Alex Montecalvo Group 15

Professor Cushing
LBST Film
18 April 2016
Ideology of Slumdog Millionaire
Ideology is defined as a body of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an
individual group, class, or culture. (Corrigan) Ideology is different among everyone. Ideology
plays a big role in the world. Filmmakers express ideologies because they want to share them
with the world. Every film has an implied ideology; this happens because the director has their
own sense of what is right or wrong. In films if you are able to figure out the characters ideology
you will better understand why he or she does what she does.
In Slumdog Millionaire the main character Jamal Malik is on an Indian version of the US
game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire.(Slumdog Millionaire) During the game show he
keeps having flashbacks. These flashbacks are showing him how he got where he is today. In
many of his flashbacks we as viewers can see how Jamal has and had lived before coming on the
game show. Jamals refusal to accept the impossible, oppressive situations, and never losing his
will power or determination to survive and win at the game of life shows who he is and what he
idealizes. This shows that he idealizes winning, life, and money. He refuses to lose at many
things including the game show. But he will never give up until he wins the game of Life. This
in his mind is moving out of the slums and being able to buy what ever he wants.
He shows how strongly he idealizes in winning by never giving up on the game show
even though he was arrested and accused of cheating. This just gives him more drive to prove
them wrong and win the twenty million rupees. After Jamal find out he had answered the

question right the person asking the question asks Jamal why did you choose A? Jamals
response shows that he had realized he was trying hard to win at the game of life. His response to
the question is Because he said. When he says this, he references god and figures out that he
has won at the game of life. Without talking to Latika Jamal would have probably guessed it
wrong but he realizes that he has to believe in god. This changes one of his ideologies. At the end
of the movie all he idealizes is God. It just goes to show how things in life affect what you
idealize.