…David becomes quite happy, indeed.
Oscars 2009: Rise of the Bollywood
The press is calling this a true “East meets West” moment in our world’s history. When a movie that nearly went straight-to-DVD in the States (and ends in a not-so-much elaborate, but just plain fun song & dance) wins Best Picture, and the stage of the Kodak Theatre is a crowd of Indian faces.
It’s no secret I love Bollywood. I haven’t seen as many as some of my friends (Indian or otherwise), but there’s something about the formulaic plot and happy-go-lucky dance numbers that just puts a smile on my face. Who doesn’t love three+ hours of escapism? Isn’t that what movies were made for?
What happens next?
I was reading this article this morning from MSNBC, and couldn’t help but be happy for these people who have such pride in where they come from, even if that place is a slum in Mumbai. Which is exactly where the two little boys come from who starred in the movie (and they really did star–stealing the spotlight from just about anybody else in the film). And may be exactly where they’ll go back to.
The makers of the film have released statements regarding this treatment, the compensation for the kids, and the trajectory of their futures. They were paid many times the annual adult salary (which amounts to $2414), and have been put into school, with promised educational funding until the age of 18. All this is good and admirable, but they still live in the slums. And their families still live in the slums. And, while they may have struck gold with Slumdog Millionaire, the metaphorical batting average of child actors in Hollywood (especially Indian child actors?) is not very good.
Political Activism
If Hollywood is to do what Hollywood is apt to do, then there will be a slight uptake in political activism for the poor and povery-stricken in the slums of Mumbai. Then, something new will come along and the plight of the poor won’t be nearly as addressed as injustice should be. But that’s because the problem is so daunting and involves so many people, that not even Hollywood in a concentrated effort could really do much to help it. And there’s a lot of money in Hollywood.
In making this blog this past weekend, I did a lot of research looking at blogs and vlogs and webspaces to get inspiration and drive to actually make the money invested worth the end product (this webpage). In one such jaunt into the cyberwebs, I came across this video by well-known “Internet celebrity” iJustine. The video does a great job in showing how and why people need clean drinking water, and how not a lot of them are getting it. The part that gets to me (and this post) is when she says, “It’s something I’m pretty passionate about, so I hope you’ll take the time to listen.”
So if you’re passionate about the slums of Mumbai, be passionate. If you’re passionate about clean drinking water, that’s cool, too. If you’re passionate about both of them, and AIDS relief in Africa, and Palenstinean support, and victims of tsunamis, that’s great. A lot of ground to cover if you want to help them all, but great. The problem I’m trying to identify is the undulation of interest that means in five weeks, the slums of Mumbai will be exactly how they were five months ago, and we’ll have moved on to something else. It’s a fact of the trend marketplace that things will come into focus and leave quite quickly, but if you really are touched by Slumdog Millionaire, if you really do feel for those kids, then I say follow it.
And on a side note
Congratulations to the winners from Milk as well–represent the Bay Area! And Kate Winslet: you’ve had it comin’ a long time and I’m glad you finally got yours.
DS
