Slumdog Millionaire Here and There

These four YouTube videos illustrate the reduction of the relative distance between India and the Western world, specifically the United States. Walter Benjamin criticizes the recreation of art because reproductions lose the “aura” of the original art pieces. These recreations of “Jai Ho” not only lose the aura of the original setting, but also create a more watered down, homogenized version of Indian culture. In the article, “Global Ethnoscapes,” Arjun Appadurai points out that globalization and the accessibility of other cultures broadens people’s imaginations. Prior to globalization, a boy from the slums in India probably would have never imagined life beyond his existence. However, the growing influence of media allows for the expansion of people’s imaginations. Western culture has a growing influence on India and vice versa, the character of Jamal in Slumdog Millionaire idolizes an Indian movie star, there is a gret deal of Western influence in his movies. People dream of striking it rich on the Indian version of the American television show, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”

The Pussycat Dolls sample the song from the movie, but they change it’s meaning; the term, “Jai Ho” means “be victorious” but the Pussycat Dolls implied that it means “you are my destiny.” The influence of Bollywood style song and dance is seen in the music video and they dance in the train station, just as was done in the film. The fusion of the two cultures reduces the relative distance between here and India, allowing westerners to imagine life there.

The performance of the song and dance by a dance troop in Tampa also illustrates how the relative distance between India and the West has been reduced. The dancers appear to be of Indian decent, but have likely never been to India and are much more assimilated to Western culture than their parents. Because Indian culture has become more engrained into Western culture, and because the popularity of the movie Slumdog Millionaire, this dance was likely much more appreciated by Westerners than it would have been if it had been performed in a less globalized world.

While Walter Benjamin would criticize the movie Slumdog Millionaire for taking away from the true value of traditional Indian culture, and these recreations of the dance number for taking away the aura of the original, I feel as though they are positive. These videos illustrate how the world has become more connected. They illustrate how people in the West can imagine what life is like in India and how people in India can imagine what life is like in the West and how globalization allows for a greater overall understanding of the world we live in.