Describe at least ONE important conflict in the text(s). Explain why the conflict(s) helped you understand an idea in the text(s). Discuss visual/oral text features in your response.
In the film, Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle, one important conflict was the conflict between Jamal Malik – the film’s protagonist and Prem Kumar – the game show host. Techniques the director uses to show this conflict are cinematography, dialogue and the soundtrack.
Right from the start it is evident that there is conflict between Jamal and Prem. At first Prem is just antagonising Jamal for being a ‘chaiwallah’, this escalates when Jamal continues to win question after question. Prem is jealous of Jamal and also suspects him of cheating. He tries to feed Jamal the wrong answer for one of the questions and when Jamal gets it right, his suspicions are further raised. This leads to the point where after failing to stop Jamal from progressing, Prem calls the cops – and this results in Jamal getting tortured and interrogated.
One of the techniques the director uses to convey this conflict is the use of cinematography. For example one shot the director uses, near the start of the film is an overhead shot of the studio. This shot shows the conflict because it compares the studio to a boxing ring or a gladiator arena, and gives the impression that Jamal and Prem are fighting. Another shot the director uses is the mid-shot of the two if them. This shot shows conflict because it creates the effect of the face off between the two opposing people. The other example that shows the conflict between the two people are the close ups of both Jamal and Prem’s faces. The effect of these shots is that they create an environment of tension between the two people and shoes that they are both head to head and equal.
Another technique the director uses to show conflict between Jamal and Prem is the combination of acting style and dialogue. Prem is arrogant, sneaky, rude and sarcastic. Situations in the film that show what Prem is like include near the start when Prem ridicules Jamal for being a chaiwallah and also when Prem tries to manipulate Jamal by feeding him the wrong answer. On the other hand Jamal is relaxed, passive and quite laid-back. A good example that shows Jamal’s characteristics is in various parts of the film when he is being teased by Prem, he still remains very calm and composed. This technique portrays conflict between Jamal and Prem because it shows the contrast between the two people and the dislike between the two.
The director also uses the soundtrack of the film to show the conflict between Jamal and Prem. The director uses sound effects such as the ‘tick-tock’ sound to increase the intensity between the two. Another sound the director uses is the applause that the crowd gives throughout the film. This sound shows just how much pressure is on Jamal and it helps to create an atmosphere of strain between Jamal and Prem.
The conflict between Jamal and Prem helped me understand the main idea that love will overcome all. There are two sides to this main idea. One about love and the other about overcoming poverty. The conflict between Jamal and Prem conveys the message of how Jamal overcomes poverty through the use of flashbacks. The flashbacks in the film were triggered every time Jamal was asked a question. Each of these flashbacks gave the audience an insight into how Jamal’s past experiences from his time in the slums helped him to answer each question. They unveiled bits of Jamal’s life in the slums such as his mother’s murder, him and his brother – Salim’s encounters with various gangsters and how he met Latika. Furthermore the conflict helps us understand how Jamal overcame poverty when Prem called the cops and had Jamal interrogated and tortured, because during the interrogation more flashbacks occurred and we learnt more about Jamal’s hard life. It is the conflict between Jamal and Prem either behind the scenes or on the game show that conveys all this.
The conflict between Jamal and Prem also helped me understand Jamal’s love for Latika. When Jamal tells Prem “It’s not about the money”, the audience immediately knows that Jamal came on ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?’ not for the prize money, but for other reasons. Later on in the film it is revealed that Jamal came on the show in an attempt to make contact with Latika since he knew she watched it regularly. We know this because the first thing he says to her when they meet after Jamal wins the game show is “I knew you’d be watching”. The conflict helped me to see that even when things were stacked against Jamal – like when Prem fed him the wrong answer to when of the questions and when he didn’t know the answer to the last question – his love for Latika would help him to overcome the odds.
In the film, Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle, one important conflict was the conflict between Jamal Malik – the film’s protagonist and Prem Kumar – the game show host. Techniques the director uses to show this conflict are cinematography, dialogue and the soundtrack.
Right from the start it is evident that there is conflict between Jamal and Prem. At first Prem is just antagonising Jamal for being a ‘chaiwallah’, this escalates when Jamal continues to win question after question. Prem is jealous of Jamal and also suspects him of cheating. He tries to feed Jamal the wrong answer for one of the questions and when Jamal gets it right, his suspicions are further raised. This leads to the point where after failing to stop Jamal from progressing, Prem calls the cops – and this results in Jamal getting tortured and interrogated.
One of the techniques the director uses to convey this conflict is the use of cinematography. For example one shot the director uses, near the start of the film is an overhead shot of the studio. This shot shows the conflict because it compares the studio to a boxing ring or a gladiator arena, and gives the impression that Jamal and Prem are fighting. Another shot the director uses is the mid-shot of the two if them. This shot shows conflict because it creates the effect of the face off between the two opposing people. The other example that shows the conflict between the two people are the close ups of both Jamal and Prem’s faces. The effect of these shots is that they create an environment of tension between the two people and shoes that they are both head to head and equal.
Another technique the director uses to show conflict between Jamal and Prem is the combination of acting style and dialogue. Prem is arrogant, sneaky, rude and sarcastic. Situations in the film that show what Prem is like include near the start when Prem ridicules Jamal for being a chaiwallah and also when Prem tries to manipulate Jamal by feeding him the wrong answer. On the other hand Jamal is relaxed, passive and quite laid-back. A good example that shows Jamal’s characteristics is in various parts of the film when he is being teased by Prem, he still remains very calm and composed. This technique portrays conflict between Jamal and Prem because it shows the contrast between the two people and the dislike between the two.
The director also uses the soundtrack of the film to show the conflict between Jamal and Prem. The director uses sound effects such as the ‘tick-tock’ sound to increase the intensity between the two. Another sound the director uses is the applause that the crowd gives throughout the film. This sound shows just how much pressure is on Jamal and it helps to create an atmosphere of strain between Jamal and Prem.
The conflict between Jamal and Prem helped me understand the main idea that love will overcome all. There are two sides to this main idea. One about love and the other about overcoming poverty. The conflict between Jamal and Prem conveys the message of how Jamal overcomes poverty through the use of flashbacks. The flashbacks in the film were triggered every time Jamal was asked a question. Each of these flashbacks gave the audience an insight into how Jamal’s past experiences from his time in the slums helped him to answer each question. They unveiled bits of Jamal’s life in the slums such as his mother’s murder, him and his brother – Salim’s encounters with various gangsters and how he met Latika. Furthermore the conflict helps us understand how Jamal overcame poverty when Prem called the cops and had Jamal interrogated and tortured, because during the interrogation more flashbacks occurred and we learnt more about Jamal’s hard life. It is the conflict between Jamal and Prem either behind the scenes or on the game show that conveys all this.
The conflict between Jamal and Prem also helped me understand Jamal’s love for Latika. When Jamal tells Prem “It’s not about the money”, the audience immediately knows that Jamal came on ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?’ not for the prize money, but for other reasons. Later on in the film it is revealed that Jamal came on the show in an attempt to make contact with Latika since he knew she watched it regularly. We know this because the first thing he says to her when they meet after Jamal wins the game show is “I knew you’d be watching”. The conflict helped me to see that even when things were stacked against Jamal – like when Prem fed him the wrong answer to when of the questions and when he didn’t know the answer to the last question – his love for Latika would help him to overcome the odds.
