GE3201 THE SERVICE ECONOMY

MODULE PROFESSOR: DR KAREN LAI

FILM REVIEW
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

ESSAY TOPIC: INDIAS SERVICE ECONOMY: A SLUMDOG ANALYSIS Name: Nallu Dhinakharan Matriculation Number: U090043B
Introduction A lead in to the service economy in India as portrayed in the film

That used to be our slum... Can you believe that? We used to live right there... Now, it's all business... India is at the centre of the world now, bhaiya (brother)
-

A dialogue from the movie Slumdog Millionaire (Boyle,2008)

A film of immense grit and class, Slumdog millionaire accurately portrays the materiality, spatiality and sociality in Mumbai whilst narrating a glorious rag to riches story. The film seems also to cross a number of aesthetic and cultural boundaries, as it reveals in full-tilt sensuality the Dharavi slum and the dynamic city of Mumbai to the world (Duncan, 2011). This essay explores the film Slumdog Millionaire via theoretical concepts, themes and issues in relation to the service economy which are exemplified and portrayed in the film. The film uses the representation of India as an example, and this essay will also show that the film projects elements of globalization in a postcolonial free market which has been infiltrated by transnational capitalism (Chestromathy, 2010). A service may be defined as a change in the condition of a person, or of a good belonging to some economic unit, with the prior agreement of the former person or economic unit (Hill, 1977). Having looked at the definition of a service, we shall look at the three aspects of the service economy which will also be the focus of this essay; materiality, sociality and spatiality play a pivotal role in understanding the nature of the service economy in any country. We shall begin this analysis with respect to the film. Materiality and Sociality Intangible transactions in perspective With respect to the movie, I argue that materiality and sociality in the service economy are produced together. The agglomeration of intangible economic transactions has an impact on the landscape of the Dharavi slums and in turn the city of Mumbai. These intangible transactions can often be hard to measure and as the movie shows it also includes the informal sector of the economy which can be rather illegal in nature. The movie is ridden with examples from the informal sector of the economy; particularly materiality. One of the first few scenes shows that Salim (elder brother of Jamal) is seen collecting money for the use of the makeshift toilet by the river. The construction of a makeshift toilet by the slums near the river and the collection of money for the use of the toilet is an apt example of the informal economy that is constructed by the movie. Here, sanitation is offered as a service to a dweller in the slum and when the dweller feels that the

service was not up to mark, he gladly reaches back to Salim for a refund of his payment. Here we see a tangible transaction between Salim and the man but the nature of the service is informal. When Salim sells away the autographed photo of Amitabh Bachan, the owner of the illegal movie screening shack gives him a few rupees. The presence of an illegal movie shack and the collection of entrance receipt is also another subtle yet interesting example of the informal economy. In light of such illegal activities, it is estimated that the annual turnover from the Dharavi slums small businesses is between $50 and $100 million (Duncan, 2011). The Dhobi Ghat near the slums where the Dhobis wash and dry the clothes of their customers is another portrayal of the informal economy. In the movie, Jamal says It is said that every person in Uttar Pradesh has had their kurthas (traditional top) washed and dried here at least once. This shows the extent to which the people of Uttar Pradesh are dependent on the Dhobis. The informal service that Jamal and Salim offer to the tourists in Taj Mahal also shows a jovial side of the film but highlights the reality of the situation where the two characters offer an informal service just to meet ends needs and live on a day to day basis. I argue that poverty is one of the driving forces of the informal economy in India. The film also portrays deliberately maimed children who are made to beg on the city streets, and that great numbers of people there live far below their human potential. The presence of gangsterism and the use of child labour to accomplish illegal tasks (beggar mafia) can also be considered to be a service. Here the service is illegal but when the child is paid for his services, there are tangible manifestations on the quality of his life and the economy of the slum dwellers as a whole. There are outright portrayals of greed, inequitable distribution of wealth and unplanned development in the economy of Mumbai (Duncan, 2011) that are showcased in the movie. Sociality is portrayed via the commercialisation of the body (Chestromathy, 2010) where the females are seen in Pila Street engaging in activities like prostitution and sleazy dancing. Here we can see that there is a clear definition of a service as there is an exchange of sexual services for money. In this view I argue that the movie was paramount to framing the notion of emotional labour (Hochschild, 1983). Here the prostitutes are the moderators of the society in the sense that they offer social support and as such they too are subjects of the stress and strains of the working world as they are to leave any stresses of occupational prostitution aside to provide a service.

Spatiality The call centre economy Teacher: Anyone knows about Edinburgh? Student: Kilts, castles, Ben Nevis...Inspector Taggart, Whiskey, Sean Connery Teacher: Good! - A dialogue between the teacher and student at the call centre in Mumbai (Boyle, 2008)

There are boards of streets in London hung everywhere in the call centre with pictures of festivals like the rowing race that takes place between Oxford and Cambridge. All of this is done to purposefully construct the call centre as a place in UK and not in India. The individuals are also trained to say that they work in UK and not in India. The presence of a cheap, skilled and efficient English speaking workforce is a key reason as to why companies outsource their call centre service to India. It is seen as a means of negotiating the service distance and taking Indias rapid growth in ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) into consideration it can be said that India is a thriving call centre economy. The teacher in the call centre is seen training students from everything in the pop culture to the general knowledge of everything to do with UK, probably to give them an edge when attending to calls from UK when calls come in. India is a perfect example in what Bryson calls the offshoring of service activities (Bryson, 2007). He argues that there is a second global shift (Bryson, 2007) that involves distanced emotional labour (Hochschild, 1983). Emotional labour is usually understood to be implicated in face-to-face encounters between service producers and consumers but firms located in developed market economies encourage foreign workers to alter the ways in which they project their identities. The offshoring of services to India encourages call centre operators based in India to become English at night and Indian during the day. Conclusion A wrap up of the service economy in India as portrayed in the film This essay has shown the film Slumdog Millionaire via theoretical concepts, themes and issues in relation to the service economy which are exemplified and portrayed in the film. This essay has also shown how materiality, sociality and spatiality play a pivotal role in understanding the nature of the service economy as framed by film and how all these entities

have helped in understanding the nature of the service economy in India as a result of the prevalent economic disparities and social norms and relations in the country. (1184 words)

References

Books Hochschild, A. (1983) The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling. Berkeley: University of California Press. Film Boyle, D. (2008) Slumdog Millionaire. Celador Films. Journal Articles Bryson, J.R. (2007) The second global shift: The offshoring to global sourcing of corporate services and the rise of distanciated emotional labour, Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography. Volume 89 (2007): pp. 31-43 Chrestomathy,C. (2010) Contesting Indias Image on the World Stage: Audience Reception of Slumdog Millionaire, Annual Review of Undergraduate Research, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs, College of Charleston. Volume 9 (2010): pp. 1-18 Duncan, R.S. (2011) Reading Slumdog Millionaire across cultures, The Journal of Commonwealth Literature. Volume 46 (2011): pp. 311-324 Hill, T P, (1977), On Goods and Services, Review of Income and Wealth, Volume 23, Issue 4: pp. 315-38. ___________________________________________________________________________