Alison Downie examines the religious implications of the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire:
But where does fairytale end and myth begin? To use Slumdog’s language, what is written? Is it written that every child born into miserable conditions will grow up to enjoy a happy life? Of course not. The appeal of Slumdog is mythic, symbolic, and, therefore, in the broad sense of the word, religious, telling what is deeply true and teaching how to live in harmony with truth. Reviews that regard the movie as “seductive” assume it offers a false road map that will only lead to dangerous dead ends, since it does not seriously engage the perils of navigating real life. But who could accuse Slumdog of glossing over unbearable suffering? In depicting such suffering but also showing a positive outcome, it is the compass rather than the road map, much like the mythic tales of many religious traditions.
Read more at Sightings, and see previous here & there coverage of faith at the Oscars.