Slumdog Millioraire - How close is it to

[Sorry!]

Thank you.

Let me enlighten y'all and pardon the partial racism here.

The caste system was built thousands of years ago to divide up the tasks among groups of people. For example some people were merchants, some were warriors, some where priests, and some tended to cremations and funerals.

This caste system was horizontal, meaning it was completely even and there was no discrimination.

It wasn't until the British came in and effed everything up, making brahmins (the priests, which is what I am) at the top, and "untouchables" (those that did the menial tasks and some who performed cremations) at the bottom. Politicians sometimes continue this tradition mainly because politicians make retarded people look like geniuses.

I can tell you for a fact that while there are very few families that are a bit pedantic when it comes to caste systems, there's virtually no discrimination between caste members. There are rules and regulations involving not touching "untouchables" and the sole reason for that is is that it's unholy to touch someone who's blessed with the task of cremating your late mother (for example). We actually say that you are contaminating the untouchables if you touch them, and preventing the soul from reaching heaven.

I can tell you this because my grandmother passed away just a couple of months ago. We were all distraught and my dad had to hurry up and start the last rites. In doing so, the people given the task of performing all of the funeral functions, the untouchables, are actually considered priests and we weren't allowed to interact with them physically until the 12th day services were complete and the ashes were transferred through a body of water.


The movie by itself represents parts of India very well, but the whole "killing because that person is a muslim thing" is just utter bullcrap.

Don't read into the movie. For pete's sake.

Not true, there were higher castes and lower castes. Mobility between castes has nothing to do with how much power the caste actually wielded. Just because you could be say a fisherman and then be in the military does not mean that you haven't gained new powers you didnt' have prior. All it means is that the caste system was not deemed by birth-rite more by merit and job.

With that being said yes the British did come and cause a ruckus in the Indian caste system but I think it gets over-exagerrated. Indian people had just as much a role in the development of the system.

Yes there were riots between muslims and hindus and I know people who lived through these experiences first hand.

 

[rootX]

A clever invention though:

Picture the scene about 200BC,, couple of Indians in a bar enjoying a Lhasi.
>Ashok - nice place we've got here but somethings missing
What?
>Well we really need somebody to discrimiate against
What?
>Well we need somebody to look down on - otherwise how do we know we are best.
What about brown people?
>Ashok - we are all the same color.
What about those people with their crazy gods
>Ashok - we are all hindus, we all have crazy gods
Well we could all gang up on one particular god
>Ashok - there are more gods than people, if we all pick one each and gang up on every body else it's not going to work. You invented maths you should know that - good work on inventing zero by the way.
Well we could invite the Jews to move in
>Ashok - don't be silly.
i've got it, we just split the whole population into groups and tell each group to hate the one below it.
>Good thinking, who does the picking?
Us of course
>Why us?
Because we are in the top group, we thought of the idea
>Will it work?
Well it will do until we event computers and then we can hate each other based on which operating system.

But weren't it Europeans who introduced caste system?

 

[Sorry!]

But weren't it Europeans who introduced caste system?

No that's myth.

 

[DaveC426913]

But weren't it Europeans who introduced caste system?

Awesome. You found a cool person in his otherwise iron-clad argument.

 

[rootX]

No that's myth.

I have no knowledge but I wonder if it were Aryans (who were white Europeans I believe) that decided to discriminate against dark Indians. I neither know if there were light brown Indians before Aryans. Also, it might be that it were the Aryans who introduced Hinduism.

(Not hard factual information:
http://hinduism.suite101.com/article.cfm/hinduism_and_the_aryan_influence
http://adaniel.tripod.com/historycaste.htm
)

 

[sganesh88]

I thought that the movie was good. Please explain why you think that it is distasteful for all these problems to be portrayed in a single movie?

I have agreed that casteism exists in India. I am just pointing out why i didn't like the film. I think its prime motive is to show India as a dangerous place (this isn't the only one that attempted it). I found it distasteful because they showed all the problems occurring to a single person. I said this already. Its like a third person filming your house for an year; Taking out those particular scenes where you people fight; Then using the portions for an one hour film. What would that film make others think of your family? They may title it "Fight Club".
If you still argue that that was wholly unintentional, well.. *sigh*

This movie costs what under $20 million? It grossed well over $350 million last I checked; something must've gone right.

So? You mean only good movies gross more? I thought otherwise.

 

[ank_gl]

I think its prime motive is to show India as a dangerous place

You think wrong.

There have been soo many movies which potrayed problems in countries, I bet you don't care about them, because they r not related to you, so they don't exist, right??

For example, blood diamond, its a nice movie.

 

[mgb_phys]

I think its prime motive is to show India as a dangerous place

No it was a fairy story set in a country that made the setting colorful and exotic.
it also saved the costs of the obligatory car chases and explosions that would have been required if it ha been set in LA.

if you think it was an attack on India you should see the films the director made about his own country!

 

[b.shahvir]

Call the police.

Sorry, can't do that...Police officers commit 'Temporary Rapes' as suggested by an earlier thread in this forum

Not in the UK, Hindus aren't a race (in the 1976 race relations act - unlike Sikhs)

Tell that to Jade Goody of 'Big Brother' fame. She rubbed one of the Indian female contestent, who also happens to be a renowned Bollywood actress, the wrong way! You should know, it was all over the media in the UK.

 

[WiFO215]

A clever invention though:

Picture the scene about 200BC,, couple of Indians in a bar enjoying a Lhasi.
>Ashok - nice place we've got here but somethings missing
What?
>Well we really need somebody to discrimiate against
What?
>Well we need somebody to look down on - otherwise how do we know we are best.
What about brown people?
>Ashok - we are all the same color.
What about those people with their crazy gods
>Ashok - we are all hindus, we all have crazy gods
Well we could all gang up on one particular god
>Ashok - there are more gods than people, if we all pick one each and gang up on every body else it's not going to work. You invented maths you should know that - good work on inventing zero by the way.
Well we could invite the Jews to move in
>Ashok - don't be silly.
i've got it, we just split the whole population into groups and tell each group to hate the one below it.
>Good thinking, who does the picking?
Us of course
>Why us?
Because we are in the top group, we thought of the idea
>Will it work?
Well it will do until we event computers and then we can hate each other based on which operating system.

. So which group o' losers got the Mac?? WE have windows, right?

 

[Sorry!]

I have no knowledge but I wonder if it were Aryans (who were white Europeans I believe) that decided to discriminate against dark Indians. I neither know if there were light brown Indians before Aryans. Also, it might be that it were the Aryans who introduced Hinduism.

(Not hard factual information:
http://hinduism.suite101.com/article.cfm/hinduism_and_the_aryan_influence
http://adaniel.tripod.com/historycaste.htm
)

This information must be out-dated (now atleast).
A prevelant theory of the caste system did include an Indo-Aryan origin but a new finding as of 2009 that was proven to be just a myth that's why I said that before. I guess I should have elaborated though.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I have agreed that casteism exists in India. I am just pointing out why i didn't like the film. I think its prime motive is to show India as a dangerous place (this isn't the only one that attempted it). I found it distasteful because they showed all the problems occurring to a single person. I said this already. Its like a third person filming your house for an year; Taking out those particular scenes where you people fight; Then using the portions for an one hour film. What would that film make others think of your family? They may title it "Fight Club".
If you still argue that that was wholly unintentional, well.. *sigh*

If you have watched the movies about where I live you would probably think I am dodging bullets every day on the way to work, undergoing shake downs from dirty cops daily, and smoking crack with hookers on the weekends. Oh and occasionally I will find the love of my life under the most unlikely of circumstances and have a good weekend of that before deciding to go it alone because I need to save another loved one from the blood thirsty maniacs who kidnapped them.

If movies portrayed real life places and situations like they are in real life we would see a lot of ugly people sitting on the toilet, watching tv on the couch, surfing for porn on the internet, sifting through e-mails about cheap viagra only to find that they have not received e-mail from a real person today, and having trivial arguments with people on internet forums.

 

[maverick_starstrider]

If you have watched the movies about where I live you would probably think I am dodging bullets every day on the way to work, undergoing shake downs from dirty cops daily, and smoking crack with hookers on the weekends. Oh and occasionally I will find the love of my life under the most unlikely of circumstances and have a good weekend of that before deciding to go it alone because I need to save another loved one from the blood thirsty maniacs who kidnapped them.

If movies portrayed real life places and situations like they are in real life we would see a lot of ugly people sitting on the toilet, watching tv on the couch, surfing for porn on the internet, sifting through e-mails about cheap viagra only to find that they have not received e-mail from a real person today, and having trivial arguments with people on internet forums.

I'd watch it.