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Gender Stereotypes

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Finally, the movies use of soccer is one of the key ways that the film attempts to reconstruct gender for Jess and Jules. In a 2003 interview director Gurinder Chadha explained why she based the film on the male soccer player David Beckham rather than say a female soccer star like Mia Ham. The ode to the soccer star is because “he’s famous for bending the ball, which I think is a great metaphor for a lot of us, especially girls. We can see our goal but instead of going straight there, we too have to twist and bend the rules sometimes to get what we want” (Morales). Women like Jess and Jules must bend the rules because at every opportunity they are kept out. The United Kingdom does not have a professional league for women and therefore Jess and Jules must “bend” and …show more content…
It had a very diverse cast that did not shy away from a culture that is frequently never seen in movie or television. It showed women in roles where they weren’t always pretty and gave some of the opportunities to really grow and develop, a stark contrast to many films that portray women as purely there for male attention. Even upon its release there was an overwhelming output of support for the film, making it one of the highest grossing Indian-themed movies. However, it would be unfit to judge it purely as a product of its time and herald it as a female empowerment film because looking below the surface level, there is room for improvement. Gender does not need to be seen in such a ridged fashion, pitting masculine Jess against feminine Pinky and the use of Joe to cause a divide between Jess and Jules is stereotypical girl fight propaganda. Women do not have to “bend” the rules and fight their way, they are strong enough and capable enough to take on their goals straight on. Bend It Like Beckham is one of the greatest movies to sit and watch on a rainy afternoon, but if this is the cream of the crop in feminist films, then we have a long way to

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