“Dog” show
I finally saw Slumdog Millionaire today; several critics (like this one and this one) are predicting big wins for the movie at tomorrow’s Academy Awards. From the great “acting” of the little boys (they aren’t actors, just poor Indian kids recruited for the roles) to the triumphant love story, it’s a wonderful movie. One review said, “The prospect of an uneducated orphan from the slums of Mumbai winning a pot of gold on a game show that hinges on worldly knowledge is, of course, the stuff of purest fairy tales.” Yes, it’s almost impossible to believe it could actually happen—then again, Slumdog’s own cast finds it hard to believe the movie is now a front-runner for major prizes tomorrow night. It just might win Best Picture, and I hope it does.
But what struck me while watching the film was not the acting, the cinematography, or even the irresistible music—it was the poverty. As my dad said on the drive home, the filth and disease of those Indian slums are replicated in every major city throughout the 2/3 world. A billion people around the globe scavenge for food, drink dirty water and wash their clothes in it, and accept lives of crime and prostitution just to get by.
That’s not news—you’ve heard all the statistics. Like me, maybe you even sponsor a child or write a check at the end of the year to help out in a small way and assuage your guilt over everything you can’t or don’t do. And like me, perhaps you watched this movie and wondered why you won the cosmic spin of the wheel and so many others didn’t.
I’m no smarter, more talented, or more worthy than the young women in Mumbai, Uganda, or Lima. I don’t deserve overpriced junk food anymore than they deserve to live off garbage. Why was I placed among riches when so many others beg for pennies? Why do I get an easy life when so many others suffer? Or as Paul Williams wrote (and took a beating for) in one of his Christian Standard columns, “Would someone please help me locate the Scripture that defines such inequity as acceptable?”
The only answer I ever come back to is Luke 12. “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded,” Jesus says, “and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”
I can’t fix global poverty by myself anymore than an Indian “slumdog” can win a zillion rupees—both are the illusion of feel-good movies. But my daily life seems like a fairy tale to much of the world, and the marching orders are clear. It’s time to get busy.
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Jennifer Taylor
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Jen–thank you for writing this. Chris an I saw this movie and came away with feelings similar to yours. My head swims with where to begin.
I’ve thought about this a lot this year. I was just talking about it tonight with a couple friends.
Why are some unlucky girls, through no fault of their own, sold into a brothel, and all that is required of me is getting my homework done on time?
ridiculous. and even sickening.
I mean, I am forever grateful to God for my (extremely) comfortable circumstance.
Thank you for pointing out the verse. I’ve realized this year that it is imperative that we act.
This is such a lovely post.
I don’t believe in the same things as you do but I definitely agree with this “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded”
And whats depressing is that the povert in Mumbai is actually worse than what is depicted in the movie.
great post – overall, to be born in America is to have won life’s lottery. it’s sad how many don’t appreciate/understand what we are so blessed to have.
Great blog Jen…
Having witnessed poverty in India and S. America first hand, I think a systemic solution is required. Feble attempts to sponsor a child (which are noble and worthwhile endeavors) cannot really bring the change we want to see.
Solely from a socio-econiomic response to the issues that this movie and your blog raise, there are seemingly two options. We create more wealth that can be distributed or we redistribute the existing wealth. From my experience, it is easier to wax eloquent about proverty (I am guilty too) in the Africas, Asia and S. America than it is to pay more for my Nike shoes so that a child sewing them in Indonesia can earn a dollar a day rather than 50 cents.
The more deply rooted our societies are in systems like Capitalism, the more G8 summits we have, the more governments are charged with protecting the interests of its citizens – poverty is inevitabe and charity the only hope of the oppressed. But even if we were to assume that the greed of capitalism disappeared; are we willing to let our children live in conditions lesser than ours to allow the Chinese or Indians a better life? How far are we willing to go when we talk of equality?
Mark, it was nice to meet you Sunday.
You raise a challenging point, and it’s a challenging conversation because discussion of “redistributing existing wealth” often causes knee-jerk accusations of socialist leanings. But regardless of politics (and I’m not accusing you of being a socialist, BTW!) the fact remains: with capitalism, poverty is inevitable.
Of course, it’s inevitable anyway (Mark 14, John 12) but that doesn’t excuse us of the responsibility to make hard choices–the other reason it’s a challenging conversation. Because as much as our heart strings may be plucked or our tear ducts jerked by movies like Slumdog, we really don’t want to pay extra for fair-trade coffee or clothes made under fair labor laws in Cambodia. And we REALLY don’t want to live in a tiny house so someone in another country can also have a tiny one–we want a big one, thanks, and they’re on their own.
I don’t know the answer.
[...] crime, and poverty. For a more eloquent and thoughtful analysis, check Jennifer Taylor’s post. For a Christian mission that is confronting some of these crimes in the courts and on the streets, [...]
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