Jesse A. Schroeder

I glanced through a Time article today that talked about how Slumdog Millionaire is having a hard time making it big in India, even though it is so popular in the States, even up for several Academy Awards. The Time article states that for Indians, the scenes from Mumbai that are so captivating for Americans are commonplace, and so not entertaining at all. One person interviewed said, "There's nothing new in it for us. It's saturated with stereotyped images of India."

While it's interesting to note that culture is most fascinating to foreigners, the article touches on another profound and also disturbing element of American entertainment: "Poverty Porn." (BTW - when I googled those two words together, I didn't see any main wikipedia articles or anything similar using the term). In fact, the Time article states that about 40 Mumbai slum dwellers protested the film with signs that said, "I Am Not a Dog" and "Poverty fo Sale."

Unfortunately the article doesn't explore the idea of poverty voyureism much more than brief allusions - but it's clear (to me at least) that Americans get a deep sense of entertainment out of vicariously experiencing poverty and suffering through film. Here are some of my completely unsolicited, unreasearched, unfounded, and unfavorable thoughts:

1) We feel guilty in our day-to-day life about our wealth and excess, and so when we watch a film sypathetically identifying with a poor and abused lead character, we walk out of the film feeling like we did something good for the world. We supported a "good" film; we loved a lovable character; we dropped our money in the huge hollywood collection plate. So viewing the movie makes us feel good, when in reality it has no connection to doing anything to help those actually in need.

2) It is easier for us to watch a movie from a safe distance, than to actually learn about real people going through real suffering. When we leave the movie we might think, "Wow if that was a real person, I would help him. But he's not real, so I won't." Whereas if we were to peruse the web pages of World Vision and learn about the real life tragedies that happen every day, we would actually be compelled to do something, and would feel even more guilty about our inactivity and self-indulgence.

3) There is an odd, deep, and even somewhat perverted entertainment that results in viewing the poverty of others. Perhaps it is linked somewhat to horror films, but genuine feelings of simpathy (is it feeling anything?) are somehow entertaining to Americans who have a hard time feeling much about anything in everyday life.

Obviously this idea of "Poverty Porn" is really fascinating to me, perhaps because I know I am a guilty spectator, and so if you know of any other resources, pass them on to me please