On this episode of “The Wide World of Woke White Guilt™,” we have film director and producer Danny Boyle, who made the movie “Slumdog Millionaire” in 2008.
During a recent interview with The Guardian, the filmmaker discussed a series of topics, including his movies, the Brexit movement, and politics in America and the United Kingdom.
But, of particular interest were his comments about “Slumdog Millionaire,” a film that takes place in Mumbai, India. The story is about a poor young Indian man who wins the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” The film was a commercial success, with critics praising how it blended American storytelling with aspects of Bollywood.
The problem? Boyle is a white dude, which would make the film problematic if he had made it in today’s world, in which progressives are always on the lookout for something to be offended by.
“Yeah, we wouldn’t be able to make that now,” he told The Guardian. “And that’s how it should be. It’s time to reflect on all that. We have to look at the cultural baggage we carry and the mark that we’ve left on the world.”
However, he stopped short of claiming the film was a form of colonialism. He claims that it is colonization “ine the sense that everything is” and that “at the time it felt radical.”
“We’d work with a big Indian crew and try to make a film within the culture. But you’re still an outsider. It’s still a flawed method. That kind of cultural appropriation might be sanctioned at certain times,” the film producer continued. “But at other times it cannot be. I mean, I’m proud of the film, but you wouldn’t even contemplate doing something like that today. It wouldn’t even get financed. Even if I was involved, I’d be looking for a young Indian film-maker to shoot it.”
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I’m so sick of this conversation – and I know I’m not the only one.
How did Slumdog Millionaire become such a polarizing Best Picture Winner? I’ve loved this movie from the moment I saw it in theaters & never once looked back. #28YearsLater is so good, I find myself revising everything Danny Boyle’s ever touched & Slumdog is as good as it gets. pic.twitter.com/zfA2JrsuhB
— Cinema Tweets (@CinemaTweets1) June 21, 2025
I have no problem with pushing to make sure talented minority filmmakers get a fair shot. Hollywood, despite being dominated by white progressives who claim to care about “marginalized” people, is notoriously racist and sexist. The same people who schoolmarm us from their lofty perches about how bigoted we are happen to exhibit the same behavior they condemn when a camera is rolling.
But the notion that films should only be created by members of the same ethnic group as their characters is obnoxious and stupid. People want compelling stories, regardless of the skin color or nationality of the people making them. If Boyle wants to make a film about India, he should make a film about India — who cares what the crybullies on the hard left think?
I’m a big fan of the Alex Cross novels and films. The main character is a Black man with a Black family. Detective Cross is one of the most compelling protagonists I’ve come across.
Guess what. The author of the novels is a White man named James Patterson. Indeed, some of the earlier novels in the Cross series actually wrestled with race relations — especially when it comes to policing. To some, it might even be considered “woke” by today’s standards.
And even Patterson has received a modicum of criticism for being a White dude who writes stories about Black people. It makes absolutely no sense. The reality is that the people who have a problem with what they call “cultural appropriation” are merely a fringe element. There is absolutely no reason to take them seriously or to bow to their demands.
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