Slumdog Millionaire Effects

This just occurred to me ...

Slumdog Millionaire is coming under criticism in India for showing India's underbelly and profiting from it. Yes, I agree that the movie does not show India in a good light. However, by showing the plight of the slum dwellers and showing the tough conditions that they live in, it is definitely raising the awareness levels internationally. Also, the movie focuses on the hardships faced by children living in such tough environments - children who have lost their parents to riots, children living in poverty without a roof over their head or food to feed themselves, children forced into begging for a living etc.

One of the effects of this should be an increase in charitable contributions coming from outside India to improve the situation in the slums. The donors who are deciding how to dispense their charity dollars will now have a connection that they have not had previously. They may donate to many causes - like orphanages and schools for kids. I think this is a great opportunity for the non-profit organizations working to improve the life in the slums. The movie does a great job of portraying the poverty. At the end of the movie, people feel compelled to help ease the situation in anyway. The fore-mentioned organizations should use this chance to garner more aid and spend it wisely to improve the life in the slums.

Just a thought ...