Warning: Do not read this article while eating! Slumdog Millionaire is a hugely successful film, theatrically (winning eight Oscars) and financially (grossing almost US$400 million), made in 2008, following a young man from the slums of Mumbai who is accused of cheating as he gets all the answers correct in the hit show Who Wants to be a Millionaire, as coincidentally his life experiences all link up with questions that are asked. One scene that shocked audiences was when the young boy who was locked in an open latrine by his friend was desperate to get out to see a famous film star who had flown in by helicopter.
The screenplay then narrates that “He looks down the toilet hole at the sewage beneath him, the landing helicopter, the disappearing crowd. A final rattle of the door. There is one way out. He jumps down the hole, sprawling headlong into a year’s worth of human waste, managing to keep the flyer out the mire. He runs for the helicopter.”
The toilet scene clearly shocked and appalled many viewers, understandably. The producers were, however, quick to point out that it was filmed with the muck being made with chocolate and peanut butter, not the real thing, much to the relief of all (no pun intended). The very idea of falling into a cesspit is unappealing; many will be squeamish at the thought. Many people are also very squeamish at the sight of an abscess filled with pus and needing to be burst before it can affect other areas through infection and also could kill if untreated.
‘Ciss’ (spoken phonetically) will be understood by many people as an expression or exclamation of disgust which maybe has its roots in the words, ‘cesspit’ or ‘abscess’. Both those words describe an unwelcome situation, to put it mildly, and both could perhaps be seen to relate to (or at least rhyme with) ‘success’ and ‘obsess’. Many people obsess about success, be it for sporting glory or financial riches, to the point where we may suspect them of cheating in order to gain the success. The success may have come through an abscess-like obsession, filled with unhealthy, unpleasant pus. Some would even go to the lengths of the young Indian boy in the film who would jump into a cesspit in order to achieve what he wanted, what he considered to be success.
Success is generally measured by money, power, position, glory – by dollars, trophies, titles and accolades. Yet in truth those are little more than what makes up a cesspit (even if it is made up of chocolate and peanut butter). The young man in the film who got all the way to the final question was not interested in the money and indeed the money that others sought only brought disappointment and death. How the world sees success leads only to the cesspit while those who have come through the cesspit find what they are looking for is not what they hoped or desired.
Our education system, following society’s obsession, only fuels the desire and obsession for success when all along it should be honouring, rewarding and assisting progress. Progress is what is available for everyone; success eludes most. In short, we are not called to be successful but to be faithful, faithful with what opportunity and ability we have been given. Being faithful simply means doing what we can with what we have. We do not all have the same abilities; that should be abundantly clear (yet sadly not everyone can see, understand or accept that). Not everyone can succeed; if they could then they could and would succeed in every area of life but that is impossible on every level. In the end, what is success? Only a label that hides much disappointment, disillusionment, despair.
Yet more importantly, that god of success again and again is shown to let the seekers of it down. It very often appears not to satisfy. Furthermore, we are left considering the age-old wise question of “what does it profit a man to gain the whole world [success] yet lose his soul?” The only part of the ‘cess’ pit we might consider viewing is the process. Progress is a process; it takes time; there are steps to take; there are things that need to be achieved on the way. Success is not automatic, nor is it guaranteed. Progress, however, is possible for all. Teach children to be faithful, not successful.
So, now, we can resume eating, though perhaps what we may need to eat is humble pie. Let us not drag our children through the cesspit of success when they can all easily ride the road to progress.