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Slumdog Millionaire puts me in the dumps
June 7, 2009
Life is good and sweet, we're happy and healthy. All is really well.
Then I watch a movie like this and realize yet again that life is not all well. I know this is supposed to be a modern day fairy tale but seeing children in poverty and pain is a heart and gut wrenching experience for me, regardless of the "happy" outcome.
From an artistic perspective this movie was very visually appealing (when I wasn't hiding behind the pillow or the couch). The rich colors and vibrant light made me ohh & ahh. But my guts were ripped apart at the rest of it.
A review on the back of the movie calls this the "feel-good movie of the year". What the hell are they thinking? That reviewer is obviously not a mother.
I have always loved this quote by Elizabeth Stone. I think it sums up well the vulnerability to pain and suffering I feel as a mother and why I choose to mostly shield myself from movies like this and the news in general.
Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.
What is one little mama, caring for 3 of her own, to do about the plight of the world's children?? I wrestle with this question after each movie like this I watch. And when no answer comes to me I push down the outrage, pain and INJUSTICE (ah I want to scream and cry all at the same time) I feel for these children and move on with the rest of my life. What else can I do? Really? I'd like to know.
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kirwin on June 8, 2009, 2:09 a.m.
I had been warned about this movie ahead of time, and I told my husband that I would not watch it. When it arrived in the mail, i decided to go ahead and watch it, but cover my eyes and ears during a particular scene. You're right -- it's not a feel-good movie in any way. BTW, don't ever watch The Kite Runner -- I think it's worse, in the heart-breaking, gut-turning way. I didn't know of this one ahead of time, and I was seriously disturbed.
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steadymom on June 8, 2009, 2:14 a.m.
Hi Renee. I appreciate this clearly heartfelt response you've shared. I'm not an expert on social justice, but my husband and I do have some experience because of our work against child sex trafficking and exploitation.
If I could offer any thoughts, it would be to go ahead - cry and scream at the injustice of it all. Not only that, but let your kids see you do it (in a non-disturbing way, I mean!) Let it (whatever the issue that moves you) be something you talk about, think about, brainstorm about, give toward, sacrifice for. And bring your kids on the journey.
Our kids, at a young age, know lots about slavery (although we avoid the specific details for now). We discuss it often and what we are doing about it. We talk about how we could do more. We share our emotions with them when appropriate.
What can be discouraging is thinking, "I can't do everything." So instead I focus on, "I can do SOMETHING." And I can teach my kids to do the same.
And that WILL bring a change to our world.
Jamie
steadymom's last blog post... Staycation Day Two
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renee on June 8, 2009, 8:15 p.m.
Jamie,
Thank you for weighing in on this. I was hoping you'd have some advice.
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Shawna on June 8, 2009, 4:05 a.m.
yes, i agree it's hard. i haven't seen the world the same since i was pregnant. i try my best not to take my life for granted, but that doesn't seem like enough. it certainly isn't help, at any rate. i agree with jamie, but it's hard to pick that one thing that you can change - and feel that it is enough to make a difference.
Shawna's last blog post... Spinning
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Jamie on June 8, 2009, 5:22 p.m.
I wish there was an easy answer. I was stunned by the movie too. My husband refuses to watch movies like it but for me...I feel like ignoring it is worse. At least when we bring ourselves to watch it we can accept and aknowledge the horrible injustices of life. We may not be able to fix them but talking about it and admitting that these things really do happen even if we don't see it everyday is better than pretending it doesn't. It helps me appreciate the good things I do have and it helps me understand that I have a role in life that is bigger than my own neighborhood.
Jamie's last blog post... The Waiting Game & Graduating
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nicola on June 8, 2009, 7:03 p.m.
i haven't seen the movie, but i struggle with the same emotions and i also love that quote. nicola http://whichname.blogspot.com
nicola's last blog post... color week....a little late....green
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Quadelle on June 9, 2009, 1:06 p.m.
I, too, found it a highly disturbing movie. It left me drained and dazed for days. There are, of course, a lot of good organisations working with people in the slums of India (or other places in dire need of help). Plus, I like Jamie's suggestions.
Quadelle's last blog post... Sometimes she?
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therese on June 12, 2009, 6:50 p.m.
Would you believe me if I said I don't read the news because they make me cry? I remember my mother and grandmother sitting in front of the telly at night when I was a kid, watching the news, and go oh no, poor people, oh that's horrible, how terrible etc etc. And then taking a sigh of relief when whatever was on the entertaining tv menue started. The way they switched from deeply disturbing news of the world, to light and highly possibly braindead shows made a huge impact on me. I swore I would never let me entertain by the cruelty of reality like that. We have a word for it here; social pornography. I haven't seen this particular movie, but I remember thinking this when I saw 'Seven', if you remember that one (keywords: seven deadly sins, Morgan Freeman/Brad Pitt). Even though this was a fictional story, I know there are sick people out there, and I don't want to be entertained by it, no matter how well the movie is made. If Slumdog Millionaire can function more like a wake up call, move someone to action or just start them thinking, that would be a different thing completely.
I used to have that helpless feeling of not being able to do anything about the injustices and wrongdoings of the world, but I solved it by choosing one subject that I devoted myself to. Because we can't do it all, but if I do this, and you do that, then we might get it all covered in the end! (sorry, this got a bit long!)
therese's last blog post... easy as soap
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kyndale on June 8, 2009, 1:25 a.m.
I saw this movie by myself at the theatre when I just needed to get away one day. I held my children a little closer that night. I hold them very close always. Very sad movie...it made me think about how blessed I am to live in the US.