This is one of several papers written for seminary that I will be posting. This paper explores ways to move conversation about the movie, Slumdog Millionaire, toward a discussion of biblical truth.
1. Summary of the Movie
At its core, Slumdog Millionaire is about the quest for hope in the midst of cruelty and chaos, and the about the power of love to provide hope under utterly hopeless circumstances. The moviemakers seem intent on displaying authentic India, almost as a documentary, with its extreme poverty and crushing cruelty mixed with economic transformation, ancient purpose and timeless romance. The story revolves around a good-hearted boy from the slums who is determined to find and rescue his true love. The only way that he can reach her is to be on a popular game show that he knows that she watches. He is not on the show to win the money, but to enable her to find him. Thus, he continues to risk all his winnings for another round of the show – not to win more money, but to give himself more time to be found by her. The show’s popular, but the envious and evil host accuses him of cheating. The story is then told through flashbacks, the night before the final show, as the police brutally interrogate Jamal in order to find out how he knew the answers to the questions.
The British moviemakers are clearly captivated by the diverse and colorful characters and culture of India. They use the story to bring out these elements. The real story starts in the slums of Mumbai (formerly Bombay). Mumbai is in the midst of a massive economic renaissance that is destroying slums and replacing them with massive high-rise buildings. The slum dwellers are forced to adapt to this new environment. The slum in which the boy, Jamal, and his brother, Salim are growing up, is a Muslim slum – a minority community in the majority Hindu country. These incredibly poor kids in the middle of a massive slum are happy and energetic and manage to have a strong sense of community and personal joy. Despite the adversities, it somehow works for them. However, there is a clear disparity in the attitudes of Jamal and Salim. Jamal has a desire to do what is good and right and true. Salim’s heart is totally self-centered. He seems to enjoy hurting others.
Life as they know it comes crashing down when Hindus raid and burn large parts of their slum, killing their mother. The boys flee, eventually taking shelter in freight containers. They are soon joined by a young girl, Lakita. The three of them are probably ages 6-8. Jamal is kind to the girl and Salim is mean. They roam the city garbage piles for sustenance. They are eventually “befriended” by a gang that preys on young kids, maiming them in order to use them as effective beggars. Blind beggars make the most money, but they are also willing to amputate legs and do whatever is necessary to make effectively sympathetic beggars. The boys figure out what is happening just in time and manage to escape. The girl, however, is kept and nurtured for a future as a young prostitute.
The rest of the movie tracks the lives of these children, as they seek to make their way in a hostile world. Salim is drawn to the power of the gangs and the authority that he has with a gun. Lakita is tossed from one bad situation to another, always the pawn of evil people. Jamal is always determined to rescue Lakita and make a new, honest life for her and himself. He is motivated by love and a strong conscience concerning right and wrong. He is humble and always truthful. The story demonstrates how Jamal’s truthful and good ways prevail in the end, as he is able to rescue Lakita. The rescue, however, requires Salim to sacrifice his own life, as an atonement for his many sins. Salim chooses to help his good brother and help set free Lakita, even though it means Salim’s own death. The last words on his lips are, “God is great.” When he had previously seen his brother for the first time in years, several weeks earlier, his words were, “God is good.” Thus, despite Salim’s evil behavior, he retains a sense of the presence and nature of God.
2. The Movie's Messages
While the movie was primarily about Indian culture, the main themes resonate with all cultures. This movie earned almost $400,000,000 worldwide, and won 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay in 2009. The movie touched a cord in the hearts and minds of many people.
One message that was conveyed was the need for hope, and the eventual blessings that can come from doing what is right, despite every reason to give in to evil. The fuel for that hope is “love,” an undying and sacrificial love for a beautiful girl who seems to be hopelessly and perpetually captured by evil people. Thus, out of cruelty, poverty and despair, beauty and love can prevail. The audience wants the girl to be rescued and wants the good Jamal to succeed. The audience roots for love to triumph in the midst of loveless, evil chaos.
One of the reasons that the movie works with such a basic theme is the visual and aural assault on the senses that comes from the documentary filming style of the movie. If smells could be communicated in a movie, the audience would have felt completely transported into the reality of India. The chaos and cruelty of modern India is mixed with the basic human ideals of truth, justice and love, creating extreme contrasts and compelling characters. The lively, uplifting music, including the finale of the hip-hop/pop dance song, Jai Ho (translated – Victory is Yours), seems to keep the viewer from getting sunk down in the thick, chaotic morass of evil and cruelty, and helps hopeful human emotions rise above it all.
The ultimate message of the movie is to give hope for a “destiny” that is good, true and full of love. The fact that such a message resonated so well with so many people suggests that people in our culture are still longing for good, true and loving ideals despite the chaos and hurt that may encompass their lives.
3. Transitioning to a Gospel Conversation
There are so many points of contact for transitioning to the Gospel that I could probably write a book on the subject. I should preface these comments by noting that these kids were nominally Muslim. Nevertheless, the same story could have been told the same way if the kids were Hindu or Christian, because the ideals communicated are universal. I believe the screenwriter made the children Muslim for the sake of making them greater outcasts in the majority Hindu society.
A. Destiny/Purpose: Everyone in this world wants to know their purpose in life. The movie begins with Jamal about to be asked the final game show question, and the question that is written on the screen is for the audience: “How did he do it?” The options are: “A. Lucky; B. Cheated; C. Brilliant; D. It is written.” The “Answer” pops up at the very end of the movie: “Answer, D. It is written.” Throughout the movie, the word, “destiny,” is used repeatedly. This is “our destiny.” This is “my destiny.” The suggestion, of course, is that there is a higher being or power that is orchestrating much of life. There is someone or something that has decreed certain things about our lives. The suggestion is that the goal of our lives is to find and pursue our destiny, what is written about us.
In both Hindu and Muslim cultures, the concept of destiny is Karma or fate. In both cultures, there is a fatalism about life. In India, the poor are not to attempt to work their way out of their poverty, because that would violate their Karma and doom them to poverty again in the next life. The Muslim says, “if it is the will of Allah,” in a fatalistic way. Thus, a Muslim taxi driver will drive on the wrong side of the road on a blind curve. When the passenger complains, the taxi driver says they will be fine, “if it is the will of Allah.” [My father literally had that experience on a winding mountain road.]
For the Christian, we know that God’s written Word is true. We know that God has said that He loves the whole world (John 3:16) and that everyone in the world who believes/trusts in His Son will have everlasting life as “it is written.” We know that for the one who believes/trusts in and loves the Son, all circumstances in life work together for good according to “His purpose,” in order to make us more like Jesus – which is God’s ultimate purpose for us. (Rom. 8:28-29.) So, we know that even the poorest, most oppressed saint can experience that truth, because God is true and “it is written” by Him. The Christian sense of destiny is not fatalism, but the fact that a loving God has a plan for good in our lives, to give us a hope and a future. (E.g., Jeremiah 29:11-13.) God is on our side and nothing in this life can separate us from His love. (Rom. 8:31-39.) Thus, a Christian should always be an optimist, because he/she knows that God is always at work in and through us for our good and His glory, despite our circumstances.
For the Christian, there is a clear understanding that God called and chose us before the foundation of the world. (Eph. 1:4.) He called and chose us because He loves us and wants us to live in a way that brings Him praise and glory. (Eph. 1:5-6.) Thus, our destiny is not so much tied to our physical circumstances, but to our purpose in life – to live for “the praise of His glorious grace.” (Eph. 1:6.)
The movie emphasizes that Jamal’s destiny was for love and for good, but he had to speak the truth. That is God’s message for us as well. He has destined us for love and for good, but we are called to speak the truth – which is found in His Word. Jesus said, “I am the truth.” (John 14:6.) John said of Jesus, he was “full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14.) As Rick Warren so famously wrote, Christians are able to live “purpose driven lives.” By that he meant lives that are empowered by the purposes of God, and God’s purposes are always good, because He does not want any to perish but for everyone to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9.) The Westminster Catechism summarizes God’s chief purpose for all people: “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”
We must know Him in order to enjoy Him and we must know what He desires of us in order to glorify Him. The Bible tells us that we know God through His Son, Jesus Christ, who came to save us from our sin and give us the righteousness needed in order to live in the presence of God, for His glory. For the Christian, as we fulfill our purpose, we enjoy life the most. John Piper has said, “He is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him.” In other words, as we learn to intimately know Him, our desires are to please Him, and pleasing Him brings us satisfaction and joy.
B. Child Cruelty. How does a culture allow children to be abandoned and treated with such cruelty? In India, the philosophy of Karma justifies such treatment. That is their Karma in life. That is where they are in their cycle of reincarnation. If anyone breaks that cycle, they are doomed to start over, perhaps in an even worse situation. So, a person makes the best of their situation, but should not attempt to rise above it. This attitude of Karma has morally justified oppression of the poor by the wealthy for millennia in India. It has justified an unbreakable “caste” system. Hindus have violently reacted against efforts of Christians to raise up the poor from their caste/Karma. Thus, the theme of a slum-dweller rising above his circumstances to win 20,000,000 rupees is a contra-Karma theme. On the other hand, if “it is written,” it could happen.
The western world does not comprehend the blessings in our society because of our Judeo-Christian heritage. The development of orphanages and child labor laws and protections for the poor and oppressed arise from Judeo-Christian principals and were unknown in the world outside of a Judeo-Christian cultural influence. India is only as far along as they are in improving the conditions of the poor and weak, because of the influence of sacrificial Christians, such as William Carey, who were able to bring moral and cultural changes through the influence of the Gospel. Christians necessarily have a sense of compassion and a desire to help the poor and afflicted. Where that Christian influence has not taken place in culture, there are massive abominations and atrocities and tragedies against children and the weakest members of society. That is a reality that the western world needs to see and understand, so that we understand that the Gospel message of the Savior, who welcomed and loved the children, is a message that brings societal transformation for good. Perhaps this is one reason that 86% of people who come to Christ, come by the age of 14.
I have witnessed the mistreatment of children in India, in the slums of Sao Paulo, Brazil and in Africa, where children are kidnapped and taught to kill (see the movie, Blood Diamond, as an example of the atrocities against children in Africa). Above all, children need to have hope that they have a purpose and a future. Not only does the Gospel offer that hope, but the Christian ethical and moral response is to help the afflicted, fight for truth and justice, and provide opportunities for people to work their way out of poverty. This is in sharp contrast to the corruption and affliction that pervades cultures in which the Gospel has not had a significant influence.
I am familiar with multiple ministries in India, having personally visited and followed them, where these street kids are rescued, given love and an education, and become productive members of society. I am familiar with similar ministries in Brazil and Africa, having visited those as well. This is what Christians do in seeking to help the hopeless, to give them love, a hope and a future, just as Christ has done the same for us. Christ-less people and cultures have trouble sustaining such ministry.
C. The Source of Conscience. Given the terrible circumstances of the upbringing of the children in the movie, there is every reason for them not to know right and wrong, every reason for them to not know anything about true “love.” Yet, throughout the movie, there is a recurring theme of conscience – the knowledge of what is good and what is evil, as well as the understanding that true love sacrificially seeks the best for another person – a distinctly Christian “agape” type of unconditional love. As is apparent by the world-wide reception to the movie, those ideas resonate with people. Yet, if we are really the product of random, purposeless chemical processes, there is no explanation for the knowledge of good and evil or for an ideal that demonstrates sacrificial love for others. Those ideas are rooted in a sense of conscience that seems to transcend the moral environment of a person’s life.
Romans 1 tells us that the wrath of God is against all ungodliness and unrighteousness and suppression of the truth. Romans 1 says that what can be known about God is plain to all people everywhere so that people are without excuse. In other words, God’s nature and character should be apparent to people. His nature and character are holy. Yet, people make God their enemy by suppressing the truth and worshipping created things instead of the creator. Thus, God has given them up to dishonorable passions, all manner of unrighteousness and evil. Romans 1:28-32 gives a list of the character qualities of people who are enemies of God. Yet, even such pagan Gentiles, who do not know God’s truth, when they listen to their consciences and do what is right, “they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness” to what is true and right. (Rom. 2:14-15.)
Thus, the Bible tells us that we all have a conscience that tells us what is true and right, but we have the freedom to reject that truth – to suppress it and exchange that truth for lies that we create. Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of one brother who followed the moral restraints of his conscience, despite his circumstances, and the other brother who suppressed the truth and followed the lies of the world.
We know that the brother who suppressed the truth was troubled by a guilty conscience. Before he went out to do his dirty work as an assassin, he would get on his prayer rug and ask God to forgive him for the evil that he was about to commit. His guilty conscience ultimately led him to sacrifice himself so that his good brother and good Lakita would go free. He was shot to death in a bathtub full of cash – literally blood money.
Where does this conscience come from? How do we know how we “ought” to live? C.S. Lewis explores this theme at length in the first 50 pages of Mere Christianity. He concludes that we were all made to know and love God – that is the reason for our conscience. He concludes that we are all in a battle of good and evil (the battle seen clearly in this movie) and our only hope is to be saved by a holy (extraordinarily good), all-powerful, purposeful God. The Gospel tells the story of that salvation, which is now offered as a free gift to all of us.
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