The Issues of Culture and Gender in Bend It Like Beckham
Culture and gender are the two main issues of ‘Bend it like Beckham’.
In this film gender is put across by using sex and religion, but it is
much more complex than that. Race, sex, religion and beliefs should
not stop you getting a job; or achieving what you want in life. In
‘Bend it like Beckham’ all Jess wants to play football, however
because of her religious and cultural beliefs her mom says this is not
possible. In this essay I will be discussing the different cultures
and genders issues in ‘Bend it like Beckham’.
Throughout the film Indian beliefs are portrayed by Jess and her
family, this is showed by Jesses parents always wearing traditional
Indian clothing. Indian music is played throughout the film. Giving
the feeling that Jess lives within a family with strong Indian
beliefs. It is plain from the beginning and throughout the film Jess
and her sister have different ideas how young women should behave,
compared to her parent who have strong Indian beliefs. This is often
causes conflict in the form of arguments, an example of this is when
Jesses mother does not want her play football she wants her to behave
like a real Indian lady. By this is meant be a typical Indian
housewife, looking after the children and her Indian husband. In
addition to this Jess argues with her mother about her clothes, her
mother wants her to wear more traditional clothing, however Jess wants
to wear sports clothes. Jules and her mother both have different ideas
to how a young woman should act as well. Her mother thinks she should
wear make up and dress up. On the other hand Jules wants t...
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wearing traditional clothing. Plus the music in the background has an
Indian style. On the other hand when Jules parents come they make them
feel welcome. In the film Jess get caught be her mother play fighting
with a group of Indian boys. When this happens the camera zooms up it
to Jess’s face to show she is shocked. Another good camera shot is
where we are first introduced to Jess with her mother in the shop. In
this scene the camera switches over from Jess and her sister over to
Jules and her mom.
The filmmaker of ‘Bend it like Beckham’ has presented issues of
culture and gender very well in the film. He has put two girls who
both like football together, but with different backgrounds of
culture. Plus the two families of the two girls disagree on playing
football if you’re a girl.
Gender relationships are a very explored issue within these texts. In a majority, anyone no matter if they are male or female who do not fit in or do not conform to stereotypes to an extent, can be cast out by that group. Whether it is, their looks, their behaviour, the way they dress, or the way they think and feel, they are judged as different. This ‘outcast’ idea is portrayed in both the films. In the two feature films, the most obvious ‘outcasts’ would be the two ‘hero figures’ the intruders into the created microcosm.
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Smith, Jeff, and Chloe Beighley. "Normalizing Male Dominance: Gender Representation in 2012 Films." Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy. N.p., 12 Feb. 2013. Web. 1 Apr. 2014.
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The most important events of this film all revolve around the female characters. While there are some male charac...
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