This was actually my first time seeing Slumdog Millionaire. I was very surprised by how much I actually enjoyed it. Although I think it was a captivating film, it left me wondering if it should be considered a “third world” film or not. Although I know the music won numerous awards, I personally think that the director and producer made poor choices in the music. I thought the music seemed to be too upbeat and intense for the types of events occurring throughout the movie. In addition, I thought the portrayal of how easy it was for the main character, Jamal Malik to move from a poor child to a wealthy adult was extremely unrealistic. Jamal becoming extremely wealthy and ending up with Latika gives false hope to those stuck in lower classes that they can easily move up to a higher class. Overall, I feel as though Danny Boyle’s depiction of poverty does not line up with previously acknowledged images of India.
As discussed in class on Tuesday, the idea of “poverty porn” is also a prominent idea in Slumdog Millionaire. According to Matt Collin of Aid Thoughts, poverty porn is “any type of media, be it written, photographed or filmed, which exploits the poor’s condition in order to generate the necessary sympathy for selling newspapers or increasing charitable donations or support for a given cause. The subjects are overwhelmingly children, with the material usually characterized by images or descriptions of suffering, malnourished or otherwise helpless persons.” A scene that stands out to me that most closely represents the idea of “poverty porn” is the scene in the beginning of the movie where Jamal jumps into the pit of feces. He does this in order to become free so he could get an autograph from his favorite celebrity, Amitabh. He is depicted as an extremely dirty and poor child that makes an extremely irrational decision. Though I am unsure if I think that Slumdog Millionaire is “poverty porn” or not, I think there must be some truth behind the idea if multiple critics and viewers are under that impression.
Collins, Matt. “Humanitarian News.” Poverty Porn. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2013.
Third World Literature 
I also think that Slumdog Millionaire over glamorizes poverty to a certain extent. The music definitely contributes to that. The sequence in the beginning of the film where Jamal and Salim run from a police officer through the slums is a good example of the “poverty porn” you talk about. The camera does not shy away from showing the filth of the slums including the trash and the polluted water, but the filming has a glossy quality to it. The scene is a colorful chase scene that is emphasized by the music. The rather fun sequence counteracts the poverty that is shown in the slums and glamorizes life there.