ABSTRACT:This study is undertaken to investigate the conflicting needs of the protagonist Jamal in an India film Slumdog Millionaire. The approach I adopt is the theory named Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Theory was proposed by American psychologist Abraham Harold Maslow in his paper in 1943. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs divides human needs into five levels from low to high order, namely physical needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs. Specifically, this study was intended to explore five research questions based on the theory:

1. What are the manifestations and underlying causes of the specific conflicting needs of the male protagonist Jamal in Slumdog Millionaire from the perspective of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs? 

2. What are the practical implications of this study for the resolution of conflicting needs?

By analyzing the behavior of the leading role Jamal with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Theory, it is easy to analyze the image of Jamal. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can be used to analyze the role’s character in a three-dimensional way. It is a convenient method for people to study the characters in literary works or films.

The major findings of this study are summarized as follows:

Firstly, conflicting needs result from inner confusions. Jamal firmly pursues Latika and ignores his own brother. People need to consider more when making choices.

Secondly, in real life, people also should understand themselves from physiological and psychological aspects. To figure out conflicting needs and have a meaningful life, they need to know themselves better. 

This paper has limitations in two ways. 

Firstly, Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs is not comprehensive enough when analyzing a single person.

Secondly, people have different real personalities in different situations. This paper only analyzes Jamal, and it makes the content not specific enough.

Keywords: Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs; Slumdog Millionaire; Conflicting needs

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT

中文摘要

1 Introduction-1

1.1 Background of the Study-1

1.2 Aim and Necessity of the Study-2

1.3 Overall structure of the Paper-2

2 Literature Review-3

2.1 Discussions of Key Terms in the Study-3

2.1.1 Conflicting Needs-3

2.1.2 Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs-3

2.2 Previous Studies on Slumdog Millionaire and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs-5

2.3 Limitations of Previous Studies-6

3 Analysis of the Conflicting Needs of Jamal in Slumdog Millionaire Based on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs-7

3.1 Conflicting Needs of Jamal Based on the Physical Needs-7

3.2 Conflicting Needs of Jamal Based on the Safety Needs-8

3.3 Conflicting Needs of Jamal Based on the Belonging Needs-8

3.4 Conflicting Needs of Jamal Based on the Esteem Needs-9

3.5 Conflicting Needs of Jamal Based on the Self-Actualization Needs-10

4 Conclusion-11

4.1 Major Findings-11

4.2 Limitations of the Study-12

Reference-14