Throughout this essay, a variety of sociological themes will be identified in the film Bend It Like Beckham (released in 2002). Bend it like Beckham is a film about an 18 year old woman who is Indian and dreams of becoming a professional footballer, but her family does not agree with her decisions because she is an Indian woman and Indian women are traditionally known as wives. mother, student and will sacrifice her time for her family. The film shows the teenager trying to live in two different cultures to be able to achieve her dreams. Themes that will be identified throughout this film will be acceptance, religion/culture, and gender stereotypes. The themes identified continue to have a huge impact on sport today and can deter many people from wanting to participate in sport. This film is a great example to show people what obstacles can exist in sports and how people can overcome this obstacle. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay An important scene from the film that identifies gender stereotypes, “their gender identity, sexual orientation, values ​​and social roles are often questioned", is the moment when Jess is in the park playing football with her Indian friends and she shows them her talent when she beats them and doesn't care about their insults when she plays against them. When Jess gets home, she goes to her room and talks to a poster on Beckham's wall about the differences in freedom Indian boys and girls enjoy and she plays to explain that it's "unfair that she has a curfew because she is a woman and her friends do not and cannot do what they want because they are men.” Also during this scene, Jess is shown in the park the next day playing soccer with her male friends, showing that she is not interested in them and that her sister and her friends are on the park bench and judge her because she is a woman who plays football and shows no interest in the traditional feminine side of Indian culture. Playing football with male friends helped Jess gain confidence. Theberge "found that women are often discriminated against and suffer from various inequalities such as their participation in sports, as well as the opportunities available to them in terms of coaching, funding and often scholarships for particular sports." Another theme identified in this scene is religion, "a unified system of beliefs and practices relating to sacred things...that unite into a single moral community." This theme is shown in the scene where Jess comes down the stairs after being in her room, talking to Beckham, to attend her sister's engagement party where she has to serve everyone and she doesn't show too much interest in the whole party and she's not. a traditional Indian woman. During the engagement party, Jess serves all of the eldest child's food and participates in Indian traditions such as bangles and money rituals, where couples getting married receive money from family and friends. In the film, Jess follows the Sikh religion, “Sikhism preaches that people of different races, religions or genders are all equal in the eyes of God. It teaches the full equality of men and women.” However, the film does not show that Indian men and women are equal. One scene that shows this is when Jess comes back from practice for the women's soccer team and is playing in the park with her male friends in shorts showing off herscar on her leg, which shows that she went against the "traditional woman". . The males she plays with then start to offend her and make remarks about her scar but she doesn't care and challenges them: "I bet I can still defeat you with my eyes closed." This scene highlights themes of culture and gender stereotypes, when Jess is in the park after dragging one of her men away. Friends come to pick her up and her mother sees them and is disgraced because she objects for her to play football and hang out with men. When Jess and her mother return home, Jess is sitting on the coach and both of her parents are talking to her. As her mother is a traditional Indian woman, she states "I was married at your age", this shows her mother stereotyping Jess suggesting that she should marry at her age. Additionally, during this scene, Jess's mother expresses concern about the only future she can see for her daughter and states, "What family would want a daughter-in-law who can run around playing soccer all day long?" day but can't make round chapattis? . This also shows her mother stereotyping Jess and suggesting that she should be able to cook basic Indian dishes. As part of the Sikh religion, Jess should follow the morals of the religion and should be able to cook and marry at her age. However, she plays with the boys by showing them her body, which goes against the morals of the Sikh religion. After a failed appeal to her father, Jess's mother says "no more football" and her father says, "start acting like a real woman" (Bend it Like Beckham). This part of the scene shows her parents trying to get Jess to follow traditional cultures and not bring shame to the family. The final scene that identifies the important themes of the film is the wedding scene which identifies acceptance, culture, "a way of life created by humans" and gender. In this scene it shows Jess at her sister's wedding and as part of her culture Jess had to accept traditions and dress like a traditional woman. Even though Jess stays at her sister's wedding, she doesn't show that she wants to be there as she would rather play her last match in the cup. Tony (Jess's best friend) notices that Jess is sad and quiet during the day and asks her if she wants him to drive her to the game so she can participate in the second half. The next part of the scene shows her father's acceptance, "the act of saying yes or accepting." Tony and Jess manage to convince her father to let her participate in the second half of the game by saying "if this is the only way I'll see you smile on your sister's wedding day, then go now". As Jess manages to leave the wedding to play her final game, she will have the chance to be considered an All-American college scout, and as she leaves, her father tells her to "play well and make us proud." This shows her father's acceptance because he approves of her going to the soccer game and he wants her to succeed so she can show her family that she is good at what she wants to do. The next part of the scene shows the gender stereotypes, when Jess arrives at the match that her team has equalized against the opposition and Jess is put onside and awarded a penalty as she is about to take the penalty, she visualizes her mother, her sister and others. The Indian women as the wall disapproves of her and shakes her head, this suggests that Jess shouldn't be at the soccer game and should be at her sister's wedding planning hers. After the football final and the wedding, Jess and her family are back home with other family members and Jess tells her family that she was :, 60(2), 341-353.