The Representation of Gender in the Films Bend it Like Beckham and Billy Elliot
The society we live in today is full of stereotypes. Each job, sport,
item of clothing carries and many more carries a certain stereotype.
When people go against and challenge these stereotypes they are seen
as strange and unconventional and can end up stuck with these
stereotypes for life.
In both films Billy Elliot and Bend it like Beckham we see
stereotyping but in a different way in each one. In Billy Elliot we
see a lot of stereotypes with the main ones being that boys shouldn’t
do ballet and if they do then they must be gay. In Bend it like
Beckham we also see a lot of stereotyping, with the mains ones being
that girls shouldn’t play football and that all girl footballers are
lesbians. In both films we see characters going about their lives
trying to achieve what they want to do in life, but funding obstacles
in their way because of society’s prejudices. We see a variety of
people with different views and how the main characters Billy and
Jess, overcome these stereotypes and obstacles to do what they want
and to change people’s views on them. The focus of this essay will be
to identify the stereotypes, to explain why people stereotype in this
way and how Billy and Jess change people’s views and overcome these
stereotypes.
In Billy Elliot we see stereotypes about three main people in the
film. The main and most obvious one is Billy; then there’s his dad and
then his friend Michael. Billy’s dad is stereotyped as a tough Geordie
miner, who doesn’t care what his son really wants to do; he does
what’s best for his image in society of being ‘hard’...
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...at help to highlight the emotion again.
Both films help to challenge stereotypes and prejudice. They shoe how
the people in the film are not what are expected of those stereotypes
they are ‘normal’. They both show that you can achieve what you want
even if everyone seems to be against you and sex, race doesn’t matter.
The films make you realise that stereotyping is wrong and in the films
views are changed and after viewing them mine are as well.
My views have only changed slightly a is know that girls play football
and had stereotypes but I didn’t know that Indian girls play football
as I thought that they wouldn’t as their parents would not allow it.
Also I used to think that barely any working class boys do ballet a
sit is mainly an upper class sport for boys but know I realise that
anyone can do it if they want.
A third major point in the film is the roles of the men and women of the Baka village. In Laicono’s family, the women are seen as the ones who built the camps for shelter when they traveled during the rainy season. Laicono’s wife Deni is seen making the framework of the shelter and cuts part of the stems of big leaves to be put on as roofing. When women are searching for fruit, the men are hunting for meat. The film also shows the different ways men and women hunt for fish. The men use the chemicals of vines that are called rotenones and in order to get the chemicals out, they have to beat them into a pulp. The men put the pulp in baskets and by washing out the pulp in the river, the chemicals are spread causing the fish to float to the surface;
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