A Psychoanalytic Analysis Paper of Slumdog Millionaire (Essay Sample)

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A psychoanalytic analysis of Slumdog Millionaire
The Slumdog Millionaire is a compelling film that revolves around an eighteen year old boy from Mumbai dirty slums. Centered on the poor orphan boy, the film goes from rags to rich tales after the boy won a grand prize in the TV-show "Who wants to be a millionaire?" The film has been recognized in the 2008 Oscars as the best film of the year. The main actor of this film is a Jamal Malik, eighteen year old poor boy. From his childhood experiences, Jamal is uneducated and unlikely to maintain the final question in the TV-show. In the first scene of the film, Jamal is presented having won a grand prize of 20 million rupees albeit not many are happy with the situation. Some people claim that the process was filled with deceit. Various people interrogate and accuse Jamal of having cheated to the final question. For instance, a suspicious police officer tries to get a confession from Jamal that he has cheated though in vain. Apart from being tortured, Jamal is exposed to a series of question by the police officer in order to establish how an uneducated "Slumdog" could have got all answers.
However, Jamal responds to questions by going back through his childhood memories. The film goes through a series of Jamal's life from childhood to the point of interrogation by the police officer. Jamal and his brother, Salim, have been through all odds in life up to the present time when Jamal becomes a millionaire. The movie unravels all the past events the two have undergone and the story of their lives that enable Jamal to win the ultimate prize in the TV-show. Through flashbacks, the movie unravels that Jamal's mother was killed and was forced to live an orphan life with his brother, Salim. During their street life, in Mumbai slums, they meet Latika. The three realize that the man is not so good, therefore, escapes while leaving Latika behind. The inspiring story of Jamal brings about the intertwining of captivating oedipal dynamics (Dobransky 3). There are various oedipal dynamics that have been manifested in the film such as the story line of Jamal and Salim surviving without a father.
The boys' father is not mentioned in the entire film, in either present or the past, thus does not exist. The only caretaker is their mother even though she dies, being left orphans at a tender age. On the other side, they have a school teacher who does not get well with them. He scolds, mocks, and hits them with books posing his cameo outlook. Jamal faces the wrath of police officers after being chased, tortured, and questioned about how he managed to get answers to the TV-show right. According to the story, the man who proves to be good for the children turns out to be the cruelest of all the people (Stein 86). The film presents the two brothers with a variety of men characters in their lives that range from unfriendly to hostile.
In all the experiences during their childhood, Jamal and Salim deal with various events in a unique and by maintaining a paternal image. Salim, the older brother, is aggressive as he returns hostility with hostility throughout the story albeit his models into a paternal image, at last. In the early stages of the film, angry robust policeman chase the two boys in the street and for a moment Salim turns back and goads at the policeman with an obscene gesticulation, implying masturbation. On another incidence, Salim caught the attention of an influential gang leader, Maman where he attempted to fight a huge man three times his size. At the initial stages, Salim can be described to lack paternal image as compared to Jamal. However, as the film progresses, Salim develops and models himself following the most powerful and influential men, working for gangsters. On the contrast, the internalized paternal image within Jamal's character is negligibly represented (Swarup 66). Jamal does not seem to attach himself to any man though a clear idea is brought out through a glimpse of internal perspective.
The first questioned posed to Jamal at the TV-show is, "Who was the star in the 1973 hit film Zanjeer?" The film takes us through successive flashbacks to the real world where the two boys found an open air to play at their home at the airport. Salim locks Jamal in his outhouse as the Amitabh Bachan's helicopter is about to make a landing because Jamal had lost Salim's costumer. According to the story, Salim is then characterized by the greed for acquiring money. On the other hand, Jamal poses a picture of the Bachan and sneaks out of the outhouse to get an autograph with Bachan. According to this incidence, the film presents us with a situation through which the society perceives escapism and how people understand the issue. According to the film writer, Boyle, "people will do anything to make sure they get what they want even if it means jumping into a pile of feces." Salim's desperation for money is demonstrated in this case as he tries to talk with the autograph (Stein 83).
The desire for money makes Salim have a conflict in the entire film to an extent of selling out his family for money. From collections of Jamal's flashbacks, Amitabh Bachan fights evil adversaries with the assurance of handling unusual autograph. The aforementioned scene provides the necessary insight in understanding Jamal's internal world. Jamal and his brother are faced with the challenge of having no father and the loss of their mother, leaving an orphan life. As a result, Jamal is presented with a hostile male world that has to reshape his thinking and ideology about people. There is a vast range of contrast between the two boys is manifested in the immediate scene after Salim stole the precious autograph belonging to Jamal and sells it in order to get his revenge and recoup the money lost. Salim offers the autograph to a projectionist in movie theatre for two coins. The two boys have a mother, whose story is unraveled through flashback. In the glimpse captured during the flashback, the mother of the two boys is protective, kind, and caring (Swarup 49). In the first instance, the small boys run for their mother's protection when the robust policeman chases them. On their defense, the mother assures the policeman to deal them.
On another incidence, the mother washes Jamal after diving into excrement while talking to her about the autograph. However, her role in the film is limited as her last appearance is made in the canal, while washing clothes. The last moment gives up an innocent moment of mother and while her two children play with a ball. On the contrary, the peaceful moment is interrupted by a mob race attacking Moslems around the streets. Jamal's mother shouts at the boys to run as she faces the mob. She is hit with a bat from behind, as the boys look, and falls into the water, dead. These last memories haunted the boys throughout their street life as they met the leader of street gang, Maman.
Accompanied by Latika, they are taken by Maman for humanitarian purposes though the main reason was to make use of them as beggars and prostitutes. Maman manifests his cruelty and inhuman nature by mutilating and burning children eyes in order to render them disable as beggars. During their stay with Maman and his street gang, Salim's character is defined as there is an attraction between the two. Maman adopts Salim over other children as taskmaster as a result of his potential as aggressive and rebellious. Salim gains power among the gangster squads and develops identification in the gang, being motivated by the death of his mother. As the story progresses, Salim's role in the film becomes more important as he heads other children. On the contrary, children rebel against Salim's tyranny by placing hot pepper close his genitals while asleep (Feld 58). Aggressed by the action, Maman takes out a boy's eye as a result of the mock attack.
The film manifests Salim's loyalty to his brother and Maman as advances his power in the gang. However, Salim saves his brother from Maman's men when attempting to mutilate Jamal by splashing ether in the eyes. The two escaped with Latika trailing behind, though she missed the getaway freight train, after lost grip of Salim's hand. Without Latika's presence, Jamal and Salim entered period of tension as they tried to adapt with the situation. The film develops as Jamal pulls his brother back to Bombay in search for Latika. After finding Latika, their uncertain relationship becomes intense as Salim takes a paternal role over them as he has matured while Jamal is small and boyish. Jamal is an innocent boy who believes that they will get Latika and escape with her. However, the three are confronted by Maman and Salim is forced to protect them by shooting at Maman at point blank range. The incidence stuns both Jamal and Latika though Latika recovers fast and forced to drag Jamal out of the scene.
Leaving the scene, the three go to an abandoned hotel building where they play oedipal drama. Salim, having killed a Maman, gets drunk and leaves the two to search for another gangster known as Javed. Both Latika and Jamal have a mutual relationship albeit Latika thinks that Jamal is still a boy. When Salim returns, he throws Jamal out of the room to have Latika by himself. Jamal resistance forces Salim to draw his revolver and points at his face threatening to shoot him like he did with Maman. Being more mature, Latika accepts the situation in order to save Jamal from his aggressed brother. As the film approaches the present time, Jamal loses track of Latika and his brother though angered about Salim's actions and eager to re-unite with Latika. Jamal, finally, gets to meet his brother and confronts him about the whereabouts of Latika. As the story unravels, the whereabouts of Latika are known as Jamal goes to save her from Salim's boss, Javed. Jamal agrees to wait for Lat...