studio together with the audience cheering and applauding for them. This shows us the conflict because the audience is encouraging and urging on Jamal to go all the way to the twenty million rupee question in the show. This is exactly the opposite of what Prem wants. It is like the audience is egging on the conflict between Jamal and Prem.
Boyle also purposefully uses another sound in the film to help us understand the conflict between Jamal and Prem. This sound is that of a clock ticking. We hear it occasionally when Jamal is thinking about the answer to a question on the show. It adds tension and suspense to the conflict between Jamal and Prem because it seems like it is counting the seconds of how long it takes Jamal to answer a question. The longer it takes him the more likely it is that he doesn’t know the answer and will therefore lose the battle against Prem.
One of the ideas in the film that stood out was that love will overcome all. The conflict between Jamal and Prem helped me to understand this idea. The conflict helped me understand the love between Jamal and Latika because it brought about the flashbacks that Jamal had when he was either answering a question on the game show or explaining to the police officer how he knew the answer to a question. Many of the flashbacks that Jamal had involved Latika. They showed the two of them meeting and the friendship and bond which formed between them. Another way the conflict between Jamal and Prem helped me to understand the love between Jamal and Latika was through some of the things that Jamal said. An example is at the game show when he is talking to Latika over the phone and say, “I knew you’d be watching.” What he says shows us that he went onto the game show in the hope that Latika would see him and that they would be able to reunite. He did it because of his love and will to be with her.
The conflict between Jamal and Prem helped me to understand the things that Jamal had to overcome. It caused Jamal to recount his life experiences to the police officer and explain how they helped him to answer the questions. We see his experiences as flashbacks throughout the film. These flashbacks show us the poverty and many of the nasty things that he had to come through. We see Jamal and his brother Salim’s mother being killed by the Hindus in an attack on the Muslims through one of the flashbacks. Jamal and his brother Salim are left alone to fend for and care for themselves. This is a good example of how the conflict between Jamal and Prem which causes the flashbacks help us to understand the things which Jamal had to cope with and come through.
In Slumdog Millionaire I think that Boyle is trying to tell us that if you have a true and passionate love for someone or something you can overcome anything that gets in the way of being with them or helping them, no matter what the odds or circumstances may be. This is very relevant and true to everyday life and we see examples of this idea or philosophy throughout history when people like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King fought to overcome discrimination against their people.
By David Lewis.
Question: Describe at least ONE important conflict.
Explain why the conflict helped you to understand an idea in the text (film).
In the film Slumdog Millionaire by Danny Boyle there is an important conflict which goes on between Jamal Malik and Prem Kumar who is the show host.
The conflict between Jamal and Prem is ongoing throughout the film. Prem refuses to believe that Jamal has got so far through in the game in a legitimate way. He decides that Jamal is cheating. Prem gets the police to question and torture Jamal to make him admit that he has been cheating. He even goes to the lengths of feeding Jamal the wrong answer to stop him from winning the money. His motivation and strong desire to stop Jamal from winning is also because he is the only person who has ever won twenty million rupees on the show.
A technique that helps to describe the conflict between Jamal and Prem is the visual technique of cinematography. An example of when this technique is used is during the game show when Jamal and Prem are in the hot seats. An over head shot is used and displays the two sitting opposite each other in the centre of the studio with the audience surrounding them. The shot makes the studio seem like an arena or a boxing ring with two people in the middle and a huge crowd circled around them. It gives the impression that Jamal and Prem are like two opposing boxers or fighters.
Another example of how the cinematography helps to describe the conflict between Jamal and Prem is when a mid shot is used to show the two sitting in the hot seats. The shot is framed so that it displays only Jamal and Prem. They are sitting opposite each other but face to face. Through this shot Boyle shows us the conflict between Jamal and Prem because they look like two opposing sides confronting one another.
When Jamal has stated the answer to the second to last question in the show a close up shot is used to display Prem’s reaction. Prem knows that the answer is correct and you can see the apprehension and unwillingness to lock in the answer. This shows us the conflict between Jamal and Prem because Prem doesn’t want to lock in the answer and award Jamal with the large sum of money.
In the film the acting style and the dialogue that Jamal and Prem use is very different. The contrast between the acting style and dialogue of Jamal to that of Prem’s is a technique that helps to describe the conflict between the two characters. An example of this huge contrast is when Prem is introducing Jamal to the audience on the game show. He says in a sarcastic voice, “So you’re an assistant phone basher.” Prem is purposefully mocking Jamal and desiring a reaction from the audience. He leans back in his chair and looks at the audience for approval of his joke. Jamal however does not react to Prem’s insults but stays quiet and continues being his courteous self. In this example it is clear that there is conflict going on between the two because of Prem’s antagonism.
The use of sound in the film is another technique that helps to describe the conflict between Jamal and Prem. An example of how the sound does this is when Jamal and Prem walk into the game studio together with the audience cheering and applauding for them. This shows us the conflict because the audience is encouraging and urging on Jamal to go all the way to the twenty million rupee question in the show. This is exactly the opposite of what Prem wants. It is like the audience is egging on the conflict between Jamal and Prem.
Boyle also purposefully uses another sound in the film to help us understand the conflict between Jamal and Prem. This sound is that of a clock ticking. We hear it occasionally when Jamal is thinking about the answer to a question on the show. It adds tension and suspense to the conflict between Jamal and Prem because it seems like it is counting the seconds of how long it takes Jamal to answer a question. The longer it takes him the more likely it is that he doesn’t know the answer and will therefore lose the battle against Prem.
One of the ideas in the film that stood out was that love will overcome all. The conflict between Jamal and Prem helped me to understand this idea. The conflict helped me understand the love between Jamal and Latika because it brought about the flashbacks that Jamal had when he was either answering a question on the game show or explaining to the police officer how he knew the answer to a question. Many of the flashbacks that Jamal had involved Latika. They showed the two of them meeting and the friendship and bond which formed between them. Another way the conflict between Jamal and Prem helped me to understand the love between Jamal and Latika was through some of the things that Jamal said. An example is at the game show when he is talking to Latika over the phone and say, “I knew you’d be watching.” What he says shows us that he went onto the game show in the hope that Latika would see him and that they would be able to reunite. He did it because of his love and will to be with her.
The conflict between Jamal and Prem helped me to understand the things that Jamal had to overcome. It caused Jamal to recount his life experiences to the police officer and explain how they helped him to answer the questions. We see his experiences as flashbacks throughout the film. These flashbacks show us the poverty and many of the nasty things that he had to come through. We see Jamal and his brother Salim’s mother being killed by the Hindus in an attack on the Muslims through one of the flashbacks. Jamal and his brother Salim are left alone to fend for and care for themselves. This is a good example of how the conflict between Jamal and Prem which causes the flashbacks help us to understand the things which Jamal had to cope with and come through.
In Slumdog Millionaire I think that Boyle is trying to tell us that if you have a true and passionate love for someone or something you can overcome anything that gets in the way of being with them or helping them, no matter what the odds or circumstances may be. This is very relevant and true to everyday life and we see examples of this idea or philosophy throughout history when people like Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King fought to overcome discrimination against their people.
By David Lewis.
