Since the beginning of civilization, humans have been divided based upon similar qualities such as wealth, aesthetics, and age. These partitions are what social classes are based upon and cause human interaction and relationships to be limited only to those belonging to similar classes. If social rankings are ignored and friendships are formed between individuals of differing social statuses, several problems arise due to the identity associated with each class, manipulating the way individuals treat their partners. Both the friendship of Khaled Hosseini’s characters Amir and Hassan from the novel "The Kite Runner," and the friendship between the brothers Jamal and Salim of Danny Boyle’s film "Slumdog Millionaire," demonstrate that the societal divide between classes causes friendships between individuals in differing social ranks to be implausible. Friendships that cross the distinct barriers between social classes are destined to failure, due to issues caused by the higher class individual, whose higher status causes the inequality in the relationship to become prevalent. Due to the differences in social rankings between Amir and Hassan as well as Salim and Jamal, three similar issues arise in both the novel and film due to social inequality. The first issue which comes to light is the blatantly low commitment level that the higher powered individual has invested in the friendship, caused by their opinion that the relationship is disposable and unimportant. Another issue that arises is abuse of the lesser individual due to the higher status individual’s knowledge that they are socially superior to their companion, thus becoming consumed by their own power and title, causing the ensuing abuse. Lastly, an act of betrayal performed by the higher status partner inflicted upon their lesser counterpart for self-centred reasons causes the detonation of the already unstable friendship to occur, resulting in the termination of the relationship. The friendships of Amir and Hassan, as well as Jamal and Salim are destroyed due to imbalances in the social status of the individuals involved in each relationship. Although the friendships and status divisions among the characters from the book and movie differ in nature, problems in both friendships are caused by the higher status individuals, Amir and Salim, abusing the perceived power they possess in each relationship. Through greed and self importance, Amir and Salim are able to overlook the bonds they share with their lesser status companions and strive for further advancements in their own social climbs. To ensure the longevity of any friendship, it is of the utmost importance that the commitment of both partners be as similar as possible. Friendships between individuals of unbalanced social statuses will cause the partners to undoubtedly weigh the importance of their relationship differently, causing a variation in commitment to occur. The higher social class of one partner will allow this individual to view their relationship with their lower class acquaintance as being less significant comparative to their own status. In the novel "The Kite Runner," the higher class individual Amir, feels that his relationship with Hassan is trivial and his commitment to Hassan is hardly comparable to that of his partner’s. This is due to Amir’s perception that the relationship holds little significance in comparison to maintaining his own status. In a a quote from Amir while he and Hassan are being harassed by the neighbourhood tyrant Assef, Amir demonstrates his weak commitment to his relationship with Hassan. Assef had targeted Hassan due to his religious and ethnic background, which are both factors in the lower class position which Hassan holds. Instead of retaliating and defending Assef’s cruel comments, Amir immediately conjures up ways to distance himself from Hassan to prove to Assef that the relationship the two boys share is purely a courtesy of master and servant. After doing so, Amir reflects upon the blockade that social rankings have created between Hassan and himself, and recognizes that his commitment level to Hassan is not where he had previously considered it to be. Amir thinks to himself, “But he’s not my friend! I almost blurted out. He’s my servant! Had I really thought that? Of course I hadn’t. I treated Hassan well, just like a friend, better even, more like a brother. But if so, then why, when Baba’s friends came to visit with their kids, didn't I ever include Hassan in our games? Why did I play with Hassan only when no one else was around?” (Hosseini 44). This quote from Amir illustrates his embarrassment of being associated with Hassan due to the unparalleled classes that Hassan and he belong to. As demonstrated by the quote from Amir, Amir rarely conveys his relationship with Hassan to the public because of the incongruity in the statuses of Hassan and himself. The inequality in commitment within the friendship