Slumdog Millionaire, an Oscar Favorite, Is No Hit in India

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1873926,00.html

Slumdog Millionaire, an Oscar Favorite, Is No Hit in India

"Slumdog millionaire" has been a great success in many nations and has received 10 Academic Awards. However, the Indian population does not seem to share this interest and excitement about the movie. The movie is about an educated young man from the slums of Mumbai, who wins a million dollars in a TV show. Although the Indian people can identify their lifestyles with this movie, they do not approve it.

Many people in India claimed that the movie was full of stereotypes and false facts. They therefore believe that the movie was only made to entertain people and not to bring them nearer to Indian culture. Other citizens of Mumbai are aware of the social problems and the slums, however, they do not want to be reminded of these problems. Therefore, they do not want to be confronted with the movie.

"...but if I speak for Indians like me, there's nothing new in it for us. It's saturated with stereotyped images of India."

However, not only middle class people from India are critical towards the movie, but also the people who are actually living in the slums. Many of these people feel offended by the movie and do not want to be named a "slumdog" and be presented in a wrong manner.

Nevertheless, why are the people who are faced with a cruel life in the slums rebelling against this movie? Don't they realize that this movie could make other people understand the problem and start helping them? The movie certainly made many people think about these poor communities in India and could maybe even bring some improvement to the slums. However, the improvement cannot occur until the people in India are not ready to accept this help.

Giving the Poor Their Rights

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1640435,00.html


Giving the Poor Their Rights:

Margaret Atieno Okoth and her husband are both working for 2$ a day in order to survive with their 12 children in the slums. The two parents have very bad living and working conditions and are only able to send three of their children to school. Like Margaret, 1 million other Kenyans are also forced to live in the slums under horrible conditions. Many of these people are convinced that their situation will not change, as their family has been forced to live in the slums since generation.

People like Margaret have no chance to find their way out of the slums, because they do not have the rights to do so. They do not have any birth certificates or legal addresses, which makes it impossible for them to move, or to find a sufficient job. In addition, it is very dangerous for them not to have legal identity papers, since the landowners of the slums could force them of the land at any time. Another problem is that the people living in the slums know nothing about their rights since no one of them can read or write. Therefore, they do not understand what they should rightfully receive from the government. Automatically, the people are scared of any confrontation with the government or the laws. Since the people fear the government they do not dare to ask the government for support or a decent job. This causes even more problems among the poor people and poverty increases as no one dares to rebel against the unfairness.

Organizations are now intending to help these people to understand their rights. With such organizations the people from the slums are being educated and gain courage to stand up for their rights. Although these organizations are now helping the poor people, they still have to have a lot of support from others. The change among the slums will be very slow because still a lot of these people are being suppressed by their landowners and the government.

Cell-Phone Use Spreads Among World's Poor

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1882564,00.html

Cell-Phone Use Spreads Among World's Poor:

According to the U.N. report the use of cell phones has increased to 6 of 10 people. This increase in technology has particularly increased among developing countries. These countries are now trying to adapt as fast as possible to the new technology. However, it is almost impossible for them to keep up with the technological development of other nations.

In 2002, the number of people using mobiles in developing countries was less then half. This has increased dramatically, since now, in 2009, two - thirds of the people in developing countries are using cell phones. In addition, also the use of internet has increased among poor nations. However, the number of people who have internet access at home in Africa is still only 1 in 20. Although the developing countries are trying to keep up with the new technology, they are too slow. It is impossible for them to benefit or get wealthier from the technology when they cannot keep up with it.

Both the rich and poor countries will have to cooperate and adapt to each other in order to make sure, that the poor nations are able to keep up with technology. When the rich and the poor would work towards each other then the poverty rate of these countries would automatically decrease and new jobs would be available. However, there is no cooperation between the two and therefore, every year, it becomes more difficult and impossible for the developing countries to keep up with technology.