How Does Gurinder Chadha Create Interest And Show Essay Example
How Does Gurinder Chadha Create Interest And Show Essay Example

How Does Gurinder Chadha Create Interest And Show Essay Example

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  • Pages: 8 (2134 words)
  • Published: December 7, 2017
  • Type: Film Analysis
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Despite making significant progress, women have faced major challenges in achieving equal rights throughout history. In the past, they were deprived of the right to vote and had to fight tirelessly for suffrage. However, despite these advancements, women still encounter discrimination that belittles their chosen professions due to some individuals holding onto outdated beliefs that men are superior. Despite this reality, modern society still fails to fully acknowledge women who often face stereotyping as inherently maternal and paternalistic. This is contrary to the fact that women struggle just as much as men in caring for their children while also expected to dedicate their lives to child-rearing and marriage at a young age.

The perception of women as the weaker gender often leads to restrictions on their choices in life. They do not have equal opportunities as men, such as the ability to participat

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e in combat. Men enjoy numerous possibilities and are not limited like women, particularly when it comes to sports. Women appear to encounter an intangible barrier that prevents them from reaching certain objectives that are deemed exclusive to men. Essentially, societal expectations and stereotypes impose upon women standards that men never confront. Overcoming these preconceived notions associated with gender can only be achieved by challenging and eliminating them.

It is unreasonable to believe that individuals in the present era are restrained from pursuing their desired paths due to their gender. Nevertheless, society continues to cling onto the notion of men being the superior and unrestricted gender. Astonishingly, women are the ones who face restrictions in numerous areas of life. This inequity is exceedingly unjust as men can easily enter feminine-dominated professions such as chefs, designers

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artists, and authors, etc. In fact, some of the most celebrated chefs, designers, and artists are male.

Women face difficulties when pursuing careers in fields considered "manly" due to societal perceptions. For example, women in sports may face such challenges.

Women who pursue careers in sports, such as football, face more challenges in sustaining their profession compared to men. This is largely due to societal perceptions of women. Men typically enjoy greater visibility, sponsorship opportunities, and pay in the field of sports than women.

Is it possible that individuals with sexist attitudes may be contributing to this matter? The movie Bend It Like Beckham effectively addresses the unequal treatment of women in sports compared to men, while also cleverly linking it with cultural and societal factors. Gurinder Chadha utilizes comedy in the film to highlight conflicts between cultures and promote awareness for women's sports. Among her accomplishments, Chadha was particularly successful in raising awareness for Asian culture through comedy, earning her an award for this achievement.

Gurinder Chadha employs comical imagery and situations in the opening sequence of the film to engage the audience. From the very beginning, even during the credits appearing on a blank screen, the viewers have something to capture their interest and prepare them for what is to follow. This is accomplished using sound effects, including a brass band playing, cheering and chanting, and a football match commentator's voice mentioning football-related remarks.

At Old Trafford, the football pitch offers a range of sounds and special effects. The credits are followed by the sound of a football whooshing across the screen, as it moves through a long shot that shows the entirety of the field.

You

can watch the match featuring David Beckham and observe the players kicking the ball from various angles, including medium close ups of their faces and close ups of their legs and feet as they kick. These close ups are accompanied by amplified sounds to emphasize the kicking. Additionally, Gurinder Chadha inserts audio in the middle of the match to create excitement, as the commentator announces, "Here comes Jess and she's gonna score!"

The name Jess, being repeatedly mentioned in a men's match is abnormal and unfamiliar, causing the audience to be more interested or startled. In addition, seeing Jess kick the ball alongside David Beckham and score using special effects makes the audience notice that her head is slightly out of place on her body. It is unclear whether this was a technical fault or a deliberate attempt by Gurinder Chadha to add comical effect and make the audience laugh. Following Jess's goal, there is a close-up shot of her face that freezes, which then appears in the studio.

Following the football match, there is a noticeable contrast as the studio is silent compared to the noise of the game. Gurinder Chadha uses this contrast to great effect. Soon after, Gary Linekar, John Barnes, and Alan provide commentary on Jess's performance in a surreal and comical manner. Gary Linekar also conducts an interview with Jess's mother, which is followed by a unique shot of him conversing with Jess's mum by looking into the space within the frame.

In a comedic scene, Jess's mother speaks quickly and with a strong Punjabi accent while being filmed in a close-up shot. Her anger towards Jess is conveyed through her use of

Punjabi words. The mother-daughter contrast is shown through their thoughts and clothing choices: the mother disapproves of Jess showing her bare legs to men, believing it brings shame to the family. The scene ends with an extreme close-up on the mother's face as she delivers her last line in Punjabi, followed by Jess watching a football match in her room. This reveals that the opening scenes were all part of Jess's daydream. The subplot of Jess's sister's wedding is introduced when the mother interrupts Jess while watching TV. The film begins after an initial juxtaposition of Jess talking to a poster of David Beckham, accompanied by Asian music before transitioning into the main story.

Despite coming from an Asian family where her mother refers to David Beckham as a skinhead, Jess idolizes the footballer and the sport itself. The film centers on the connection between football and women in sports, but also tackles complex issues such as friendship between Jules and Jess, Tony's homosexuality, racism experienced by Jess's family, mixed relationships, cultural conflict, and societal expectations. The wedding subplot involving Pinkie adds humor to the film, highlighting the stress involved in wedding preparations and incorporating shots of colorful markets and diverse cuisine.

As Pinkie and Jess stroll through the market, they are greeted by the lively beats of Bhangara - a fusion of drum and bass. Gurinder Chadha uses clever juxtaposition to inject humor into this scene, highlighting how Jess and her sister embrace their rich Asian heritage whilst living a Western lifestyle. This is evident when Pinkie steps into a store adorned in modern, tight-fitting clothes to try on an exquisite traditional wedding dress. Chadha

also showcases how youth culture transcends race or culture, as Pinkie's language and gestures shift when she interacts with an old Asian woman compared to girls at a nearby shop. While speaking respectfully to the elder woman, she appears quite different when chatting with her peers. The director adds another comedic moment when Jess's sister asks the old lady to cover her "three stomachs" during the upcoming wedding procession. Throughout this section of the film, Chadha expertly depicts both similarities and differences between Western and Asian cultures in various encounters.The author demonstrates Jules and Jess's pursuit of independence through highlighting Western culture in a bra store, where both their mother and they come from. Jules's mother compels her to wear what she desires, presenting the contrast between cultures and backgrounds. This theme is reinforced by Jess' response to Pinkie's marriage, as she queries the societal expectation for women to conform with conventional gender roles.

In this passage, Jess expresses her frustration with the excitement and chaos surrounding her sister's wedding. She questions why her sister would even want to get married, stating "I can't wait till this is all over." The subplot addresses the stereotype that Indian women are expected to marry and settle down to appease their families and society. Gurinder Chadha's message is that arranged marriages can be successful and that marriage is just one of many societal expectations placed on Indian women. Furthermore, Chadha seeks to highlight traditional Asian customs such as cuisine, clothing, and jewelry.

During Jess's sister's wedding, her femininity is revealed as she is usually perceived as a tomboy who isn't interested in the complexities of having a boyfriend. However, she

has a change of heart when she meets her football coach, Joe. Gurinder Chadha's film employs a lot of juxtaposition, and one of the most prominent examples is the contrasting scene where both boys and girls play football.

The boys in the football scene play without shirts to display their muscles and assert their masculine identity. They adopt an aggressive style of play and the background music is competitive, in line with coca-cola's sponsorship of football. The setting for their game is a park, indicating a casual, recreational approach to the sport. The shots are predominantly long shots with a few medium close-ups.

The purpose of these matches is to assess the team's overall performance rather than individual players. However, there is a lack of intelligent conversation and instead, players indulge in silly jokes, as football for them is more of a spectacle. On the other hand, in girls football, players wear smaller tops, emphasizing their fitness and health. They exhibit a more professional demeanor while playing and do not attempt to show off. The music played during their matches is upbeat and exhilarating.

In the film, the football scene showcases a professional-grade pitch with a coach who exhibits dedicated commitment to the girls' team. This highlights the girls' sincere approach towards the sport in comparison to the boys. The scene utilizes various close-up shots of different sizes to emphasize their exceptional skills and individual as well as team play. Additionally, it highlights how mature and supportive they are towards each other. These contrasting portrayals of boys and girls playing football serve a purpose in the film. Gurinder Chadha aims to address the issue of women in sports,

emphasizing that women possess equal talent as men in any sport. The film also depicts the challenges women face in pursuing a career or hobby in sports. Both Jules and Jess's mothers discourage them from playing football, urging them to do more "feminine" activities such as cooking Aloo Gobi. Towards the end of the film, Jess develops feelings for Joe (the coach), and she navigates various topics related to sexuality, including discovering her friend Tony is gay, Jules’s mother assuming that Jess and Jules are lesbians, and Pinkie's future in-laws thinking that Jess is kissing a boy when she is just hugging Jules.According to Gurinder Chadha's portrayal, British Indian culture often runs parallel to British culture. Furthermore, both British and Asian societies tend to stereotype women, such as expecting them to possess culinary skills and to have settled down, married, and started a family by a particular age.

In the final section of the film, Gurinder Chadha establishes one final comparison, as the sister's wedding and the ultimate tournament happen simultaneously and act as the movie's climax. Humor and contrast are also used by Chadha during Jess's crucial moment in the tournament, where she visualizes (or hallucinates) her family and sister in her wedding gown, standing on the football pitch before her. Overall, the film efficiently employs humor, juxtaposition, and real life issues to provide entertainment while also being educational about other cultures and women's involvement in athletics. Additionally, the movie aptly challenges stereotypical images of women, exposing how laws imposed by society upon women can often be incorrect.

Gurinder Chadha incorporates a diverse range of music, camera angles, and locations in order to convey

different emotional states or to depict specific cultures or traditions. Her film is suitable for a broad audience, generally aged twelve and older, which has been engaged by the story and its various elements. The film concludes on a positive and uplifting note as Pinkie embarks on marriage and motherhood, while Jules and Jess pursue their dream of playing professional football abroad.

At the end of the film, there is a sighting of David Beckham at the airport, which some might interpret as a stroke of good luck. The final scene features a close-up on Jess and Jules's faces, perhaps suggesting that race, background, and gender are not barriers to achieving success. The most intriguing aspect of the movie, in my opinion, is Gurinder Chadha's demonstration of the similarities between individuals from very different cultural backgrounds. Through their friendship, Jules and Jess raise awareness of women in sports and bring humor to the film.

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