1. http://www.psychologyinaction.org/2011/09/16/flashbulb-memories-traumatic-events-and-the-details-we-remember/
1. This is an article about flashbulb memories. It adds to my discussion because it goes much deeper into what flashbulb memories actually are, and gives examples of several. Flashbulb memories were a big part of the movie Slumdog Millionaire, so a better understanding of what they are can help understand the psychological references in the movie.
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eTtzH_4gP8
2. This is a video that has 10 "unforgettable" facts about memory. This is more for fun, but does actually give facts about memory which give a better understanding of it. Because the movie is centered around memory, the more you know about it, the better you will understand the movie.
3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2265099/
3. This is an article that goes extremely in depth about the retrieval of emotional memories. It gives several definitions and background for its information. This adds to my discussion because in the movie, Jamal had to retrieve several emotional memories in order to answer the questions he was being asked. In order to better understand the psychology in the movie, we need to have a good understanding of the retrieval of emotional memories, and this article does an excellent job of explaining that.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog
Millionaire
The
2008 film Slumdog Millionaire is an
award winning masterpiece that captured the attention of millions, and tugged at
their heartstrings, too. It is a love story that is different from any other,
and shows the meaning of true dedication. There are also many psychological
concepts present in this film, mostly having to do with memory. The main
character uses his memory to ultimately be successful.
The
movie Slumdog Millionaire goes back
and forth between three main settings and time periods. The first setting being
Jamal Malik, the main character, on the set of India’s Who Wants to be a Millionaire? as a contestant on the show. The second
setting is Jamal being interrogated by the police for allegedly cheating on the
show. The third setting is actually several settings, and they are flashbacks
to Jamal’s childhood. The plot of this movie is not completely obvious from the
beginning, but as it progresses the plot becomes clearer. Jamal Malik is an eighteen-year-old
orphaned assistant at a telecom company from the slums of India. He enters
himself onto India’s version of Who Wants
to be a Millionaire? and continues to get the answers to the questions
correct. The fact that a “slumdog” with no formal education could get all of
the answers to such difficult questions correct raised some suspicion among the
authorities. After the first night of being on the show, Jamal was captured and
taken to the police station for interrogation. Everyone assumed that he was a
cheater, when in actuality he had personal experiences for every question that
led him to the answers. The movie shows flashbacks of Jamal’s childhood and
even recent past to show how he gets the answers. Jamal retells his experiences
to the people that are interrogating him, and reveals his true purpose for
being on the show. He did not enter for the money, but to find his lost love,
Latika. Latika and Jamal met when they were small children, and were separated
after they had grown very close. Jamal spent several years after that trying to
find her, risking his life several times in the process. He knew that Latika
watched the show Who Wants to be a
Millionaire?, so he entered himself on the show hoping she would see him.
Jamal was released from the police station after he convinced them that he
truly did know the answers, and the next day he was back on the show to finish
up. Jamal won all of the prize money because he got the final question correct,
and then he goes to the train station where he told Latika he would wait for
her every day until she came for him. Jamal waits and sees Latika in the
distance and runs to her, and the movie ends with them sharing a kiss. Jamal’s
hard work and perseverance paid off in the end because he found his true love.
There
are many psychological concepts in the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Most of these concepts have to do with memory.
Memory is defined as the persistence of learning over time through the storage
and retrieval of information. Jamal Malik had to use his memory throughout the
entire movie, as he was on a game show that asked questions that required him
to pull from his memories of past experiences. Jamal pulled many of his
memories from something called his long-term memory. Long-term memory is
defined as the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory
system, and it includes knowledge, skills, and experiences. Almost all of his
memories were experiences from his childhood that he had stored in his
long-term memory. For example, his memory of meeting his favorite famous actor was
stored in his long-term memory because it happened when he was a small child
and he still could recall it years later. Most of his memories could be
considered flashbulb memories, which are clear memories of an emotionally
significant moment or event. All of his memories were of his past experiences
that were emotionally significant to him in some way. For example, his memory
of his mother being murdered was extremely traumatic to him, and he remembered
every detail of the incident as a result. Another category of memories that
Jamal’s memories fall under is called explicit memory. The explicit memory is
memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare. All of
his memories were explicit because he was conscious of them. All of his
memories were also episodic memories, which is one type of explicit memories. Episodic
memories give an important record of personal experiences. Because all of his
memories were of his own experiences, Jamal’s memories can be classified as
episodic. Jamal’s memories were measured using recognition. Recognition is a
measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously
learned. Because all of the questions he was asked were multiple choice, Jamal
only had to recognize the one right answer among the three wrong answers. There
are many psychological concepts presented in the movie Slumdog Millionaire, and most of them have to do with memory.
All
of the psychological concepts in the film Slumdog
Millionaire were presented accurately. The movie was centered around the
main character’s memories, and concepts such as long-term memory, flashbulb
memory, explicit memory, episodic memory, and recognition were obviously and
correctly displayed. Long-term memory was accurately presented because all of
his memories were from his past. Flashbulb memory was also correctly portrayed
because he remembered every detail of what happened in his traumatic or
emotionally significant memories. Explicit and episodic memories were correctly
presented in the film because his memories were of his own experiences and he
was conscious of them. Recognition was also correctly displayed by the multiple
choice questions, which he only needed to recognize the correct answer, rather
than recall it directly from memory. The psychological concepts in the movie
were all accurately presented.
Slumdog Millionaire is an intricate love
story in which true tests of memory determine the fate of the characters. The main
character in the movie enters himself onto a game show where his memories help
him answer the questions, and lead him to his true love. There are many
psychological concepts in the movie as well, most of which touch on the subject
of memory. There are several different types of memories displayed in this
movie, and there are all accurately presented. Slumdog Millionaire is a movie that is interesting and educational,
and will be enjoyed by many for years to come.
Works
Cited
Myers, David G. Myers' Psychology For AP. New York: Worth,
2011. Print.
"Explicit Memory." Brain Training Software, Brain
Fitness, Brain Games, BrainHQ. Posit Science,
2013. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.
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