Understanding Bend It Like Beckham and Whale Rider

Bend it Like Beckham (2002/3) is a romantic comedy written, directed and produced by Gurinder Chadha, a Kenya-born British film maker who grew up India. Director Chadha’s films often reflect on her complex background. Unlike many comedies, Bend it Like Beckham is filled with plenty of important themes. One of them addresses the importance of cultural integration.

The film was directed and written by Darabont Frank. The film talks about a banker by the name

What you want in comparison to what your family expects form you is a common disagreement through most family households. In the movie ‘Bend it like Beckham’ we saw the conflict between jess and her parents on how they feel and what they want for her, how jess sees the situation and how it is resolved. Throughout Jess’s journey she is constantly pulled in what she truly wants and what here family/culture expects (internal conflict).

Someone’s destiny may be known from the moment he or she is born; however, how that person will reach his or her’s destiny is unknown. The way someone can achieve their dream can be vastly different or very similar to another. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya follows Antonio Marez’s coming of age. He experiences loss of innocence, curiosity, and is torn about what his destiny is: be a Luna, a person of the earth, or a Marez, a person of the llano who is free. Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera is a film that tells the story of Paikea Apirana, a girl who is interested in becoming leader of her clan, but is rejected by her grandfather due to her being a girl. Paikea manages to prove herself to be the true leader through to her risks and hardships.

The Whale Rider by Niki Caro is a film about a young girl, Paikea’s journey to acceptance from her grandfather. This film explores many themes such as feminism, family and conflict. One of the main conflicts explored throughout this film is the conflict between Nanny Flowers and Koro, Paikea’s grandparents. Conflict is an important issue in this film because it causes rupture among an already fractured family.

The weight of the film lies in the deep emotional underpinnings that convince viewers to feel compassion for the captive whales. The film

Cleopatra. Prod. Robert Holmes Sr. with Leonor Varela, Timothy Dalton, and Billy Zane. ABC, 1999.

    Film and literature are two media forms that are so closely related, that we often forget there is a distinction between them. We often just view the movie as an extension of the book because most movies are based on novels or short stories. Because we are accustomed to this sequence of production, first the novel, then the motion picture, we often find ourselves making value judgments about a movie, based upon our feelings on the novel. It is this overlapping of the creative processes that prevents us from seeing movies as distinct and separate art forms from the novels they are based on.

Dir. William Wyler. Perf. Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, and Stephen Boyd. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).

The film is about a group of 5 people fighting to find and keep the

The cultural issues of Bend it like Beckham are breaking Indian traditions, what is a socially acceptable relationship. First issue is Jess breaking many Hindu traditions of showing too much leg when wearing her athletic shorts, showing the scar on her upper thigh, and playing organized soccer, falling in love with her coach who is not Indian. Second issue is gay couples we observe when Tony admits to Jess that he is ready likes David Beckham. Paula Jules’s mother freaks out when she thinks her daughter when she over hears argument between Jules and Jess over Jess kissing Joe when she knew Jules liked Joe, and her mothers the word you broke my heart. Paula comes to the conclusion Jules and Jess were in a relationship and broke up.

The movie “Bend it like Beckham” is about an Indian girl named Jess from Britain that loves to play football/soccer. However her family tends to be really religious and this gets in the way of Jess’s dreams in playing football. The first question asked was “In what ways do you see yourself as Jess”? Well throughout the movie, Jess was very determined and was willing to risk things to follow her dreams. Honestly if I really had something I wanted to do, I would be willing to risk things also. I know I would for sure be determined to follow my dreams. Jess also worked very hard and she was extremely caring and respectful to the people around her. I also would characterize myself as caring, hardworking, and respectful.

The story of Whale Rider takes place in a Maori village in New Zealand. The main character is a 12 year old girl name Paikea “Pai” Apirana and her ambition to become the next Chief of her village. Along with following on Pai’s story, the movie showed a great number of local Maori religion and culture. Some of the things I will explore is the Maori religion, gender roles, and a personal reflection on what was learned through the movie.

"Bend It Like Beckham." Have you watched this movie before? The film, "Bend It Like

Through the use of cinematic techniques, Hidden figures, a movie directed by Theodore Melfi and Bend it like Beckham by Gurinder Chadha both explore the dangers that are inherent in a marginalised society. Each text demonstrates that hope for change is needed in society as it can build the momentum for an individual to strive. Through these texts, we see that people have no conscience about harming others until they learn the truth about their circumstances. This is depicted by the way in which Jess’ coach Joe behaves after learning about her cultural expectations in Bend it like Beckham. Similarly, this is shown in Hidden Figures by Mr. Harrison. Both directors emphasise that the abuse of power leads to corruption and this can be seen through the segregation between the black and white people in Hidden Figures and the way in which cultural values overrule the lives of the Bhamra’s in Bend it like Beckham. Both characters highlight the importance of creating opportunities rather than seeking it, this is shown when Mary Jackson goes to court for educational rights in Hidden Figures and in Bend it like Beckham when Jess stands up to her father who appears to be patriotic about his cultural values. The resolutions to both texts justify that determination comes from within and that though many factors can outweigh a person’s ability to triumph, consistency can lead to rewarding results. As an audience we are able to further increase our understanding of perseverance through