1) Describe the representations found on the DVD/film poster
On this DVD cover, there is an image of the two main characters from the film. You can clearly see that they are good friends because they look very happy and they are laughing and she has her in a playful headlock. This tells us they are quite close and know each other well. The outfits that they are wearing are quite boyish, and their body shapes are quite muscly which could indicate that they are involved in some kind of sport. The title of the film also gives us a clue that it is about sport, and specifically football hence 'Bend it like Beckham'. The clothes they are wearing are very simple and plain colours which shows they are not 'girlie' and that they must be the characters that have the interest in football.
2) How does the film reflect changing attitudes to gender and ethnic identity in contemporary Britain?
The film shows a lot of different attitudes to different ethnic identity's in contemporary Britain, the most obvious one is Jess and her family. They are an Indian family and they have strong cultural beliefs. They only want what is best for their daughter Jess and are disgusted by the fact she wants to play football as this is not a typical lifestyle for an Indian girl. Throughout the film we see a lot of different conflicts about certain issues that arise in the family. Many issues are ethnic ones and there are also issues about gender. Some issues are created from ethnicity and gender, for example the relationship Jess begins to form with her Irish football coach is frowned upon. It shows us how things are still the same but are changing too. At the end of the film, Jess's parents come around to the idea of her playing football and let her fulfil her dream and also don't deny her seeing her Irish football coach. This shows how culture is slowly changing.
3)What are the problems Jess faces as a British Asian 18-year-old girl?
She faces the problems of many things, for example she cannot fulfil her dream to start with because in her culture it is not seen as a female thing to do. She faces the fight of playing for a girls team and eventually she makes it. She also faces the problems of her parents being extremely protective and strict, she finds this hard to deal with because she just wants to be like all of the other girls on her team. She also faces the struggle of getting out of an arranged marriage and as she forms a relationship with her Irish coach, all hell breaks lose and she has to fight to get what she wants.
4)How can filmmakers make a difference by representing the diversity national, regional, religious and ethnic identity in UK?
Film makers can make a difference because they can use films to get across to a mass audience all over the world with many different religious and ethnic issues. By representing the issues in a film they can make the audience really feel what it is like for all the different cultures and get a taste of it. They can show it in many different ways, positive and negative, with the aim to make the audience understand it from anothers perspective.
5)What does this film say about gender?
This film shows a lot about gender because you see the issue the girls have to face about being female footballers and the struggle that it comes with. Also Jules' parents show a gender problem because her mother thinks that Jules' is a lesbian because of her love for sport and her close relationship with Jess. Jess faces gender issues because her parents don't like the idea of her playing football they want her to go to university and be a solicitor and her mother tries to teach her how to cook like a proper Indian woman. This shows that gender is a big issue for the two girls.
6)In what way are British teens represented in this film? (use specific examples from the text, consider the fact that it is a positive representation?
British teens are represented in both a negative and a positive way in this film. They are represented in a positive way because they are all shown to have a strong passion for something and they all fight for it but they are also represented in a negative way because Jess lies and sneaks off a lot from her parents and this causes a lot of problems. They are mostly represented in a positive and mature way.
7)What are the themes and issues of this film? How are they represented/what is the film saying about them? (friendship, gender, ethnicity/culture, family, growing up)
The issues in this film is definitely culture and religion, friendship, gender, family and generally growing up. Both girls have a great amount of issues to deal with whilst growing up but they manage to mature and deal with these and they end up with their life dreams accomplished. For Jess the religion, family and gender are big issues and the film represents this by showing us how hard her family life is and the very different cultural ways they live. We see how important her family are and her religion always seems to get in the way of her growing up. Her gender issues are shown through her love of football and her striving passion t become a professional footballer, this is frowned upon in her family though. Also her friendship with Jules is a learning curve and she has to deal with different problems and learn how to cope with them. Jules has problems with her parents because her mother disagrees with her football love and is desperate for her to be a 'proper' girl. She is also accused of being a lesbian by her mother and has to deal with this. She has the troubles of her traumatic relationship with her coach which gets ruined by her friend Jess, this is all over come at the end though.
