1st Edition

Mobility, Modernity and the Slum The Real and Virtual Journeys of 'Slumdog Millionaire'

By Rodanthi Tzanelli Copyright 2016
    280 Pages 9 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    278 Pages 9 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Only virtuous humans are supposed to move in time to meet their happy destiny or karma. The tale of Jamal in Slumdog Millionaire is such a case of serendipitous mobility towards riches and love – a ‘journey’ in which good heroes and urban communities respecting solidarity are successfully modernised. Unsurprisingly, the film became tangled in many controversies around India’s destiny in the world: the film inserted Mumbai into various financial, political and artistic scenes, increased tourism in its filmed slums, and brought about charity projects in which celebrities and tourist businesses were involved. Slumdog Millionaire served as a global example of a ‘developing country’s’ uneven but unique modernisation.

    This book examines such mobilities of ideas, art, tourism and activism together. In doing so, it reveals the significance of Mumbai as a post-colonial city in discussions of modernity – a form of mobile adaptation to new world realities. Tzanelli examines the various agents involved in controversies through multiple virtual and real journeys to India’s colonial history and present social complexity, with a view to actualise a post-colonial future, a ‘destiny’ as the country’s serendipitous destination. Addressed to interdisciplinary audiences, the book will be a useful text for students and scholars of globalisation, mobility, tourism, media and social movement theory.

    Part I: Slumdog Metaphors of Globalisation  1. Globalisation as Serendipitous Adaptation  2. The Nexus of Theory and Methodology  3. A Slumdog Industrial Community  Part II: Reading Slumdog Millionaire  4. Staging Slumdog: From Realist Fiction to ‘Ethical’ Acting  5. The Cinematic Text Scene-by-Scene  6. The Frail Dialogics of Pop Participation  Part III: A Plural Slumdog Kósmos  7. Tourist Modernities: SM’s Multiple Sites as Fields  8. The Virtual Journeys of Slumdog Millionaire  9. Slumdog Economies of Modernity  10. Conclusion

    Biography

    Rodanthi Tzanelli is Associate Professor of Cultural Sociology at the University of Leeds, UK.

    ‘With Mobility, Modernity and the Slum, Tzanelli proves once again to be a compelling guide through the world of cinematic tourism, offering readers a richly detailed analysis of Slumdog Millionaire that draws our gaze beyond the screen to reveal the complex web of artistic communities, culture and heritage industries, transnational tourism, and charitable activism that surrounds the film. Brimming with theoretical insights and perceptive analyses, this stimulating book will transform the way we understand global circulations of film, art, and volunteer tourism.’

    — Associate Professor Jennie Germann Molz, Sociology and Anthropology Department, College of the Holy Cross, USA

     

    ‘In this book, insightful research meets meticulous interpretation. Bringing together social theory and cinema, Tzanelli’s is an extraordinarily masterful contribution to the understanding of contemporary world society.’

    —Dr Bulent Diken, Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, UK