The film Slumdog Millionaire, written by Simon Beaufoy, shows the story of a boy Jamal his brother Salim and his soul mate Latika it follows there struggles in the slums of India. After a long life of hardship of different types of prejudice, poverty, and other struggles of being parentless children in a third world country, Jamal finally gets a chance to make it out when he gets an opportunity to compete on the game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Although from the outside looking in you might not think these kind of things happen anywhere else like kids being exploited to make money for adults by being forced into prostitution or to beg and sing on the streets. But just because what happens in the United States is more hidden and more subtle doesn’t mean it isn’t happening and isn’t horrible. Look at the world of child stars these kids start at a very young age and aren’t yet capable of consenting to what is good for them they really have no say in the matter. Not to say that all child actors parents don’t mean well but a lot put the welfare of there children in order to get fame and or money. There are shows like Toddlers and Tiaras which shows very young girls covered in makeup and being judged for there looks. Women already have a tough enough time with the way that the media portrays beauty couldn’t they just let them have a childhood before they start to have to worry about there appearance all the time. Martina M. Cartwright Ph.D. said, “Many experts agree that participation in activities that focus on physical appearance at an early age can influence teen and/or adult self-esteem, body image and self-worth. Issues with self-identity after a child "retires" from the pageant scene in her teens are not uncommon. Struggles with perfection, dieting, eating disorders and body image can take their toll in adulthood.” different opinions about the effect of children beauty pageants came to light when in 1996 a child pageant star Jonbenet Ramsey was found murdered in the basement of her family home. Although this case was never solved there were theories about a convicted pedophile in the neighborhood who was known to be a fan of her could have done it. Even though there is not much to support this claim I feel like exploiting children this way is not only going to be damaging to there self esteem as teenagers or adults it is also dangerous when you are sexualizing a kid that age you are making a haven for pedophiles. Although I feel like being exploited for fame at a young age is not good and can cause damage to someones self worth there is a more underground and illegal way teens and young adults are being taking advantage of and that’s the sex trade. When people think of the words “hooker” and “prostitute” they think of the stereo typical women in a small shiny dress covered in makeup and wearing high heels on the corner but that is just not the case anymore especially with the rise of heroin addiction and also other drugs. It is starting to surface more because it is happening everywhere in the country and not just in poor neighborhoods and its as easy as going on craigslist to make a date with one of these women. A lot of these girls are broken down phsycologicaly and so caught up in an addiction that they rely on there pimp to get high. Many of these girls are afraid to leave because there family is threatened. They are beating and completely broken down it is easy for someone on the outside and judge when they see a girl like this but they have no idea what the circumstances are. Yea they could have been making bad choices and hanging around the wrong people and using drugs but that doesn’t mean people are allowed to hold them against there will and treat them like worthless objects. Millions of children are victims or trafficking in the United States I think it should be talked about more then it is. I hope more parents teach there kids the danger of the internet especially since now so many kids have smart phones and tablets they need to be aware of predators. So it might be a little more out in the open in third world countries it does still happen here everyday its just more hidden.
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