The film deals with stereotyping also they are portrayed throughout the film. A stereotypical teenage girl is shown by jesses sister ‘pinkie’ she wears makeup loves shopping slags off her mates all the stuff present teenage girls are believed to do. But this conflicts with the stereotypical view of an Indian teenage girl who should be; loving, respectful and follow the culture of an Indian girl. So there is a twist to the stereotyping of a girl. Also jewls the English girl breaks away from the stereotype she loves football something not associated with girls also she wants to wear sports cloths like a tom boy her mum finds this very bizarre.
Next is the stereotype of a teenage boy jesses friends portrays this image as always playing football and messing about with there mates and girls. But again there is a twist as one of the lads turns out to be gay. A western family is also shown in the film by jewels family they are portrayed by being supportive to jewls but really the mom doesn’t like her playing football she gets quite worried and upset about it, the farther clearly loves football like most male people do in a western family. The dad seems more encouraging towards jewls. They eat traditional food like fish and chips. Also jewls drinks in a pub something related to English culture. An Indian family is also stereotyped in the film jesses family is a typical Indian family, they are strict with the children even though they are quite old and they have arranged marriages, they cook and sometimes talk in traditional ways just like our view of a Indian family. Also homosexuality was bought up in the film but I don’t think it was stereotyped, as the gay lad likes football and male things not a stereotypical view of a gay man as they are said to be more feminine.
The film reflects conflict right the way through, there is family conflict when jess wants to play football but her mum and dad despise her playing football, also when jess has a big game on the same day as her sisters wedding jess wants to go but she also wants to stay at her sisters wedding and support her so there is a slight role conflict happening at hand. There is also relationship conflict when jess falls in love with the coach Joe but jewls also fancies him and when jewls finds out that jess has kissed him she falls out with her for betraying her trust. All these things add up to an inner conflict for jess should she play the role of a friend to jewls or the role of a lover to Joe. Also she will be thinking about playing football against her parent’s permission. So jess is going through a stressful and depressing time in her life.
The film does reflect some things about our modern British society for example there is a lot more ethnic people aloud to play sports now where as before they mite have been kicked out like jesses dad it shows that in this day and age in a modern society all races are treated the same and not seen as a minority and are not alienated.
The film is about a teenage girl jessminda who loves David Beckham and football she dreams about playing football professionally but to start with she only plays in the park; until one day a girl from the local girl’s team jewls, noticed Jess’s potential in football and asks her play for the team. Jess joins and everything is going great till her parents find out she is playing football, because of her culture her mom and dad bring an end to it and stop her playing football. She carries on playing behind their backs with her sister covering for her, but they find out she has been lying and jess gets into deep trouble. In the meantime jess is falling in love with the coach Joe and ends up kissing him causing her close friendship between her and jewels to end. They sort there problems out and on the day of a big game with a American scout coming to watch jess cannot play as it is her sisters wedding but her dad gives in and lets jess go in time for the second half she plays. At the end of the game the scout wants jewls and jess to go and play professionally in America jess really wants to go and her parents eventually allow her to go. They both go to America as friends and play football.
There are a lot of similarities between jesses family and jewls family despite there different culture.
Similarities:
Between mother and farther:
-The farther is always on the daughter’s side of the argument.
-The fathers Seems to be not in charge of the family also the more caring one out of the both parents.
Mother and daughter:
-Mothers are stricter
-They are both trying to teach the daughters about their culture and to be more girl like, going out with boys and acting in a girly manor.
-Dominant
Farther and daughter:
-Fathers more caring
-Seem to be more supportive
-Understand the girls better
-Not the head of the household.
Jess comes across many barriers as an Indian girl in a British society for example her family want her to grow up to be a traditional Indian girl follow all the rules and religion also education is very important this could have been made easy in a Indian society but as she is friends with English girls she wants to be like them causing conflict. The English society wears off her; she just wants to be like her friends. She also faces racial abuse too; when a girl call’s her a ‘packi’ being an Indian girl she will always experience this in a British society. Also she faces relationship barriers as her parents want her to marry an Indian boy and no other race but she falls in love with a white English boy her coach. All these barriers are caused by the culture of an Indian girl in an English society.
Its not just jess that has problems both girls face normal teenage problems like relationships and becoming a woman, this becomes a big problem when they both fall the same lad the coach Joe. They also both share the problem of playing football jess as we know is not aloud to play football due to her culture but jewls who is supported by her parents to play football is under heavy pressure by her mom to quit football and be more like a stereotype teenage girl.
I think there is a oral message in the film ‘bend it like Beckham’ I think it’s ‘Know matter what race you are if you enjoy something so much don’t give it up even if it leads to close ones getting hurt’. I think it’s because jess loved football and she had to hurt people to play but in the end she for filled her dream about playing football and her family eventually forgave her for playing football.
Jesses father eventually gives in to jess going to America to play football because he was in a cricket team when he first came to England but they wouldn’t let him play or except him as a member, so he gave up his sport, he does not want jess to make the same mistake he did as everyday since then he has missed and regretted giving up cricket. So he allows her to go and follow her dream. He also wants her to fight to prove Indian people are just as good as any other race.
The film relates a lot to a poem we have been studying in class ‘presents from my Aunts from Pakistan’ they are both about a young girl from an Indian culture but living in a British society. Like jess both girls respect there religion and culture but don’t want to wear the cloths etc. They just want to be normal like English girls. But at the same time they are proud of being of a different culture and want their parents and family to be proud of them as they try and live up to them but its hard in a English society.
