Bend it like beckham
... this case, a typically male sport, are not as encouraged as male sportsmen. The underlying message is that our society does not equally value the talents of women, or at least does not value women who are talented at something ‘male’ or physical. This is conveyed as “backward”, because Jules is replying to Mel calling Indian’s backward when she makes her comment, and is implying that many parts of our society are old-fashioned when it comes to views of women. The inclusion of this piece of dialogue in the film is not meant to be light hearted, but is used to highlight gender inequality. Due to the fact that the conversation occurs in a friendly way, between characters we are already positioned to like, we tend to consider the viewpoint they represent, and agree that women are not as valued as men, for their skills. Homosexuality is explored in the film, in an often comedic, but no less thoughtful way. The sequencing of two particular scenes in the film is important in demonstrating the difficulty people have in dealing with their own and other people’s sexuality. In one scene, Mrs. Paxton believes her daughter, Jules, is a lesbian. She gets increasingly hysterical, and we see her sitting on her sofa sobbing, which the audience knows is for nothing because Jules is not really a lesbian. The scene is intended to be amusing, but also serves the purpose of showing how many people are not comfortable with the people they love being gay. It’s no coincidence that the very next scene is one is which Tony, Jules friend, reveals to her that he’s gay. It consists of mainly close ups, which create a feeling of intimacy, and invites us into private conversation about something which is made to seem like a sensitive issue. The two scenes are placed together, so that it can be seen that being gay impacts on the individual, and also on their family and friends. Neither of the scenes is particularly ‘heavy’, in fact they are both kind of entertaining. For this reason, it seems the film doesn’t condemn homosexuality, but simply comments on how it can be a sensitive issue, by including two scenes next to each other, which both deal with people’s reactions to homosexuality. ‘Chadha chose to use a tribal drum beat to create intensity and show how basic human instinct affects society’s behaviour. The drum beat is heard during a football game, after Jess and Jules argue over their coach, Joe. The sound of the drum reminds us of primitive behaviour. It occurs when the girls glare at each other, ...