SCIENTIA EST POTENTIA

Chris Delling

Professor Wexler

495 ESM

5 May 2010

India’s Globalization Through the Lens of Slumdog Millionaire

Much has been made of the term globalization, over the past couple decades. Indeed, with communications, culture, and trade going transnational, the world as we know it is becoming more and more interconnected. Globalization has led to American styles in Japan, Chinese goods in America, and even a burgeoning tourist industry in Dubai. Some would argue that globalization has been going on for centuries. After all, as a global community we have traded amongst each other for at least that long. Others would argue, however, that globalization is far more complex, and far more interwoven than it once was. The globalization of today transcends the simple trade of goods. Globalization is an all encompassing phenomenon that includes, not only trade, but culture, labor, and even entire economic systems. For this reason, there is an ongoing debate as to whether this new breed of globalization is indeed healthy for the global community. Debate aside, the truth of the matter is this: globalization, and the benefits/drawbacks thereof, is an extremely complex phenomenon that exhibits both positive and negative characteristics.

Take India for example. India is a prime example of globalization because it exhibits both the good and bad qualities of being recently globalized. In fact, much of India’s globalization can be found in the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Using the movie as a backdrop, let’s look at the positive aspects of India’s globalization. In one scene, we see Jamal working in a call center. Through western eyes, this may be cause for concern, as we see portions of the Indian workforce as competition. After all, it’s no secret that myriad American companies outsource their call centers to India. Through the eyes of an Indian, however, a job at a call center is an opportunity to succeed, to do something greater. And while working at a call center may not be the most high profile position in the world, it is certainly better than working in the slums, a place that is oft depicted in the beginning of Slumdog Millionaire. Thus, we can see Jamal’s work in the call center as kind of a microcosm of India’s burgeoning economy. Worthy of note, is the fact that wages in India have “gone up fifty percent over the past fifteen years, and, not surprisingly, much of that leap is owed, in large part, to the globalization of India” (Panagariya 253). Taking that fact into account, it’s easy to see how globalization can be a good move for India.

Positives can also be found in the industrialized scenes in Slumdog Millionaire. Part of the brilliance of the film is the director’s deft choice of disparate locations. In one scene, we see Jamal and Salim playing in the slums. Homes are more akin to shanties, bathing is done in the river, and food seems to be scarce. Conversely, in the city, there are shops, apartment buildings, and people with appropriate attire for the climate. One could argue that globalization has had a hand in helping build these communities. The outsourcing of labor and the trade of Indian goods has led to the creation of the eleventh largest industrialized nation in the world: India.

These statistics can also be used to attack the argument for globalization as well, however. For every rich business man in India—like Salim in the latter half of the movie—there are three indigents. As Fernando Coronil states in his essay, "Towards a Critique of Globalcentrism: Speculation on Capitalism's Nature,” globalization has led to “new patterns of global integration and a heightened social polarization within and among nations” (Coronil 358). In short, the upper class is getting richer and the lower class is getting poorer. Prem Kapur, the man who hosts Who Wants to be a Millionaire; the people who are able to sit and home and watch the show on their televisions; and even the people in the audience are exceptions to the rule. True, India is industrialized, and yet much of the nation still lives in poverty. For a nation that “boasts homegrown programs in space exploration” (267 Panagariya), an ever growing hub for technical expertise, and a dozen legitimate Indian corporations listed on the NYSE, it still “still struggles with providing basic amenities, such as clean water, sanitation, and electricity” (268 Panagariya). And though India’s economy has grown by leaps and bounds, it only contributes 1.5% to world trade. As a result, naysayers of globalization have begun to ask: at what cost?

If anything is for certain, it’s that the benefits and/or drawbacks of globalization are somewhat nebulous, and a bit relative. Positives can be seen in the sharing of culture, of trade, of technology, and general well being. We are more of a global community than we have ever been, which in turn, allows us to work on some of the world’s greatest problems with a collective human effort. Negatives can be seen in the disparities created by globalization—namely social. It has been argued that much of the success that industrialized nations have seen through globalization have come at the cost of supposed third-world countries. It’s easy to see globalization as a net positive through western eyes. I wonder if the kids depicted in the slums of Mumbai feel the same way, though.

Works Cited

Coronil, Fernando. "Towards a Critique of Globalcentrism: Speculation on Capitalism's Nature." Public Culture 12.2 (2000): 358. JSTOR. Web. 3 May 2010.

Panagariya, Arvind. "Globalization and the Offshoring of Services: The Case of India." Brookings Trade Forum 36.9 (2005): 253-68. JSTOR. Web. 3 May 2010.

Coronil's article details the perceived benefits of globalization, and its actual drawbacks. He begins by saying that many believe globalization to be this new trend, but in fact, it's no different than cross cultural/cross continental trade. History books look back upon these moments as seminal, and important. And they are. But globalization in the contemporary sense is not this warm, fuzzy occurrence it's made out to be. Indeed, "rather than being new," Coronil states, "[it] is the intensified manifestation of an old process of...capitalist expansion, colonization, worldwide migrations, and transcultural exchanges" (352). The issue, as Coronil explains, is that this new breed of globalcentrism "polarizes, excludes, and differentiates" (352). In short, "it unites by dividing" (352).

If we were to look at Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado", through the lens of Buckingham's Media Education, and delivered through a medium such as youtube, we would find that myriad opportunities to critique said story and medium, arise. For instance, in the video I've chosen to embed in this post, we can critique the speaker's delivery, his cadence, and even his facial expressions. We can examine the producer's motivation for utilizing a single voice actor, as opposed to two. And we can also examine the rationale behind using a voice actor in the first place. Why was this story not acted out with props? Why does he speak by candlelight?

At first, I thought Buckingham's book was going to detail the many novel, progressive ways that media is being utilized in the classroom. This seems to be a popular theme of late. However, I came to find, after reading through the first couple chapters of his book, that Media Education is less about the use of media in the classroom than it is about the critique of media strategies. As he says in his own words, "Media education therefore aims to develop a broad-based competence, not just in raltion to print, but also in these other symbolic systems of images and sounds. This competence is frequently described as a form of literacy, and it is argued that, in the modern world, 'media literacy' is just as important for young people as the more traditional literacy of print" (4). Essentially, what he's set out to do in Media Education is to show students--and parents for that matter--that literacy no longer means the ability to read and write. To succeed in the modern world--a world filled with television, the internet, radio, advertising, etc...--one must be literate in all forms of media. This is necessary because "the media do not offer us a transparent 'window on the world', but a mediated version of the world.

As in many other mythologies, the patriarchal deity, Odin, leader of the Aesir and king of the gods, is a bit of a rabble-rouser. In "Thor's Duel with Hrungnir," we find him taunting the leader of the giants, Hrungnir, a proud beast with a temper of his own. Odin, drunk and belligerent, actually insults Hrungnir after having received a rather nice compliment about his horse. Snidely, he retorts, "Better than any in Jotunheim...that's for sure" (234). This sparks a duel, of sorts, as Hrungnir challenges Odin and his prize horse, Sleipnir, to a race. The two tear across the world at great speed until they arrive at Valhalla, home of the gods.

The Feast

They always come by dark of night,

gnawing, tearing, feasting.

If you see one run, run fast, or be prepared to fight.

Their eyes are sunk, their flesh decays, they’re sensitive to light.

Most just wander aimlessly, but some will stand there leering.

They always come by dark of night,

hoping for a single bite.

It seems you are not listening, you must be hard of hearing:

If you see one run, run fast, or be prepared to fight.

I can see no end in sight,

this plague that stops hearts beating.

They always come by dark of night,

oblivious to their ghastly plight.

Ah, now you see, reprieve was but fleeting.

If you see one run, run fast, or be prepared to fight.

These words I spoke this fateful night,

your foible’s brought them feeding.

They always come by dark of night.

If you see one run, run fast, or be prepared to fight.

Rat Race

Hunting, pecking, tab, space, indent

Send

Swingline, clamp, clamp

Toss

Ring, ring, ring

Swivel left

“Hello…no, sir…but I don’t think you…yes, sir”

6612547678…beep…beep…beep….complete

Swivel right

Swivel left

Crumple, toss, score

Hunting, pecking, tab, space, indent

Bing, click, delete

www.monster.com

Cruise line juggler…delete

www.expedia.com...delete

Turkey sandwich

Apple

Cheese stick

Dr.Pepper

Nodding

Ring, ring, ring

“Hello…yes, I sent them an hour ago”

Spin, clock, ugh

Bing, reply

Bing, reply

Bing, delete

Bing, forward

Spreadsheet, send

Ring, ring, ring

“I’m on it”

Send, send, send, send

www.expedia.com

Boyne City, MI

$463 one way

Delete

Clock

Wait

Wait

Done

Chris Delling

Professor Wexler

English 495ESM

10 February 2010

Dylan Thomas’ classic villanelle, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” is commonly interpreted as a son’s pleading with his father to fend off death’s cold grasp. And that is an accurate interpretation, in part. When examined more closely, however, we begin to see that “DNGGiTGN” is just as much about life as it is about death. Indeed, the majority of the poem is actually an exhortation, coupled with a warning, to live life to the fullest.

In Thomas’ first stanza, the speaker begins with the metaphorical refrain, “Do not go gentle into that good night” (1). The words “good night” serve a dual purpose. One, they set the tone for the rest of the poem: night is a metaphor for death. Two, and perhaps more telling, is the juxtaposition of “good” and “night.” We know this poem is about death, so how can it be good? In addition to setting the tone with this key phrase, Thomas also tells us how to read his work: antithesis will play an important role. Keeping that in mind, the diametrical opposite of death is life, which, the speaker is imploring us to live to the fullest. We see evidence of this in the next four stanzas.

In the second stanza the speaker talks of “wise men” knowing “at their end” that “dark is right.” The phrase “wise men” is a metaphor for those who have lived their lives in glorious fashion. They’re wise because they recognized the ephemeral nature of life, and seized upon every moment. They know, “dark is right” because no one can escape death, but they don’t fear it either, for they have truly lived. Thomas sets this as the example to live by.

In the following three stanza’s we’re introduced to men who failed to recognize life’s fleeting nature. Stanza three, for instance, begins with “good men,” a metaphor for youth and purity. These men have not yet been tainted by the beauty and the horror that is life. These “good men” are described as “crying how bright/their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay” (7-8). They never got a chance to achieve anything; their deeds are “frail”: they’re the deeds of men who hadn’t the time to really accomplish anything of note. Instead, they passed before their time, in the spring (green bay) of their lives. To close the stanza the speaker exhorts, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (9). This is a warning to all: enjoy every moment you’re given and take nothing for granted. To “rage against the dying of the light” (9) is thus, to not only live, but to live every moment as if it may be your last.

Stanza four begins with “Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight” (10). The phrase “Wild men” is a metaphor for those who lived to reach maturity, those who lived to see the day at its brightest. They saw “the sun in flight,” (10) saw what life had to offer. But they “learn[ed] too late” (11) that life is more than waking up, going to bed, and all that’s in between. They didn’t appreciate the opportunity they had been given and “grieved it (life) on its way” (11). This is a further warning: even those who’re fortunate enough to bask in the sun’s rays, who reach maturity, who live life by convention, will grieve, upon their deathbeds, for the path they chose. “Do Not Go Gentle into that good night” (12) says the speaker. His refrain reminds us, the reader, to live. Simply existing is not enough. We cannot go gently towards death, we must meet it head on, knowing that we did everything in our power to squeeze every last ounce out of our lives, knowing that we didn’t waste a single moment.

Stanza five begins with the phrase “grave men,” a metaphor with a double meaning. Grave, in this instance, means both those close to death, and those grave of mind. These are the men that have reached the end of their journey. They’ve left the harbor, battled the squalls, sailed the open seas, and can see the harbor once more. What’s more, they “see with blinding sight” (13). Thomas uses antithesis once again to illustrate the diametrically opposed concepts of life and death. In addition, we can interpret “blinding sight” as those who may be literally blind—somewhat common with old age—but can still look back upon the lives they led. The next line is most telling, however, for these men came so close to truly living. “Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay” (14) if only they had realized what they had been given. The operative word in line 14 is could. If only they’d lived a glorious life, a life where every moment was cherished, where every desire was fulfilled, where every goal was accomplished, they could “be gay.” But they didn’t, and like the youth and men of age that preceded them, these men serve as yet another example of why one should “rage against the dying of the light” (15).

In the final stanza the poem takes on a more personal tone. The speaker opens, “And you, my father, there on sad height/curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray” (16-17). We find that not only is the reader implored to seize the day, but so, too, is the speaker’s father. One can surmise that the speaker’s father is on his death bed as the speaker exhorts one last time, “Do not go gentle into that good night/Rage, rage against the dying of the light” (18-19). One also gets the sense that the speaker’s father did not live his life to the fullest and, accordingly, the final two lines are spoken in sorrow. They’re tinged with regret, but also with the reminder that the speaker, too, must live by his own words.

Thus, “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” is just as much about life as it is about death; in fact, even more so. The speaker urges us to use the men he cites as examples. If we fail to recognize what life has to offer, we can never truly live it. And if we can never truly live it, then our final moments on this earth will be filled with regret and despair. To “rage against the dying of the light” is therefore an exhortation to live every moment as if it was your last.



Deutsch, Babette. Poetry Handbook A Dictionary of Terms. New York: Collins, 1982.

Print.

Thomas, Dylan. "Do Not Go Gently into That Good Night." 100 Best Loved Poems. New

York: Dover Publications, 1995. 93. Print.

To be continued...

Part I: Explication

To be honest, I have no idea what this song/poem is about. Of course, that probably has to do, in large part, with the fact that I decipher poetry about as well as I dunk a basketball. Alas, I cannot dunk a basketball. Soooo...yeah. Anyway, there is a reference to the Ides of March, the time in which Caesar was assassinated, I believe. There are references to violets, which, for me, elicits the image of spring, of growth, of new life. The first line seems to talk about the development of a child--late bloomers, perhaps. Then you have diametrically opposed elements: water and fire. In the next couplet, also oppositions: first and last. There also seems to be more reversals what with "first things first" being switched to "first things last." Then you have contradictory lines: "and the night is long" and "the night is brief." Could this be about life and death? It begins with images of spring and ends with a reference to Caesar's assassination. You also have the lines: "ashes to ashes" and "dust to dust." As a unified whole, the best I can come up with is a nihilistic view on life. All of the contradictions could be an extended metaphor for life's disappointments: things never turn out the way you expect.

Part II: Did the song change anything?

Besides sounding decidedly different than the cadence I had imagined in my head, no. I think the message remains the same. To me it's all a bit esoteric, though. I can't quite wrap my head around this one.

Hello, all. My name is Chris and, truth be told, I have no intention of teaching at the secondary level. That may surprise many of you, as, after all, I am an English Subject Matter major. Instead, I’d like to teach at the collegiate level, probably junior college to start. To those of you brave enough to willingly enter the madness that is high school, I salute you. I just don’t have the patience. Oh, and dealing with parents would be a nightmare—seriously.

As for media technology in the classroom, I can’t see how it would be anything but a huge boon for teachers. The standard lecture/homework/quiz…tune out/procrastinate/regurgitate model is archaic and, I believe, part of the reason the educational system as it stands, is failing. Kids need to be engaged. Teachers have to compete with Xbox 360s, iPods, Hulu, Torrents, Facebook, and all other manner of instant gratification in this world. How can a teacher possibly keep a child’s attention with all of these distractions? The outside world is so much more appealing than the classroom. That is, unless, we begin to incorporate some of the technologies these children have begun to embrace, into the classroom. Take this course, for instance: we’re updating a weekly blog via the internet, a place where most of us spend hours a day anyway. I can only speak for myself, but I would much rather update a blog than read through three chapters of dry material, only to answer a slew of inane chapter questions. And I’d imagine, most high school students would agree.

Imagine a classroom that had access to JSTOR and Project Muse. A classroom that not only explored metaphor, simile, and foreshadowing in Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, but also demonstrated the aforementioned in Apocalypse Now. A classroom that taught the concept of a phalanx through a video game like Rome: Total War. The possibilities are endless. The point is, times have changed; so, too, must our methods of teaching. Media technology not only should be incorporated in the classroom, but must, if we are to change America’s educational slide.