Sunday, October 18, 2009

Slumdog Millionaire and Reductionism

Slumdog Millionaire is a great example where issues of child sex trafficking and the gender implications that are involved with child labor and life in the slums. It's known that many young girls are working in the red light district in India. These young girls are forced to give up their lives, their education, and future to make money for their families in order to survive. The character of Latika in the film is a young girl who is being trained as a sex dancer and a prostitute. She is labeled as a prize. This is an example of reductionism. She is reduced and defined by her body. The film quotes a man in references to her saying, "Have you any idea how much this little virgin is worth?" (Slumdog Millionaire). This movie demonstrates how the women are represented as poor victims of a male dominated society. With working as sex workers, they are owned by males, treated as property. The women are reduced as objects and are looked at only to please men. I tired finding a clip, but unfortunately there wasn't any. Here's the trailer for those who haven't seen the movie.

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