The Double Logic of Remediation in Slumdog Millionaire

Abstract

This research is about the intertwining process of “immediacy” and “hypermediacy” in constructing the illusion of the ‘real’ slums of India in the film Slumdog Millionaire, which is the final step of re-mediating the first two texts: the novel and the screenplay. The is a sense of “immediacy” in Slumdog Millionaire that tries to erase the medium making it possible for the audience to look at the film as a “window,” through which they can look at or even experience the slums of India directly. Meanwhile, there is also moments of “hypermediacy” that can be a disruption of “immediacy” or even as a tool to emphasize the process of “immediacy,” making the experience of the film as ‘real’ as possible. All in all, The material technology, that is the physical medium of the film, is used to conceptualize certain viewing position. Slumdog Millionaire purposefully uses different dispositifs taken from institutionalized film forms to guarantee that the viewing position functions in an optimal way. This way, the film is able to work within the double logic of remediation, “immediacy” and “hypermediacy” to depict the slums of Mumbai while conceptualizing the intended audience, which is the global audience.