So often is India depicted with its immense palaces, exotic wildlife and large cities, that the slums that lie just beyond these cities can be forgotten and ignored by many, despite the fact that over half the population of Mumbai lives in them. The texts Born into Brothels and Slumdog Millionaire are two examples of texts that have explored these areas and been effective in bringing them to people’s attention. Not only this, they both also tackle the issue of whether Western influences have had a beneficial or harmful impact on Indian society, especially with regard to its effect on the poverty and the slums. What is interesting about these texts, is that the messages they convey about these issues are very different from each other. Where …show more content…
The texts Born into Brothels and Slumdog Millionaire are both effective in bringing issues about slums and Westernisation in India to the viewer’s attention, however they present vastly different depictions of these issues through their manipulation of similar conventions such as camerawork, lighting and dialogue. Born into Brothels and Slumdog Millionaire both use camera movement and angles to create particular moods in different settings to bring ideas about the slums to the viewer’s attention. The camerawork in Born into Brothels is often used in scenes depicting the slums to create a sense of chaos and to disorient the audience. An example of this is the opening sequence, where, where the audience is taken through the streets of Sonagachi through fast-paced and unsteady footage, often at odd angles, that depicts the slum as chaotic and cluttered, setting the tone for the rest of the documentary. Shots like this are also interspersed throughout …show more content…
In Born into Brothels, there is a massive difference in image quality between when the children are with their families and when they are with Briski. For example, in the scene where Puja is sitting with her family, the footage is incredibly blurry and grainy, especially compared to shots where the children are with Briski or in other locations like when they go to the beach. The effect this has is that it positions the audience to sympathise with the children, as their quality of life, and the slum itself, is presented as being far worse than it actually is. The lighting is also darker in shots of the slums than in shots outside of them, and the colours are really dull. The shots of the beach and zoo, however, are full of vibrant colours and everything can be seen much more clearly. The lighting and image quality in Born into Brothels creates a dull and poor atmosphere when depicting the slums, which invites viewers to see the see the slums as destitute and devoid of joy. The lighting in Slumdog Millionaire contrasts greatly with this. When we are first taken back to when Jamal was a child, the vibrant colours of the slums are juxtaposed with the dull yellows and dark blues of the settings prior to it, creating a far more positive and uplifting